Summary and Prospects for LCS Impact

Altogether, it was a very successful journey packed with rich, informative set of meetings in a variety of communities of different cultural contexts. It was not only a 'fact-finding' visit, but definitely also a 'feeling-finding' visit - we had strong unique experinces and returned with new friends and special memories. We were priviliged to have had the facilitation of the Christensen Fund and the representatives of projects which they sponsor in Ethiopia to be quickly in a meaningful dialogue with community elders, representatives and local cultural associations.

Darout (representing ILCA) and the LCS team discussed some of several possibilities for further cooperation, laying solid common ground. In discussion with Darout, LCS proposed various project ideas, eg establishing story centers at schools and villages where the Mali and Peru experiences of LCS could be replicated, combined with ILCA’s data-gathering methods; Combinations with local community radio; implementing digital 'hooks' to attach narratives and media to craftwork such as weaving (LCS is already developing these concepts); establishing village story networks e.g. between the weavers’ original villages and their places of residence, say in Addis; and a cultural export scheme in which stories and other folklore items are published in print or via digital distribution routes and exposed via translation for other cultures.

Concluding, the team agreed to investigate each idea in more detail and also assess the many other possible ways of community empowerment and cultural revitalization that had become apparent during the visit.

Postscript... 2010
This year LCS is grateful once again to The Christensen Fund for sponsoring pilot community work which we have now started in the Konso region, after the exploratory visit described in this blog.