EUTM-MOZ Cultural Advisor

The position of the Cultural Advisor (CULAD) or Culture Specialist as he or she is known in the Anglosphere, is indeed a very recent position. Unlike the Gender Advisor, the Cultural Advisor up to this day is not an integral part of every EU or UN mission. The genesis of the CULAD stems back from the early 2000s, after US troops have invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. US Armed Forces, without any doubt, had much superior fire power and swiftly won over Taliban and the Iraqi Army in a matter of weeks. The difficult part was yet to come though. Even though success on the battlefield was swift and decisive, the knowledge of the local cultures, customs and traditions was lacking en masse. In order to gain a deeper understanding of Afghan and Iraqi culture, the US Armed Forces came up with the position of CULAD. A lot of money and resources were spent on training these comrades, that would serve as the link between the US Armed Forces and the local population. Fast forward 20 years and many other countries have initiated similar programs. Especially Armed Forces in the Anglosphere posses superb programs on cultural advisory and invest a considerate amount of money in the training of CULADs.

So, what does a CULAD do? First and foremost: read! Before a CULAD is dispatched to the mission area, he or she gets to know the very country of destination through literature. Hours after hours are being spent, to soak up as much knowledge of the future host country. In addition to this, language training is of vital importance. Studies have shown over and over again, that when someone puts up the effort and communicates with people in their mother tongue, an immediate trustworthy relationship is established. In our day and age, where the language of Shakespeare is undoubtably the world's lingua franca, one should never underestimate the power of a second, third or fourth language proficiency. English might help you enter the house; but local language leads you to the dining room.

Once the CULAD has arrived to the mission area, it is now time to put his knowledge and skills to the test. Extensive travelling, meeting with local dignitaries, engage with civil society, exchanging thoughts with fellow comrades, diplomats etc., are the daily bread of a CULAD in the mission area. In comparison to so many other positions in military missions, the CULAD has the rare privilege of occupying a position that has not yet been fully defined. Therefore, every single CULAD can put the emphasis of his work on a different topic. At EUTM the CULAD has a double hatted role; meaning that on the one hand he advises the Mission Force Commander and staff of EUTM and on the other hand training is being conducted with our Mozambican partners. The training CULAD holds with the Mozambican soldiers deals with cultural awareness. In a Hegelian dialectical approach, initially the differences of the various ethnic, linguistic and religious groups in Mozambique are being discussed. After that, the focus is put on all the communalities of Mozambicans from Rovuma to Maputo are being highlighted. So far, the Mozambican comrades have responded very positively to the training conducted by EUTM.