Dayanand Naidoo - The Art of Diplomacy

Looking at Dayanand Naidoo, what is obviously seen is a stellar diplomat with a successful working career of many years behind him, but what is often forgotten is the story of the work leading up to where he stands today. After I caught up with him about his childhood, working career and all of the years in between, I realised that the way that you choose to look at life has a huge impact on your life story. As Oscar Wilde once said, “It takes great courage to see the word in all its tainted beauty and still love it”, but somehow, Dayanand has found a balance, not only seeing the world, but also playing an active role in changing it for the better.

Dayanand spent his childhood in an environment which was not as privileged as others during Apartheid-era South Africa, and this instilled a sense of humility and perseverance which began to lay the foundations for the rest of his life. “The difference in South Africans,” he says, “is that many of us came from poor families; places that we remember. Growing up, we didn’t have running water in the house. Up until I was ten years old, we were always renting from other people. If you come from this background, you realise that you can’t take anything for granted, even now.”

During a time when South Africa was still in the heart of its segregation, Dayanand realised that he wanted to make a change and take steps towards integration, and when the chance arose to work in a truly integrated government, he leaped at the opportunity. Here, he could pursue his passion of making a difference to promote South Africa and begin to explain to the rest of the world that despite its problems, we had so much potential to move forward. He accredits his inspiration to seeing the talent that the South African people had to offer. With his zeal of travel as motivation, Dayanand also fell in love with the type of work that being a diplomat entailed. “It’s so diverse and the ability to interact with amazing, talented people from all walks of life, is honestly just fantastic,” he gushed.

When he first began his work as a South African Foreign Affairs official, he was posted to South Africa’s diplomatic mission in Mauritius, and then to India in 1996, where he worked until 1999. Between the time when he returned from India, until he was posted to Chad in 2013, he was based in South Africa, playing a pivotal role in the co-ordination of many South African events, such as the World Summit Against Racism, the African Union Summit, and the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. Dayanand was also appointed Head of South Africa’s Consular Division in 2004, where he worked with many different cases involving South Africans from all over the world, from tsunamis and kidnappings to aiding South African citizens in jail.

But what is by far the most striking thing about Dayanand Naidoo, is his all-encompassing humility and love for his job. “I think my title as ambassador is just that… a title. Everything is about how you engage and interact with people, and if you let a position get the better of you, then you’ll never truly achieve that.” Dayanand is someone that is just as comfortable in his business suit and tie in Mauritius as in his shorts, sitting on the carpet with all of the shopkeepers in Chad. He has worked with great stalwarts such as former president Nelson Mandela and has achieved so much during his career, yet he still sees himself as that little boy growing up with a dream.