First impressions of South Africa
Last week &samhoud visited Johannesburg and Soweto. You have been able to read about our experiences. Here is the first result of the work our cameracrew did. Enjoy the first impressions of South Africa:
South Africa – In connection we trust
On Tuesday afternoon, the 26th of January 2010, a big gathering takes place on a football field in Soweto. On the pitch the final of a Dreamfields football tournament has just ended. The winning team is about to collect their prize. Salem Samhoud takes the microphone: ‘Dear children, Thank you very much for sharing this day with us. I just have a short message for you. Over the years I have become pretty successful by following a clear vision, discipline and by working hard. I believe in a brighter future for everyone. I strive after that. I wish you all a lot of success and happiness as well. And to achieve that please cherish your dreams, be disciplined and keep your feet firmly on the ground.’
After these words the winning team steps forward. But looking at the big group of spectators around them, it becomes clear that this whole crowd is a winning team. Today.
Progress High School is part of this winning team. There, children and teachers opened their hearts and minds for more education and sports. The teachers also expressed their dreams and vision in paintings, which added up to a beautiful dreamwall in the school.
The Ipelegeng Community Center is part of this winning team. The future for them has become more colourful because of a fresh lick of paint on the walls. These new walls symbolise the beginning of a more independent future for the community center that is now ready to welcome the visitors of the 2010 World Football Championship.
John Perlman’s organization Dreamfields is part of this winning team. John organized a tournament for children of 8 primary schools from Pimville, Soweto.
Matchboxology is part of this winning team. They contributed their knowledge and experience on business in South Africa. Furthermore they invited several famous ex-professional football players who work now in a programme called ‘Footballers 4 Life’ that aims at instructing children to resist the negative influences in South African society.
Meropa is part of this winning team. Their help in matters of public relations contributed to the awareness of this event.
Phaphama is part of this winning team. Their organization helped us to connect to the community of Pimville, Soweto. Phaphama taught us a lot about the South African spirit. And they organized our ‘homestays’.
The homestay families are part of this winning team. Not only did they invite us in their homes, they also fed us and shared their thoughts with us. And they offered us a place to sleep. This afternoon, on the playing fields, they cook meals for everybody.
And then &samhoud is part of this winning team. This trip back to the roots of our company was also a journey to our own personal roots. Consciousness, connection, knowledge, ratio and emotion go hand in hand and it forms us once more.
If this winning team today provides everybody with only a little bit of hope, than undoubtedly there will be a winning team tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. That’s what South Africa needs and what this country deserves, being a connected winning team.
On connection and Japan
An interesting fact that resulted from our World-wide research on connection, was the surprisingly low score of Japan. With a world-average of 76, the Japanese people scored an average of only 64.
Of course, when these results were coming in, discussion broke loose on how to explain this. Some of us are big fans of Japanese culture and had visited the country quite a lot. Based on their experiences, we actually expected that Japan would devastate the scores of the other countries and would be the unchallenged leader of the global connection index. So what happened? Why these disappointing results?
The first possible explanation that came into mind was that the Japanese people tend to score more conservative. Where we in the West tend to extremes to express our feelings (ten out of ten when something is “OK” and zero out of ten when we encounter some minor problems), Japanese culture prescribes modesty and balance. Therefore, scores tend to be lower, especially in comparison with other countries. However, we had already taken this into account. Based on other statistical research in Japan, we already compensated the figures with regard to the custom of conservative scoring. It might still be of some influence on the final score, but not as extreme as this:
So, does this mean that we may conclude that the Japanese people are just not so well connected? Just to be sure, we sent a small team to Tokyo to find out. They interviewed a lot of people to find out the Japanese stance towards connection and how it is being applied in their daily lives and routines.
Luckily, the conclusions that could be derived out of these interviews were not so disappointing as the cold numbers. People explained to us that, generally speaking, Japanese people consider themselves highly connected. However, the connection tends to be of a different quality then our own. For us, connection between people is something essential – something very fundamental. It takes a very prominent role in our society and is considered very important. In Japan, connection is equally regarded as something fundamental, but it is exercised with much more caution. For Japanese people, it is extremely important to respect the privacy and integrity of other people. Therefore, for them, the acts of connection are much more subtle and exercised with much more care. It seems that in Japan there is a larger gap between the experience of connection (which is quite high, according to the interviews) and the external acts that we (Western people) consider to be expressions of connection.
Could this be a plausible explanation for the low score of Japan? Feel free to share your thoughts with us!
Is it true what they say about men and women? On connection and stereotypes
A global research has been conducted into connection. In 14 counties ‘&intoconnection’ researched what it means to people to be strongly or weakly connected. This research proves a.o. that connection has a positive influence on the lives of people.
If we look at the figures and ask if women are better connected then men, we can safely say: “Yes, a little”. In most countries women are a little bit better connected then their male companions. Closer studies show that men are slightly better connected with themselves: especially when they are young they seem to know better what they want in life and how they can get it. However, it seems that for women, wisdom comes with age. By the time they reach their 40’s, they have taken over the men and score about the same on these topics.
So far these results seem to match our prejudiced stereotyping of men and women. Men – especially the young and ambitious ones – are mainly focused on themselves and attaining a successful career and see others as competition rather then intimate companionship. Women, being more softer and social are much better connected to others, which suits with a more ‘domestic’ choice of career. “Hey, isn’t that our nature?!” And again, these very political incorrect assumptions seem to be correct when we look at the results. When we examine the figures, the big difference that make women better connected is indeed being made when we include the results of connection with others. Women score significantly higher then man.
For all men who think they finally have some statistic to prove their superior role; I’m sorry to disappoint you. The connection with others that is measured here goes much deeper than superficial blabbering.
So this is the moment where we should abandon our stereotypes (if you hadn’t already; welcome to the 21st century). The connection that we have measured, is closely related with personal success. Being well connected means that you will be more successful. It enables people to engage in better and more valuable relationships in which it is much easier to realise your personal goals. So if connection is the key to success, and men regards themselves as competitive strivers for success, then it appears that they are being beaten by the women!
So men should not shove the importance of connection aside because they are too busy with their successful career. They should not dismiss the concept as “soft”. If you want to achieve success in life, perhaps it is a good idea to have a few meetings with your female colleagues and learn something from their abilities to connect!
For more information on the global research or of the &intoconnection movement that inspires people to connect, see www.intoconnection.com or join us on Facebook or Linkedin.
