08/12/2025
Anne-Lise Bure-Shepherd addresses the participants attending the 'non-Governmental organisations in African countries and their role in the development of Civil Society.
Although the conference was addressing the Gender Aspect at this time, Anne-Lise spoke to her 35 years in Civil Society work in South Africa with special reference to Freedom in Education and the unique contribution to the World through the Spirit of Ubuntu.
Here is a short extract from her address which followed the chairpersons opening address to the Conference.:
Restoring the First Person through the Spirit of Ubuntu
'In a fragmented world where individuality often turns into isolation, the African philosophy of Ubuntu whispers an ancient truth: “I am because we are.” It is a call to remember that personhood is not a solitary achievement but a shared becoming. To restore the first person—the “I”—we must first rediscover the we.
Ubuntu does not dissolve the self into the crowd; it restores the self through communion. It teaches that the spirit of a person shines most fully in relationship—with others, with creation, and with the divine breath that animates all life. In this sense, spiritual restoration begins not in the silent chamber of the ego, but in the living rhythm of community, compassion, and mutual recognition.
In the spirit of Ubuntu, dignity is not granted by status or possession but awakened through connection. The first person—the authentic self—emerges when we see our reflection in another’s humanity. When I affirm your worth, I reclaim my own. When I forgive, I am healed. When I give, I am made whole.
This is not merely an ethical idea; it is a spiritual revolution. It calls us to reimagine identity as belonging, to exchange competition for coexistence, and to honour life as a shared sacred trust. Through Ubuntu, the fragmented self becomes one with the living web of being. And thus, the I is restored—not as an isolated voice, but as a note in the eternal chorus of we.
Closing:
May we, wherever we stand in the world, remember that the path to restoring our humanity begins with recognizing it in one another.'
