Conflict Encourages Progress

The basis of our programme is debate and discussion. We meet myriad experts in various fields, they talk to us and that generally acts as an impetus for discussion. The last Friday session was entirely discussion with our group. It’s incredibly stimulating and by far one of my favourite aspects of this programme.

There is, however, a problem. We all tend to agree with one another. We all agree on what issues need to be addressed and tend to agree with what people’s suggestions are to alleviate ills. It is wonderful that we all have a unified vision and we’ll most likely work with the same general goals in mind in our different fields. South Africa needs collaborative partnerships to reach unified goals. I am at least grateful that the SAWIP team is on track with that in mind. What I mean though is that we may not argue enough.

I believe in the title of this blog post. I don’t mean violent conflict (whether I agree with it or not, it has been used in the past to push progress), but the conflict of minds. When we interrogate concepts and call individuals out on their statements we’re able to re-evaluate our ideas. Different voices give different perspectives, the only eyes you have are your own, until you allow others to see too. We need to have enough respect for each other to be honest in discussions. I’m not saying we’re a team of yes (wo)men but we as a team could do more to voice suggestions for improvement, give a bit more of a rebuttle in debate because that is how change is encouraged.