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The 21st century must become the one for new imaginaries, dare I say, not in the politico-military sense as the neo-conservative; New World Order or New Deal. While I am not entirely clear of David Cameron’s Big Society ideas, they seem to be a generational attempt to imagine a different Britain though sections of that country seem to be rejecting them already.

The recent events sweeping the Maghreb and Arab culture suggest to me that imagining new ways of life is happening in many parts of the world albeit at different pace. As I read news that his Holiness the Dalai Lama is soon to devolve political power, I sense old ideas, even those still appealing to their followers, making space for new ones. In many places this will of course be resisted, for this kind of cultural movement is unpredictable.

Many theories of religion and evolution suggest that all species are constantly changing in response to the world around them, spiritually or physically. They mainly do so in order to adapt to their environment, live in harmony with others, dominate or exterminate them all together. The ones that perceive themselves superior echelons would like us to believe in civilisation as having reached a level of development, freedom and self-preservation that respects their interdependency to other species, both flora and fauna. The world of Facebook, Wikileaks and Al Jazeera exposes not only their sophistication and knowledge but a degree of sophistry in the way the world stage is directed.

We are told that in order to create and sustain the perfect way of live, to be responsible custodians of this planet, we must have pragmatic imaginaries; maintain undesirable stability in some parts of the world because they guarantee our economic development and development, prescribe our own cultures and denigrate others while sustaining them politically because we need their natural resources. I must admit to struggling with cultural relativism as a concept. Cultural diversity discourse needs to be simplified so that I can be part of imagining the perfect world. As such, I hope that blog discussion on the cultureanddevelopment forum skirts jargon, having accepted that behind them may be genuine forms of new imaginaries for a better world.

As I imagine what my life should be, I am drawn to my children, who wake up and ask why the world is not as they see it. There are so many of them, these little ones, and I imagine a few have just popped out of their mother’s womb as I write this blog. They all come into this world with wonderful images to share with us, aspirations and expectations of the world they came from. I look at my children and wonder why indeed the cultures we choose could not be like those “simple’ drawings from children’s’ schools. The little ones attempt to communicate to us that the world could be differently imagined to avoid retrogression in human development. If the process of imagining the world around us has resulted in an increasingly chaotic world, not in the sense of the chaotic universe, because there is a lot of order there…….. but in a world that is on course to self-destruction, approaching the black hole, then why don’t we stop and start re-imagining the world to renew it as nature’s perpetual renewal. At this point, Picasso went to Africa for cubic inspiration!.

Culture in its complex forms of diversity is much simpler in the eyes of children, the naive. Oh God let me be naive for Zimbabwe. If left alone, no matter what part of the world they come from, babies and children will imagine the perfect human solidarity ecology. It is us the mature and sophisticated who come in with our canons of knowledge to suggest different ways of living. Unfortunately we have not been very good at perfect ecosystems. Have we not invented amazing tools to control and dominate the world and not to develop sustainable solidarity? Granted, we can cure some deadly diseases and have extended life expectancy in many parts of the world.
Unfortunately North Africa is in turmoil and many different voices are clamoring for the transformation of the Tunisians, Egyptians, Yemenis, Libyans and Saudis cultures into images of their own.

Some have been doing this quietly for decades while the newly-born in those parts have different ideas, different imaginaries for developing sovereign nations. Does it all come down to imagining new Cultures and developing new ways of making them function for North Africa and the Middle East? This almost sounds simple thing to do as winds sweep around the whole globe and ordinary people demand greater transparency and accountability from those who have imagined our world for us in the past.

“It’s like a jungle sometimes, makes me wonder how I keep on getting under!”

Farai Mpfunya is the Executive Director of the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust, a not-for-profit organisation working within the Zimbabwe society in order to contribute to wealth creation of its citizens and helping build block for sustainable home-grown democracy. He is also a member of the Arterial Network Culture Policy Task Group and board member of Art Moves Africa. He is considered to be a leading Arts and Culture administrator on the continent.

The Culture Fund envisions a thriving Zimbabwe that is confident in its innovation and creativity that is nurtured through a culture of open dialogue and creation of knowledge accessible to all its citizens. The Culture Fund plays a leading role in gearing the country towards becoming a creative society benefiting from a creative economy. It supports the cultural sphere through results-based programming.

info@culturefund.co.zw
www.culturefund.org.zw

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