Delegates at the consultative forum represented business, government and organisations involved in the community dialogues
March 2, 2009 – The aim of the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s community dialogue programmes is to promote social cohesion by creating a safe place in which members of a community can come together to discuss the challenges they face and find sustainable solutions.
It was fitting, therefore, that the Foundation created a space at its buildings today for organisations to discuss the challenges facing certain communities in South Africa after the recent xenophobic attacks.
“Today,” said Mothomang Diaho, the head of the Foundation’s Dialogue Programme, “we must truly engage in dialogue. Many of the people here know more about this area than we do and we would like to hear from you.”
She called on the delegates at this consultative forum to “indicate partnering opportunities in building social cohesion; suggest growth strategies; engage in rigorous debate; share your experiences in engaging communities who have grappled with promoting peaceful coexistence.”
Representatives from a number of organisations, government and business (see list below) came together to find ways in which to promote peaceful coexistence and address the underlying causes of violence that manifested in the recent attacks.
The Foundation has planned a series of community dialogues over the next two years on this theme of peaceful coexistence, said Diaho, so that people can truly listen to each other, empathise, reach out and take responsibility.
“We see this as an important development of our Dialogue Programme,” said the Foundation’s CEO, Achmat Dangor. “In many ways our world has never been as complicated as it is today. Conventional power structures are seemingly struggling to deal with these challenges.
“Our aim is to promote three things: tolerance and mutual respect; social solidarity; and freedom from fear. Xenophobia, or fear of the other, is one aspect of a society lacking in social cohesion,” Dangor added.
The dialogues will use the Community Capacity Enhancement (CCE) methodology, which gives communities the power to identify issues for themselves.
Diaho laid out the skills and tools used in the dialogues to create sustainable solutions in communities by building on the social capital existing within those communities. Inherent in this methodology is the aspect of healing that is going to be a major part during the dialogues.
Lesley Nkosi is one of the facilitators who attended the session
Bea Abrahams, part of the community conversations implementing team, discussed the implementation framework for the dialogues, which are to continue over the next two years. Abrahams noted that this pilot phase, to conclude at the end of October 2010, would be used to “identify and address the underlying causes of anger and frustration in communities affected by recent incidents”.
“We will be using the CCE methodology to facilitate 30 community conversations in five provinces to enable South African and migrant communities to articulate their concerns and find their own innovative solutions,” said Abrahams.
The five provinces and the communities in were chosen on the basis of where attacks have already taken place as well as those communities which could potentially erupt, she added.
A total of six conversations will be held in each of the five selected provinces, starting in Mpumalanga and Gauteng in April this year.
Once the reasoning behind the conversations and the proposed implementation plan had been laid out, the floor was opened to the representatives for comments, criticisms and shared experiences.
Issues surrounding the role of arts and culture in the dialogues, the role of the media and the appropriateness of targeting the communities rather than other key stakeholders were raised and discussed.
It was also noted that increased migration to South Africa was a strong possibility given the recent socio-economic climate and should be kept in mind throughout this dialogue series.
Diaho acknowledged the challenges facing the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its existing partner members in implementing this dialogue series.
“What we have presented here is the beginning of the solution,” said Diaho. “We are not going to be able to solve such entrenched problems in one round of conversations.
“We are in it for the long haul.
“Where we have made breakthroughs in the HIV dialogues is when the communities buy into the programme and own it.”
The Foundation held a series of conversations last year in which communities discussed HIV prevention and care.
But it was noted that in order for this social cohesion programme to achieve its objectives there needs to be strong government buy-in.
“Unless we find a way of engaging the state we are not going to be able to find sustainable solutions,” said the head of the Foundation’s Memory Programme, Verne Harris. The Foundation will embark on a rigorous programme of engaging the state and sharing this programme with the relevant Departments in government over the coming months.
Forum members were encouraged to join the Foundation in its continued dialogue work. Many felt that the forum was a constructive step towards the promotion of peaceful coexistence in local communities throughout South Africa.
“I’ve attended many such forums and generally it’s about stone-throwing, with NGOs blaming government for the problems,” said Sifiso Mbuyisa from the Department of the Premier of the Western Cape. “This was far more collaborative and really went a long way towards addressing the issues involved.”
Diaho felt that although the challenges facing the Foundation and its partner members were numerous, there was reason to be optimistic.
“I think the issues are very complex, as this dialogue has clearly articulated. But we believe in the power of the human spirit and the ability of a small group to achieve a lot through engaging with the issues,” she said.
Donors and organisations at the event included: Absa; the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR); the Department of Home Affairs; National Children and Violence Trust; the Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA Southern); Eastern Cape Refugee Forum; Black Sash; the umbrella body of South African NGOs (Sangoco); the African National Congress; the International Organization for Migration (IOM Mission for Southern Africa); Leandra Advice Office; Friends of the Inner-City Forum; Sonke Gender Justice; Islamic Relief; Umtapo Centre (Peace Human Rights and Anti-Racism Education); Magnolia Unlimited; Christians for Peace in Africa; Zimbabwe Political Victims Association (Zipova); TSI; Refugee Help Desk; Community Networking Forum; Provincial Government of the Western Cape; Pitseng Trust, a women’s funding organisation; Musina Legal Advice Centre; KwaZulu-Natal Refugee Council; Unicef, the United Nations children’s fund; ADRO; Mthwakazi Arts and Culture Projects; Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation; Group of Refugees; Public Protector; IIKSA Trust; Peddie Development Centre; International Solidarity; Africa United; Abahlali baseMjondolo; KwaZulu Regional Christian Council; Alliance of Refugees; AIDS Consortium; De Beers; Forced Migration Studies Programme; Lawyers for Human Rights; Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa; National Children and Violence Trust; Southern African Centre for Survivors of Torture; 2010 Marketing Campaigns; and the Human Sciences Research Council.