Values and evaluation

Resource link

This blog post from Benita Williams focuses on how our perspectives as an evaluator are heavily influenced by the values that we bring with us.  She uses the example of Ubuntu, a Zulu philosophy which literally means “I am what I am because of who we all are” in order to frame her discussion.

"The Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, explained it so:

'A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.'" (Williams, 2011)

Sources

Williams, B. (2011, May 30). [Web log message]. Values and Evaluation. Retrieved from http://mandeblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/values-and-evaluation.html