APPROACH

WHY "INANGA"?


The inanga is a zither from the Rwandan tradition, also found in Burundi and Congo. Generally, the performer plays the inanga solo while singing their own texts about historical events, personal experiences or incidents of daily life. The inanga is also used during certain ceremonies. Inspired by this instrument and its musician, INANGA experts seek to contribute to the deep understanding of the social processes they encounter in the course of their work. And why not with a little poetry...

KWA NINI "INANGA"?


Inanga ni gitari kuva mumigenzo yu Rwanda kandi iboneka mu Burundi na Kongo. Mubisanzwe, umuhanzi akora inanga wenyine mugihe aririmba inyandiko ze zerekeye amateka, ibyabaye ku giti cye cyangwa ibyabaye mubuzima bwa buri munsi. Kimwe nuyu mucuranzi nigikoresho cye, experti ba Inanga barashaka gutanga umusanzu mugusobanura gushya kwimibereho ikorerwa. Kandi kuki utari hamwe nubusizi runaka...

Expertise

At INANGA, we view expertise as a decision-making tool instead of an instrument for depoliticizing public policies. Expertise enhances a global vision: it allows our experts to integrate the human and social dimensions of their work instead of dictating a specific technical approach.

INANGA leans heavily on a philosophy of mutual learning; this means we seek to learn as much as we share and we would rather admit it to not knowing something rather than make up an overly complicated technical excuse. We pride ourselves on emphasizing human processes; while we recognize the importance of maintaining an open mind toward development concepts, they cannot replace the advantages of cultural contexts and individual and collective stories, etc.

Mutual Learning

Human Approach & Common Sense

INANGA does not understand complexity to mean using complicated tools or approaches. Instead, complexity is understood as a tool to take into account the different levels and elements of a social process and understanding the perspectives of the different actors involved. As a result, we often ask questions guided by common sense and propose equally sensible solutions and approaches. We are motivated by a desire to understand the different social, economic and political contexts and dynamics that each project entails. In our quest for knowledge, we respect stakeholder’s points of view and practices, even if they are outside of the scope of commonly accepted technical approaches.

INANGA's work aims to accept the complexity of social, political, and economic processes rather than simplify or avoid them. Complexity must not "take the place of simplicity" nor "search for completeness" which often analyses the different elements in isolation, cutting them off from the entire  system. Complex thought is a matter of both distinguishing (but not isolating) the elements and understanding everything that links them together while taking note of the interactions that make up the whole. This is one of the major challenges of our world that is further revealed in the context of crises and global upheavals where we cannot expect to find ready-made or simplistic solutions.

Accepting & Understanding Complexity