Introduction: The Multi-faceted Continent

At the turn of the new millennium, a renewed, sometimes confused, search for meaning and identity affirmation started gathering momentum around the globe. The Chinese are reaching out for the American dream, Africa and Eastern Europe are straining to transform itself into competitive, industrialized world forces, Latin America seeks to reaffirm its socialist aspirations, the Nordic region is trying to balance the challenges of being a competitive region against socio-national institutional demands, and the West is turning to ancient cultures to regain a sense of meaning and well-being. Western humankind is attempting to rediscover its roots in the native cultures that it has suppressed and exterminated, and as the Western world is beginning to reflect upon and question its reality, the so-called developing countries are straining to catch up with the industrialised world. It is within this reshaping of societies, economies and technological infrastructures and institutions, that the issue of regional identity becomes critically important. We see the role of Africa as one that brings back to the world a sense of ancient wisdom, reconnection with the environment, meaning and spirituality — an acknowledgement of the true potential of people, people’s interconnectivity with nature and animals, the resilience of the human race, the strength of diversity and multiculturalism, as well as the raising of awareness of the multiplicity of meaningful perspectives.