Introduction
These days many indigenous African communities including Tanzania are experiencing a wave of development, which inculcates societal changes. These changes increase society’s disparities that reveal themselves in cultural and traditional differences, educational and economic digressions, faith and religious variations, hiatus between upper class and low class and so forth. All these factors construct community diversity.
Definition of a Community and Diversity
In this regard, a community entails a group of people who have chosen to live or work together in pursuit of a common ideal or vision. Most of them share land and/or housing. Diverse communities come in all shapes and sizes and display in their common values, which may be social, academic, economic, spiritual, political and the like. Some communities are rural and some are urban, some are secular and some are spiritually -based and others are both. With all their diversities, every community holds a commitment to living cooperatively, to solving problems nonviolently and sharing their experiences with others.
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a diverse community, which comprises of ethnic, cultural, academic, religious, political and other diversities. Diversity, which signifies the range of many people and things that are different from one another, constitutes the core life of this institution. If it is fully accepted, diversity promotes smooth interactions within its members. Men and women with positions of responsibility at this University collectively shape an integral component of our University Identity. We are therefore obligated in our respective traditions of Tanzania to embrace diversity in order to reach equitable community.
The Role of Diversity at UDSM community
Diversity is to ensure the policies and practices of the University of Dar es Salaam respond to cultural, religious, academic and professional diversity, and give students and employee the opportunity to fully participate, achieve adequate educational and occupational outcomes and develop knowledge and skills that support individual endeavors.
In this regard, the primary objectives are:
People who live together in communal harmony seek the fullness of life for all. Good governance, security and the protection of rights provide the context for social integration within community life, and for addressing existing and emerging social challenges. Such community will result only if all of us act respectfully and responsibly towards one another. Values upon which the viability of UDSM community is built on, should be fiercely safeguarded for common ideal and vision. In so doing, we assume the obligation of embracing one another with our diversity and work tirelessly to bring about harmonious community.
These days many indigenous African communities including Tanzania are experiencing a wave of development, which inculcates societal changes. These changes increase society’s disparities that reveal themselves in cultural and traditional differences, educational and economic digressions, faith and religious variations, hiatus between upper class and low class and so forth. All these factors construct community diversity.
Definition of a Community and Diversity
In this regard, a community entails a group of people who have chosen to live or work together in pursuit of a common ideal or vision. Most of them share land and/or housing. Diverse communities come in all shapes and sizes and display in their common values, which may be social, academic, economic, spiritual, political and the like. Some communities are rural and some are urban, some are secular and some are spiritually -based and others are both. With all their diversities, every community holds a commitment to living cooperatively, to solving problems nonviolently and sharing their experiences with others.
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a diverse community, which comprises of ethnic, cultural, academic, religious, political and other diversities. Diversity, which signifies the range of many people and things that are different from one another, constitutes the core life of this institution. If it is fully accepted, diversity promotes smooth interactions within its members. Men and women with positions of responsibility at this University collectively shape an integral component of our University Identity. We are therefore obligated in our respective traditions of Tanzania to embrace diversity in order to reach equitable community.
The Role of Diversity at UDSM community
Diversity is to ensure the policies and practices of the University of Dar es Salaam respond to cultural, religious, academic and professional diversity, and give students and employee the opportunity to fully participate, achieve adequate educational and occupational outcomes and develop knowledge and skills that support individual endeavors.
In this regard, the primary objectives are:
- To promote a harmonious diverse community through university policies and practices those encounter violence and intolerance and develop mutual understanding.
- To provide enabling learning and teaching environments that enable students and employee from all diverse social life-settings to realize that they function in a multicultural community and their knowledge, skills and values are important for UDSM.
- To promote the spirit of inclusiveness as integral part of diversity, the inclusiveness which embraces individual talents, aptitudes, abilities, etc and boost an open and tolerant attitude towards worldviews, cultural, religious and other differences.
- To strive to advance positive interpersonal relationships, this takes into account effective communication with all community members by encouraging active participation in the life of the University.
- To enable its members have greatest opportunity to contribute to, participate in all aspects of University life in accordance with the Constitution of the Land, policies and practices of UDSM.
- To encourage all community members to respect and tolerate each other for who they are, within the context of Constitutional provisions and institutional policies and framework.
People who live together in communal harmony seek the fullness of life for all. Good governance, security and the protection of rights provide the context for social integration within community life, and for addressing existing and emerging social challenges. Such community will result only if all of us act respectfully and responsibly towards one another. Values upon which the viability of UDSM community is built on, should be fiercely safeguarded for common ideal and vision. In so doing, we assume the obligation of embracing one another with our diversity and work tirelessly to bring about harmonious community.