Mozambique’s President Guebuza on Diversity
Speaking at a rally in Metoro, Mozambique on May 18th, Mozambican President Armando Guebuza argued that both cultural diversity and national unity are important weapons in the fight against poverty. Guebuza stated that Mozambique has many tribes, regions, and races, “But all these differences will only enrich us, and render us more capable of facing the dangers of life and others“. Guebuza asked his audience, „Do you think that it would be beautiful, if all of us here had been born exactly the same?“, arguing that the world needs these differences to render life more attractive, as long as this variety is mobilized to attain the same objective, which is the common social welfare.
Unity among Mozambicans has been the key note of his speeches in all the provinces and districts Guebuza has visited during his current tour of the country. „Mozambicans must not be afraid of their differences, but on the contrary, they must use these differences and study how to attain their common objectives“, he urged.. Guebuza also recalled that Mondlane, who is generally regarded as the founder of Mozambican nationalism, „taught us that the reason for our failures in the past was the division that dominated our relationships“. Diversity practitioners use these kinds of insights and approaches to highlight the importance of both diversity and inclusion as elements of the ‘Propelling Potential Principle’ as Diversity expert Michael Stuber describes the systematic leveraging of differences. He underlines that the concept works for large-scale systems as countries in a similar way as for big corporations, SMEs or small not-for-profit entities.
