by Sinethemba Dlamini, News Anchor, National Broadcaster, Kingdom of Eswatini
The conversation on the ‘Changing Context for Public Engagement and Global Citizenship Education’ came at a time when I, as a journalist, was trying to find innovative ways on how to effectively do my job under the challenges presented by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has brought about changes to everyday life but this does not in any way make the work that we do less significant. As people working in community development, especially in the non-profit sector, our audiences rely on us more today than they did in the past. My biggest take away from my participation as moderator for the webinar is this: despite what is happening in the world, and regardless of one’s gender, race, social status, affiliation, sexual orientation and other socio-demographic factors, people’s biggest need is to be heard and I cannot emphasize that enough. That for me was the common thread from the presentations made by all the panelists. In order to do the work that we do effectively, we need to listen. We need to have compassion and more importantly, we need to understand that our needs are as diverse as the stars in the sky and kindness an open mind, teachable spirit, and working towards equality remains the most important currency.