Thread: What does culture mean to us as individuals or to us liviing in a society where we are so diverse?

Tre,


The best example I have is the American culture.

The USA is a real melting pot of anything and everything. You'll find more Jewish people in the USA (New York) than in Tel Aviv, more Irish than in Dublin, more Poles than in Warsaw and probably more Germans than in Bonn/Berlin, more Chinese than many places else and many Japanese - but ALL of them say they are AMERICANS first and foremost.

That is a culture. Basically a potjiekos of a little bit of everything that, once finished, tastes unlike any of the ingredients, but tastes wonderful and unique.

That is also culture. And that maybe what you, tre, are encountering in the UK - except that the USA is more of an amalgam than the UK. In the UK you can still see the different ingredients. In the USA too, to some degree, but the Americans mostly act as one. "United we stand- type of principle.

That is one explanation ..........

Well, nowadays even Companies develop a certain culture that signify their identity and brand efforts....so simply put, culture is really the way of doing things and living life, funny, one can partake in more than one culture at once, considering one would e.g. strive to conform to a company culture one belongs to, yet also subscribe to cultural norms within ones family, tribe, etc, etc......really a widespreading little on this ;-)

Originally Posted by mindfactory

tre, to what tribe or race do you belong in namibia? this is no offense ... you can make it very easy by

(a) answer simple eg. the long dress women with the funny fashion turbans;
I` d have to say i am 25% related to this "group" as you classified it!
(b) the red skin with the missing front tooth from the north north west
[U]I`m 30% of this "group"[/U]
(c) those that refuse to wear clothes with the arrow and bows
10% to this "group"
(d) the worm and dog eaters,
And to this "group" im 100% part of it [seems to me its the "group", you`d belong to!
you know ... this will make it easier for us all to understand, and we can finally tell you what culture suits you, okay now?

I must say you were very informative, even though you seem to be straying away [far away] from the topic.

Know what culture has different meanings to all of us and for me its plainly were you want to belong and how you relate to society around you!

LOL, Oneword, without referees, this life will be chaos ;-)

What is culture? I like drinking tea and watch movies or Blu Ray DVD's, is it culture or a problem?

LOL, maybe it be yo family culture? is it a 'family' of 1 you then? LOL cute then

I´m South African and white, brought up during he height of the apartheid era, a time when culture by definition was being white, nationalist and afrikaans speaking. Times have changed and we now battle to find identity and when I say we, I mean both black and white. I still find it strange. the similarities in Namibia - although not quite the same, it would appear as if the same search for a common culture is being played out in both our countries.

The recent so called xenophobia attacks on foreigners in SA only proves the ignorance of most. We in SA keep on calling back the past and referring to the injustices of the past and very little debate on the prospects of developing a real united nation. I have black friends here at home, in Namibia and Botswana and they are very dear to me - the irony is that when we get together, we feel like one culture and we all respect the value of who we are and we embrace that.

The question is what stops this intermingling of richness and respect, is this not the beginning of a culture. I don´t think cultural separation on ethnic grounds should define a national culture which was the case historically in Africa, when culture had reference to being of a tribe and those who came across the sea from Europe said they had come from civilisation, what ever they meant by that.

Namibia has always been an oddity to me, previously part of SA and after all these years of Independence, still seems to have remnants of an afrikaner presence - would like to know how it´s working. Would also like to hear your opinion about the acceptance of all born in Africa to be Africans Black,White, Pink and blue. Has the new Black generation accepted that the white kids will also be the future beside them and with them, is that not the culture we are looking for? Come on you black guys, give some input!

We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. This is the only explanation of the total lack of information based on cultural affiliations in our census in Namibia. Unfortunately, this attitude of “let’s pretend it is not there” does not make it so.

Even in South Africa, where the Apartheid system was the most formalised, they have recognised the need to keep the information and knowledge of all cultural groups as part of the “rainbow nation”. Discrimination because of race colour or culture is a thing of the past and is replaced by recognition and acceptance of our differences.

We have also outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender, yet still need this categorisation to measure the needed changes that must take place in our country for gender equality. In the same way it is important to note that when a previously marginalised group, such as the San people, have qualified teachers from within their own tribe and culture (Republikein – 14 April 2009).

The lack of recognition of certain groups can have detrimental affects on our country. Look at what has happened to some of our pre-Independence orphans who returned from East Germany. More recently we have seen the SWAPO veterans and orphans also wishing to be recognised as a distinct group with specific needs. In the near future we will see a new group forming of AIDS orphans who have grown up differently with specific disadvantages that need to be addressed to allow them to fully pluck the fruits of our freedom. What culture shall all these groups inherit?

There is a national culture Namibia. Thus we can refer to our language as Namlish with its peculiarities and pronunciations. We are known by our friends and foes on the sport fields as the Brave warriors and the Biltongboere.

In business we refer to the marketing process. It starts with an analysis of the present and then moves to develop a strategy. In marketing it is recognised that to provide the best product for the customer you need to segment the market. Tools such as the Living Standards Measurement are used to focus our marketing efforts. A typical LSM would include age, gender, race or cultural group and income. (Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) household surveys have become an important tool in measuring and understanding poverty in developing countries.)

The people of Namibia are the customer. To serve our people better we must recognise our difference not only in gender or language but also in race. The census in Namibia must measure the race and culture embraced by each resident in future.

The tertiary education institutes in Namibia must then participate in research focussing on cultural, racial, gender, urban-rural economic and livelihood inequalities in Namibia. This ongoing research must continue to ask what the relationship is between the growth and spatial distribution of the public and private economic sectors. It must also encompass the formal and informal economy, the nature of poverty, the characteristics of poor areas, and socio-economic empowerment.