Seeds of uBuntu

An Eight-Lesson Course on the Basics of uBuntu

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Why this course on the basics of uBuntu?


Rooted in Ancient Africa, uBuntu is regarded as Africa's most precious Spiritual Heritage and gift of oneness and unity to the world. The purpose of this course is to enable as many people as possible to reclaim it, to live it, and to spread it's seeds widely.


SEEDS of uBuntu is also an answer to the urgent call for uBuntu in the world.


When we watch and listen closely we will see and hear the call for uBuntu on the one hand, through our broken connections and the many tragic ways in which this manifests in the world...



... and on the other hand, through many wonderful uBuntu practices in South Africa and Africa as a whole, and also, through the many voices of people who have come to know uBuntu as the pathway to the healing of our broken connections.

Those who have a deeper understanding of uBuntu are keen to share their belief in uBuntu as the answer for us to know Who We Really Are, to how we may reach our Highest Potential, and as the key to the answers to our common challenges. With uBuntu revolving around our inextricable inter-relatedness, interconnection, and interdependence at the core, uBuntu is seen as that a universal idea which will unleash our awesome ingenuity and inspire us to co-create a better tomorrow; a single-pivotal-idea with all the power to ‘move the world’ as Archimedes believed…a simple idea with enormous implications.


Voices for uBuntu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “uBuntu is respected and praised the world over by people from all walks of life. This respect for uBuntu speaks to the highest praise an African would give someone in recognition of his/her uBuntu: "Yu, u nobuntu. Hey, so and so has uBuntu!”

Dr Mamphela Ramphele: “We are here to invite you all to rediscover and live the values that made us a great nation. We are here to make sure that uBuntu becomes again a way of life and ensure that every South African feels valued because they are human. We are here to ensure that being human must again become this most important status.”

Nelson Mandela. “As with other aspects of its heritage, African traditional religion is increasingly recognized for its contribution to the world. No longer seen as despised superstition which had to be superseded by superior forms of belief, today, its enrichment of humanity's spiritual heritage is acknowledged. The spirit of uBuntu - that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other human beings - is not a parochial phenomenon, but has added globally to our common search for a better world.”

Barbara Nussbaum: "In essence, uBuntu - an Nguni word from South Africa addresses our interconnectedness, our common humanity, and the responsibility to each other that flows from our connection. The eclipse of uBuntu has darkened the spirit of modern-day African political systems. However, imagine the potential of uBuntu's sunlight where it to be embraced as a vital part of the African renaissance, or even as Africa's contribution to help a fragmented divided world."

Late Johann Broodryk: "An uBuntu person - like Nelson Mandela, lives basic values like humanness, caring and sharing, respect and compassion to the fullest. The ideal uBuntu person possesses all the following uBuntu virtues and is described as kind, generous, living in harmony, friendly, modest, helpful, humble and happy. When mankind embraces and lives uBuntu values, it will be manifested in the greatest individual and communal happiness all over the globe. Let's go for it!"

Pope John Paul II: "The essential aspects of African culture are a vision of the world where the sacred is central, a deep awareness of the link between Creator and nature, a great respect for all life, a sense of family and of community that blossoms into an open and joyful hospitality, reverence for dialogue as a means of settling differences and sharing insights, spontaneity and the joy of living - are expressed in poetic language, song and dance."

Late Dr. Mfuniselwa John Bhengu: "Humanity is at a crossroads. A new world philosophy is needed; a world philosophy capable of creating a new era of constructive relationships. This world philosophy will emerge as people begin to get their direction from uBuntu."


The challenge in searching for and learning about uBuntu

In spite of the resounding call for uBuntu, unfortunately, to find basic information about uBuntu has not been all that easy for a number of reasons:

  • uBuntu is a Consciousness that comes from an oral tradition (stories, song and proverbs) that has been passed on over thousands of years as a way of being and as a way of living.
  • Although uBuntu is practical it is also abstract.
  • uBuntu suffered a great blow with the coming of the colonizers and the missionaries to Africa who wanted to ‘civilize’ and evangelize the people of Africa; robbing them in the process from their ancient African Spirituality in which uBuntu originates.
  • The transferring of uBuntu was further stunted by many years of Apartheid.
  • To get into the depth and the true wisdom of uBuntu takes a lot of research and commitment. Most of what has been written about uBuntu is found in intellectual and academic papers and some recent books, that are not readily available.

The uBuntu Civics Academy School and this basic course on uBuntu is a result of the research of around 16 years, and many years of grappling with uBuntu. As far as known, this course and school of uBuntu is the only of its kind for citizens.

Course description

Seeds of uBuntu consists of eight short video lectures (approximately one hour in total) that cover some of the most basic information on uBuntu. The aim of the course is to make it possible for as many people as possible to learn about uBuntu, to reclaim it and to spread the seeds of this Universal Unity Consciousness that is uniquely lived and expressed in Africa; ultimately to play a role in creating the world that we have all been dreaming of.

”//hapo ge//hapo tama/ haohasib dis tamas ka I bo”:
A dream is not a dream until it is a dream of the community. ~ Khoisan proverb.

Originating in the Ancient Spirituality of Africa, uBuntu is the ‘Original Vision’ of peaceful and prosperous coexistence of the people of this beautiful continent that has been passed on from generations to generations to where we are today.

The Seeds of uBuntu course is a gift that we hope many will accept and pass on to others. It is an independent home viewing course that forms the basis of other uBuntu Civics Academy courses and workshops.


Some of the regular basic questions asked about uBuntu by people (locally as well as from other parts of the world) that we seek to answer in this short course on uBuntu:

  • What is uBuntu? Where does is come from? What does it mean and how does it work?
  • What does it mean when Archbishop Desmond Tutu says: "Hey, so and so has uBuntu!?"
  • How do I recognize uBuntu and how can I apply uBuntu in my own life, family and community?
  • How can uBuntu help to address our common challenges?



 

Generally about this course


The main purpose of the course is to bring uBuntu to the heart and mind of as many people as possible.


The course is informative and inspirational.


The course gives people a glimpse into African spirituality, symbols, culture and practice.


The course is designed around the ideas that our lives are created through our perception of the world (our worldview) and that change happens from the inside out.


Related to the previous point, the course opens a space in which people are able to question their view on the world and to define or redefine who they are… to see the world differently perhaps… through ‘the other.’


uBuntu grows through life experience and by attaining new perspectives. It is a life-long endeavor and takes time and effort. This course is a first step in reclaiming and living uBuntu that has suffered great neglect and it is an introduction to the life-long endeavor of uBuntu.

Who is this course for?


This course is for anyone who feels called to know more about uBuntu at a basic level.

  • Since uBuntu is a Consciousness and a Way of Being, it is part of our everyday lives and in all spheres of life. uBuntu is therefore at play in our approach to business and economics, education, justice, nature and the environment, relations, spirituality, science, etc. It is at play in how we express ourselves through arts, sport and culture. uBuntu is the key to the answers to our questions around issues of gender, peace, social cohesion, our common and national identity, family and community ties, parenting, human and social development, restitution, matters of discrimination,etc. Because it provides essential foundational insight into who we are as human beings from the uBuntu perspective, this course will be of value to people and organizations that are involved in these areas.

  • The course is for those who would like to know more about the Soul and the Essence of Africa.
  • This course is the answer to those who have the following sentiments:
    • “We are looking for the one thing that would unite us (as a country and as the people of the world…”
    • “We should inform ourselves with regards to our African Spirituality…..”

Course outline


The Seeds of uBuntu course contain the following lectures:

Lesson 1. Call for uBuntu

Lesson 2. Worldviews

Lesson 3. Origins, Meanings and Definitions of uBuntu

Lesson 4. The Universal Laws of uBuntu

Lesson 5. Values and Principles

Lesson 6. Formal Presence of uBuntu in South African Society

Lesson 7. Cultural Expression of uBuntu

Lesson 8. Growing, Nurturing and Sharing uBuntu

Your Instructor


Anna-Mari Pieterse
Anna-Mari Pieterse

Anna-Mari Pieterse is well in South Africa as well as outside of South Africa for her passion for uBuntu and her relentless efforts over many years, when it comes to raising consciousness for uBuntu that she regards as 'Africa's most precious Spiritual Heritage and Gift of Oneness to the World.'

Whilst the question of what 'being human' meant has been a constant part of Anna- Mari's life, her enquiry into this question was taken to another level however through her studies of the African Worldview that formed part of her studies for her degree in Counselling Psychology, and when she became the Coordinator for Humanity's Team in South Africa and a member of the Humanity's Team Worldwide Core Team in 2005. With Oneness being the core Spiritual and operating principal of Humanity's Team, the questions of the meaning of being human and of our underlying Oneness merged into her full-time involvement in the world of uBuntu. Anna-Mari wanted to know what these ideas meant through the mirror of the African Worldview and through uBuntu, and to share it with the world.

Unfortunately, information about uBuntu was not all that easy to find at the time. Anna-Mari found that uBuntu – our ancient ‘Philosophy of Origins and Being' as it is referred to by Dr. Mathole Motshekga, had on a grand scale faded into intellectual academic scripts, some by-the-way mentioning from a podium, a buzzword… a catch phrase, another name for a new business venture…. scattered… a dream nevertheless, in the hearts of many – including that of her own.

In this Eight Lesson (approximately 1 hour) course on the Basics of uBuntu, Anna-Mari provides essential information that comes from fifteen years of full time involvement in and research into uBuntu, with this, not only giving uBuntu a great chance to be appreciated by you, but also making it possible for you to have a whole new perspective on yourself and the world!


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What languages is the course available in?
Currently the course is available in English only, but it will become available in iSiZulu as well as Sepedi as soon as possible. In time to come the course will be available in the eleven official languages of South Africa.
How does the course work?
To complete the course is very simple. Once you have registered, all the course lessons become available for you to view at your own pace. The total length of the course is approximately 1 hour with the length of the different lessons varying between 7 and 9 minutes.
What is the price of the course?
The Seeds of uBuntu Course is free of charge. The uBuntu Civics Academy School also offers other courses, retreats and tailor-made workshops. For more information and a quotation, please send an email to [email protected].
How can I reach customer support for this workshop?
If you have any questions, or encounter any difficulties registering, please contact us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help you!

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