A few of my loyal blog readers know I went to stay with the Zulus for a few days in
KwaZulu-Natal in
South Africa. Yes, that's true. And they absolutely want me to write about it because their fantasy world ran wild. I even heard something about the adventures of
Tintin with
The 
Great King Shaka Zulu. I'll tell you about my experiences.
I was in
Durban for a good cause, to attend the opening of the
73rd IFLA General Conference and Council in the new
ICC Durban Arena. One of the world's most impressive new convention facilities. It was
Nadine Williams of
Durban Africa and
Linda Ngcipe of
Tourism KwaZulul-Natal who convinced me to travel to the north of the province for a few days after the congress to visit
Shakaland, among other things. The Zulus make up the largest community in South Africa and nowhere else in the country is a traditional culture as pronounced as it is in this region.
Do you remember the TV series
'Shaka Zulu' from 1984 that was filmed here? In Shakaland you can still see the set and witness demonstrations of traditional Zulu custums. Initially I thought 'another typical tourist attraction', which it is, but the director of
Shakaland Protea Hotel made me change my mind. He had something in store for me: a new programme for incentive groups. A Shakaland Teambuilding programme, completely customizable, under the watchful eye of the village chief (photo right). I've learnt how to seduce young water carying Zulu girls, but a lot more than that.
Umlabalaba: an ancient Zulu strategy game whose team members themselves
become the ‘pawns’… Trust your instincts: a blindfold game born of hunters having to make judgments in pitch darkness… Running rabbit: a hunting game that requires judgments to spear a moving ‘mock rabbit’ running down a hill… and a lot more. And believe me, I didn't hit a single rabbit! But I kinda felt like I was in heaven. After all, Zulu means 'heaven'.
Now I definitely know, the best congresses are made by excellent speakers. The better the speaker, the better the congress. The past 4 years I’ve fallen silent 4 times during a congress. The first time was in the year 2004 when The Most Revd. Desmond Mpilo Tutu gave a speech during the opening of the ICCA congress. During those two hours it was as quiet as the night with the moon and her stars. His message was clear: equality brings life. A second time was in November 2007 during the Holland Association Symposium in Amsterdam. Professor van Grieken spoke of the miracle of the first republic in the world: Holland during the regency period. You could hear a mosquito fly in the hall. His message was: democracy creates prosperity. A third time, also in 2007, was during the opening of the IFLA congress in Durban. Justice Albie Sachs, the white attorney who lost his arm during an attack, spoke about his battle against appartheid. It was as calm as the wind inside the hall. His message was: freedom stimulates growth. 
And last month in Singapore during AIPC’s 50th General Assembly it was as quiet as a mouse when Professor Kishore Mahbubani entertained the attending crowd for an hour on The 
New Asian Hemisphere. And do you know what stuck during his keynote speech? The story of the black and white cat. Whether a cat is white or black, grey or brown, it doesn’t matter, as long as it catches mice. This also appeals to humans. Create a world where everyone can use their brain capacity. That would be a rich country! Even an Untouchable in the Indian caste system could grow to become a director of the National Bank. I know places where minds are locked away. The people in these places know lots of misery and all this because constraint of freedom leads to poverty.
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