The Dialogue Programme

About the Dialogue Programme

The Nelson Mandela Foundation seeks to contribute to a just society by promoting the vision and work of its Founder and convening dialogue around critical social issues. 

Our Founder, Mr Nelson Mandela, based his entire life on the principle of dialogue and the art of listening and speaking to others; it is also the art of getting others to listen and speak to each other. 

Drawing on the contribution that he, his colleagues and his comrades made towards creating our fledgling democracy, the NMF’s Centre of Memory and Dialogue encourages people to enter into dialogue – often about difficult subjects – in order to address the challenges we face today.

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News

Head of the Dialogue Programme Mothomang Diaho, left, with participants of the community conversation in Atteridgeville

Healing starts with understanding history

June 26, 2009 – The need for healing to overcome the divisions of the past emerged as the central concern at a community conversation in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, on June 20.

Organised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation in partnership with the Sonke Gender Justice Network, the Jesuit Refugee Services, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the National Children’s and Violence Trust, and the Somali Association of South Africa, the community conversation in Atteridgeville was the first of a series of community dialogues in Gauteng province to promote social cohesion in communities affected by violence and xenophobia.

Seventh Annual Lecture public participation announcement

June 22, 2009 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation launched its public participation invitation process today to attend this year’s Seventh Annual Lecture on July 11, 2009, at 2:15pm, at the Johannesburg City Hall through various print media and the Foundation’s website.

This year’s Annual Lecture will be delivered by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Professor Muhammad Yunus to deliver Seventh Annual Lecture

May 27, 2009 – This year’s Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, scheduled for July 11, will be delivered by Professor Muhammad Yunus.

The founder and managing director of Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be focusing on “investment in the marginalised as a way of creating wealth and combating poverty”.

Bishop Robin Phillips listening to a group discussing a historical timeline

Cato Manor talks social cohesion

May 26, 2009 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Centre of Memory and Dialogue, through its social cohesion programme, works on delving deeper into the underlying causes of fears and perceptions of “the other”. It seeks to convene communities and catalyse leadership to create sustainable solutions in Africa and indeed, in the world.

As part of this continuing engagement with communities, the Foundation convened a community conversation in Cato Manor, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday May 23, 2009. The event also acknowledged Africa Month and Africa Day (May 25), which commemorates the establishment of the Organization of African Unity.

Community conversations teams refine their techniques

May 22, 2009 – Community conversation teams gathered from around the country, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, to continue their training in the Community Capacity Enhancement (CCE) methodology (link to downloadable PDF).

The six-day workshop, from Tuesday, May 19, to Sunday, May 24, looked to gather feedback from the teams on the facilitation of the community conversations to date, and to review the theory and application of the CCE methods and tools used in the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s community conversations programmes.

Residents map out a way to live together in harmony

May 6, 2009– “If a person belongs to a different tribe or party, or if they express a different opinion, it doesn’t mean that they are your enemy. We need to understand one another,” said one of the participants at a community conversations workshop in Yeoville, Johannesburg today.

This conversation was the second held in Yeoville, a multicultural suburb where many immigrants live. It forms part of a series of conversations about social cohesion that will be convened around South Africa by the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The facilitators and community members took up issues that were raised at the previous conversation and explored them further.

Activities leading up to the Seventh Annual Lecture by Prof Muhammad Yunus

Please find below a programme of activities involving Prof Muhammad Yunus which will culminate in his presentation of the Seventh Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture.

Prof Yunus is a Nobel Peace Prize winner who founded Grameen Bank. He is an activist for human and women’s rights, a founding member of the Global Elders, an economist, a prolific writer and a champion of the poor.

Foreigner language: sensitising the police and media

April 9, 2008 – A need for sensitivity around the use of language when reporting on foreigners in South Africa was highlighted after a short but intense dialogue held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation today.

The Foundation convened a one-hour discussion, in collaboration with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), to discuss the use of language when reporting on foreigners in South Africa.

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