A culture that despises creativity (The short story of a creative engineer).

Cultural shock is not always a negative thing, and I would like to share, here, a positive experience. Having lived outside of my home country, Zambia, for the better part of the last two years, I've realized that my worldview is strongly influenced by my native culture. I hold many beliefs and ideals, knowingly and unknowingly, that are founded on nothing but Zambian tradition. There is obviously nothing wrong with that. We all have different backgrounds, traditions and beliefs. However, one often has to be a fish out of water to notice that they have been wet the whole time. The paradigm shift we experience when we are exposed to other cultures, and to alternative ways of thinking and doing, can be extremely challenging.

One of my greatest surprises about relocating to the United Kingdom has been the difference in attitude towards creativity. I grew up in a culture that does not respect creatives. I suppose that this owes itself, somehow, to economic factors, such as the lack of job security and low income for people who do creative work: painters, musicians, authors, and even entrepreneurs. Strangely, Zambians (and dare I say, Africans) are very artistic people. We love music, and dance, and poetry, and storytelling, and food, and all these things that make life beautiful. Sadly, however, this love for art does not translate to a respect for artists. Artists are often seen as unreliable, unserious, and rebellious. There is no denying that this reputation, to some extent, has been rightfully earned. However, that excuse is as unhelpful and harmful as any other bias. And when it comes to choosing careers and making a living, creativity is seen more as a risk than an opportunity. Many parents would rather have their kids aspiring to be doctors, engineers, accountants and lawyers, than pianists, authors and painters. But this idea that “art just doesn’t put food on the table” is extremely flawed. Art is not a luxury but a necessity. Creativity is essential to solve the many challenges that we face in the developing world. It is something that must be harnessed and nurtured, not ridiculed and despised.?

I have always been very creative. Growing up, I loved music, poetry and stories. I loved listening to African folk stories, and both exotic and indigenous mythology. However, I also loved mathematics and physics, and I had a passion for civil engineering. In 2016, I found myself at the heart of this divide. I was in my 4th year at the University of Zambia and studying to be a civil engineer. I was also an active spoken word poet, and I had not only won an award for my spoken poetry, competing with the best poets in the country, but I had also been actively involved as one of the pioneers of the Zambian poetry scene. However, I quickly noticed that while on the one hand, my “poetry comrades” respected me for being “the poet who is an engineer”, engineers did not hold me in very high regard. In fact, some outrightly despised me.

I remember one senior engineer who asked me, “how can you be an engineer and do poetry?” I became ashamed of my extracurricular activities, and even after I graduated and started working as an engineer I kept my weekend activities hidden from my colleagues for fear that I would not be taken seriously as a professional engineer. So, during the week, I spoke and acted like an engineer, and after hours, I wore my creative hat. Inevitably, my two worlds were bound to collide, and either one would have to suffer, or both would have to learn to co-exist and thrive together. But this would not be easy. For instance, one potential employer mentioned to me in passing that they didn’t think that I was serious about my career as an engineer, otherwise I wouldn’t be wasting my time with poetry. Sadly, I bought the narrative, and I chose to bury my creativity.

Fast forward to 2022, as I was reading for my MSc. at IHE Delft, I immediately realized that many of the lecturers and leaders at the university that I held in high regard were not just typical engineers. They could “think with both sides of their brains”.? I started to question the notions that I had accepted as true. I also spent hours and hours reading research papers, and before I knew it, the many years of writing and reading poetry and fiction began to pay off. Long story short,I eventually had the great privilege to share the best Masters Thesis Award in 2022, and I have no doubt that without the skills that I learned from writing poetry and performing spoken word poetry, I would not be where I am today. I say this not to shine a spotlight on myself (because frankly, if I have quit on my creativity and bought the lie several times). On the contrary, I say this to encourage my fellow creatives who may be on a path that seems unconventional: do not let people who do not know you despise your gifts and your talents, and do not be ashamed to be your authentic self.

It was a pleasant surprise when my current employers highlighted that poetry was actually a positive highlight on my CV rather than a negative. It was aways a line that I added cautiously, but I am grateful to be a part of a team at Aguaconsult Ltd. that values and nurtures creativity. As a WASH consultant today, when people ask me what I do for a living, I am proud to say “I talk to people, I read, I think, and I write.” I will always be proud to call myself an engineer, but creative work will always have a special place in my heart.

“Whatever it is that your hands find to do, do it with all your heart” - Ecclesiastes 9:10.

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