Mandivamba Rukuni

Rukuni, Mandivamba

Radical Welcome: Rethinking Access, Belonging, and the Politics of Invitation

Professor Mandivamba (Mandi) Rukuni

Director, Professor Mandivamba Rukuni Consultancy, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Radical welcome calls for a fundamental rethinking of access, belonging, and participation within museums and cultural institutions. True welcome extends beyond opening doors to creating spaces where individuals and communities become active participants in shaping narratives, preserving memory, and defining shared futures. Belonging is presented not as a privilege granted through invitation, but as a collective responsibility grounded in mutual recognition, dignity, and shared humanity.

Drawing on the African philosophy of Ubuntu and the principles of indigenous knowledge systems, the speech explores how museums can evolve from repositories of objects into living institutions that foster dialogue, innovation, and social transformation. It highlights the importance of recognizing diverse knowledge systems, strengthening community participation, and connecting cultural heritage to contemporary development. The restoration of cultural artefacts is situated within the broader context of restoring relationships, agency, and historical justice.

The speech further links culture to human capability and rural industrialization, emphasizing that communities possess knowledge, creativity, and cultural assets that can drive sustainable development. Museums are envisioned as spaces where memory inspires innovation, history informs future generations, and cultural diversity becomes a source of collective strength. Ultimately, radical welcome is presented as a commitment to partnership rather than patronage, encouraging cultural institutions to build inclusive societies in which every community contributes to and shares ownership of humanity’s common future.

Biography:

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Professor Mandivamba (Mandi) Rukuni is a development analyst and strategist in several sectors including agriculture, land reform and resettlement, rural development, business, finance, government, and education. He has vast experience in food security, agricultural policy, land policy and governance, national and international agricultural research systems, and community-based natural resources management.

  • Professor Rukuni is advisor to the Government of Zimbabwe, donor community, UNDP, and the World Bank on land reform and resettlement policy and agriculture.
  • Over the last 20 years, in Africa he has been strategic advisor to the Africa Union on Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP).
  • Support for mainstreaming AUC/AfDB/UNECA Land Policy Initiative (LPI); led development of Guiding Principles for Large Scale Land Based Investments (LSLBI) in Africa.
  • Led drafting of Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa, covering cropping, livestock-pastoral, and food systems, under the auspices of the Forum for the Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
  • Has worked on short term assignments and/or advised the following African governments on agriculture and land: Malawi, Cameroon, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Africa.

Professor Rukuni leads the BEAT Doctoral Academy, among other academic services, and, through research, delivers the PhD on Leadership in Africa’s Development (LAD). An agricultural economist by training, he taught for 20 years at the University of Zimbabwe and during his tenure served as Dean of Agriculture. Following which, he worked for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for 11 years, playing an instrumental role as their Director for African Programs. He has served as a consultant to many organizations, including the European Union, USAID, DFID, CIDA, FAO, AfDB, UNDP, Rockefeller Foundation, Winrock Foundation, McKnight Foundations, among others. He has served on several international boards: CIAT, IFPRI, Institute of Development Studies (Sussex), FAO, and several corporate and parastatal boards in Zimbabwe: Kingdom Bank, Triangle Ltd, Hunyani, Zimsun Hotels, Blue Ribbon Industries, Zimnat Life, Grain Marketing Board, the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, and the Agricultural Research Council.

Other professional areas of interests include leadership, organizational and personal development, and common ground peace initiatives. In 2009, he was co-lead facilitator of the Cabinet Ministerial Retreats supporting the functional establishment of the Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe. He has received several honors and awards including an Honorary Doctoral Degree from the School of the Prophets Institute of Jerusalem and a citation from the Michigan State Congress (both 2008). He was Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into Land Tenure Systems of Zimbabwe, 1993–94, and was nominated in 1990 and 1992 for the Africa Prize for Leadership in the Sustainable End of Hunger. He has published 15 books and over 100 articles.