The Botswana Dialogue brings African humanitarian and spiritual leaders, scholars and healers into conversation with international neuroscientists about the African worldview of Botho/Ubuntu, during five sessions followed by a concert performance by Vusi Mahlasela.
Defining humanity through our connections with one another, Botho/Ubuntu is expressed as: “I am because you are.” Examining African values and healing practices in light of new scientific research on social connection and trauma, the Dialogue in Botswana explores the potential of Botho/Ubuntu as a framework for healing the legacy and trauma of wars and colonialism, and advancing social justice and women’s equality.
The purpose of this Dialogue is fourfold: 1) To explore the indigenous African ethic of Botho/Ubuntu as it relates to Buddhist ideas of interdependence and compassion; 2) To examine current scientific understanding of how our interconnectedness impacts one another for good or ill; 3) To understand how Botho/Ubuntu can be distorted to maintain cultural norms and systems of power that lead to oppression of, and violence against, women, children and other marginalized groups; and 4) To envision how our connectedness can heal division, forgive profound transgression and point toward a richer understanding of what it means to be human.
LOCATION: Gaborone, Botswana
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Program (pdf)
Program Sessions
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Welcome
Moderators: Lily Mafela
Panel: Rupert Hambira, Raphael Sikwane, Canon Mpho Tutu Van Furth, Susan Bauer-Wu, Seretse Khama Ian Khama, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Lily Mafela
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session I – The Concept of Botho/Ubuntu: its Expression and Resilience in the Lived Experiences of Batswana and Other Indigenous Africans
Moderators: Lily Mafela
Panel: Ponatshego H.K. Kedikilwe, Lily Mafela
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session I – The History and Contemporary Frame of Botho/Ubuntu: Philosophical and Sociocultural Complexities
Michael Onyebuchi Eze, Lily Mafela
Topics: Compassion & Empathy | Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session II – Traditional Healer as Medium for Addressing Afflictions and Restoration of Wholistic Order within Botho/Ubuntu Cosmology
Mandaza Kandemwa, Lily Mafela
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change | Stress & Resilience
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session III – The Impact of Trauma on the Brain: Structural Changes and Behavioral Outcome
Rebecca Shansky, Theo Sowa
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Compassion & Empathy | Stress & Resilience
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session III – I am Because we are: Dynamic and Embodied Brain-to-brain Coupling as a new Framework for Social Interaction Between People
Uri Hasson, Theo Sowa
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Compassion & Empathy | Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session IV – The Biology of Care and Conflict in Groups
Carsten K.W. De Dreu, Theo Sowa
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session IV – The Role of Botho/Ubuntu in Modern Responses to Children’s and Women’s Rights Issues in Africa
Graça Machel, Theo Sowa
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Contemplative Wisdom | Interconnection | Self & Other | Social Change
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session V – Reparative Humanism: Exploring the Meaning of Ubuntu
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Lily Mafela, Theo Sowa
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Education | Interconnection | Social Change | Stress & Resilience
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session V – Botho/Ubuntu: Deepening Values for Intergenerational Continuity
Grace Amponsah, Lily Mafela, Theo Sowa
Audio AvailableVideo Available
2017 Mind & Life Dialogue XXXII Session
Session V – Botho/Ubuntu as Basis for Intergenerational Dialogue
Donald Molosi, Lily Mafela, Theo Sowa
Audio AvailableVideo Available
