Traditional Leaders Conference Nuba Mountains,
Sudan
4-6 July 2006 (Jeremias Blaser)
The present report is not meant as a narrative description
of the above-mentioned conference but rather as a reflection
on some issues and processes observed during the conference
and which will need particular attention for future project
planning.
General Impression:
A first point that needs to be stressed is the excellent
organisation of the Workshop by NRRDO. Bringing 150 people
from various locations to Kadugli, lodging and feeding them
during three days is indeed an achievement that deserves recognition.
Secondly it was very interesting and refreshing to follow
the rich debates and speeches of various participants as well
as guests. The fact of bringing traditional leaders together
was highly appreciated and Switzerland’s support therefore
duly recognised. It was moreover refreshing to observe the
lively discussions on the side between the different participants
and it was obvious that they appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity
for interaction and exchange.
Thirdly three days is the minimum for such a conference if
one wants to give enough opportunities to the chiefs to interact
and address each other. Ideally important conference proceeding
should take place one day prior to the end leaving enough
time to wrap up and close the workshop without rushing. In
this case the first day was more or less used up by speeches
from honorary guests, the second day for exchanging ideas
about the institutionalisation of traditional leaders while
the third day had to be utilised for taking decisions on the
way forward. I was left with the impression that one had to
“rush” through this important stage in order to
finish on time.
Finally besides the formal objectives of such meetings one
cannot stress enough the importance of such events for informal
processes such as awareness raising, building of ownership
and creating of a common identity of key stakeholders. These
informal processes are also key for a successful implementation
and sustainability of the project.
Institutionalisation process:
Having been involved for several years in the Swiss funded
programme for a traditional leaders forum in Sudan, it appears
that the transition from the conceptual phase to the implementation
phase is a challenging process. There is a tendency of workshop
participants to continuously reiterate the importance of traditional
structure for good governance without suggesting concrete
structures to be put in place so as to render a traditional
leaders forum sustainable over time and implementable in a
reasonable time frame. This tendency has to a certain extent
also been observed in the Nuba Mountains. Nevertheless this
year the participants agreed to delegate the concrete implementation
work to an elected committee supposed to work out a constitution
for the forum and present it at a later stage to the “plenary”
implying the organisation of another workshop.
Recommendation: It is recommended to start defining clear
procedural rules as to how this constitution will be discussed
and amended on the one hand and work out with various implementing
partners such as NRRDO the series of action that needs to
be taken for such a forum to take place on a regular basis
without the logistical support of an organisation other than
the forum itself (with the exception of the financial resources).
Decision-making:
At the heart of the traditional leaders forum is the idea
of consensual decision-making. This has always been one major
argument in favour of strengthening traditional structures
as it ensures the legitimacy and effectiveness of conflict
prevention and resolution. The majoritarian rule based on
individual votes has never really been conceived as a viable
option for decision making in the context of a traditional
leaders forum. Nevertheless the composition of the committee
in charge of elaborating a constitution for a traditional
leaders forum in the Nuba Mountains has been decided through
majority rule. While this might have been an adequate procedure
to speed up the process it can create legitimacy problems
in the future. For future workshops this poses a considerable
challenge to workshop facilitators who will need to have clear
procedural understandings and resort to alternative facilitation
techniques in order to reach the same results but with means
more adapted to traditional decision-making habits.
Recommendation: It is recommended to recruit a facilitation
team with at least one professional facilitator familiar with
a variety of facilitation techniques. Prior to the workshop
jointly define the desired outputs of the workshop and discuss
the various procedures for reaching the outputs.
Location/Infrastructure:
One of the “carrots” presented to the participants
during the conference was the prospect of Switzerland’s
financial assistance for having a permanent structure where
the forum could meet. In some instances equipment such as
computers, printers etc. were considered as necessary for
a functioning secretariat. While the “carrot and stick”
policy can be an effective mean for accelerating ownership
and the buy in of participants I am doubtful regarding the
sustainability and use of electronic equipment and a permanent
building. Concrete structures need considerable maintenance,
which obviously cannot be ensured in the Sudanese context.
Moreover, it is questionable whether a secretariat producing
a filing system and taking minutes of meetings is the most
appropriate form of support for a forum that should be inspired
by the African tradition of orality.
Recommendation: It is recommended to start prospecting alternative
and more symbolic locations for the Traditional Leaders Forum.
Ideas such as agreeing on rotational locations and providing
the Forum therefore with a tent capable of hosting a sizable
group of people while being easy to maintain and build could
constitute starting points for reflection.
