Transcultural Research Group arrived in Uganda

The Transcultural Research Group on “Transculturality and Community. A case study on the Hope Development Initiative in Uganda “ has started its field trip to Uganda. Under the lead of LEIZ researcher Dominik Fischer, eight students and alumni of Zeppelin University are spending ten days in the African country to conduct research on site and meet Ugandan experts.

This research project is part of the Transcultural Caravan, a global research and exchange hub run by the Leadership Excellence Institute Zeppelin | LEIZ. It is conducted in cooperation with the Makerere University in Kampala.

The starting point of the research project was the talk of Dr Agnes Atim Apea, founder and CEO of the Hope Development Initiative (HDI), at the Transcultural Leadership Summit 2017 (“Learning about Sub-Saharan Africa”) at Zeppelin University. Her talk gave spontaneously rise to ideas on how to take her thoughts further within the context of transcultural research.

Correspondingly, the interdisciplinary group’s research effort aims at tackling questions of transcultural cooperation and the relating determinants and processes in HDI’s work. A social-entrepreneurship initiative, HDI helps women farmers in northern rural Uganda realize their full potential, based upon the values of the communities and their own ambition. With a view to this purpose, HDI encapsulates several topics relevant for the research agenda pursued by LEIZ, centered upon the notions of culture, leadership and cooperation.

The format of the Transcultural Research Group offers a learning arena to young researchers from diverse cultural and disciplinary backgrounds, with each researcher making a particular contribution to the overall research question. Based on field study, expert interviews and observation, the students aim to describe and analyze features and determinants of transculturality in the contexts of politics, the arts, social entrepreneurship, culture and identity, digitalization, business and leadership. Those insights will be drawn from HDI and its environment.

Against this backdrop, the travel itinerary of the group includes a wide range of activities, meetings and locations to be visited:
After arriving in Kampala, the group visited the office of Dr Agnes Atim Apea before travelling to the rural areas of the Amolatar District where most of HDI’s work is done. Within the communities, the researchers conducted interviews with HDI members and staff, as well as with local stakeholders, among them politicians and community leaders. After returning to Kampala, the group will meet experts such as representatives of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, and will hold a symposium at Makerere University.

We look forward to learning about their experiences after their return! The group’s research and documentation efforts will continue in the coming months. Results will be presented at a Transcultural Research Symposium held by LEIZ at Zeppelin University on November 7th, 2018.

For further information: www.transcultural-caravan.org

Contact: julika.montecinos@zu.de