All set for OLDN 2024 Conference

Dr. Justine Chinoperekweyi

All is set for the Organisation Leadership and Development Network (OLDN) 2024 Conference, which will take place in Gaborone, Botswana, next week.

The flagship event is anticipated to draw attendees from more than ten countries.

The event will take place on August 28, 2024 and runs up to August 30, 2024.

The Zimbabwean delegation will be led by Lucy Marowa, CEO of National Blood Service Zimbabwe.

A delegation of over 20 practitioners will be travelling from Zimbabwe.

Following the SADC Industrialization Week, Organisation Development (OD) practitioners have been interacting with national and regional players to understand organization development needs of various organizations.

This convening of national, regional, and international practitioners with a strong interest in sustainable, regenerative, and just society, will once again aim to facilitate sustainable transformation and innovation as created out of the Harare event in 2023.

We recognize the need for a new leadership and business paradigm in Zimbabwe, one that advances the adoption of human-centered designs, prioritizes co-creation of interventions, and drives sustainability and regeneration.

At the successful OLDN 2023 Conference, held during August 2023, in Harare, the Minister of Skills Audit and Development, Professor Paul Mavhima,was inspired to invite the Zimbabwean Organisation Development (OD) Practitioners present to facilitate Stakeholder Consultation Workshops for the Ministry.

Utilising Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths based framework, to convene the Conference assisted the Minster in reaching his conclusion that Organisation Development would significantly assist in the transformation of Zimbabwe.

To date, the Ministry facilitated 39 Consultative sessions covering ministries, departments, agencies, and the 10 provinces in Zimbabwe.

OD practitioners also designed and are facilitating an impactful ‘Female Leadership Programme’ for The City of Harare.

To amplify the successes of the 2023 Conference that was held in Harare, Zimbabwe, and to further develop insights and initiatives to facilitate transformational change and development, OLDN 2024 Conference and Doctoral Consortium will be held from the 28-30 August in Gaborone, Botswana.

As an evidence-based network, we are proud to be working on two amazing initiatives:

• Co-creating a Regenerative Africa Initiative, and (2) Reflections of Africa Indigenous Paradigms.

The aim is to enrich leadership, business and organization development capabilities by manifesting whole system thinking.

Democratizing systems change through embracing the cultural lens is at the core of our work.

By doing so we continue our quest to amplify existing strengths, rewire the leadership mindset and calling for human-centered designs for individual, organizational, and societal transformation.

In addition, a consideration of the environment/planet is at the core of OLDN Conferences.

Against this background, the ‘co-creating regenerative Africa initiative’ is ongoing.

Dr. Justine Chinoperekweyi is an OD scholar and is the CEO  of Centre for Organisation Leadership and  Development.