CIVIL SOCIETY WATCH 21 – 25 NOVEMBER
This week — Food justice picket, Neville Alexander Commemorative Conference and talk on the digital revolution in agriculture
The Climate Justice Coalition Movement is leading a march for ‘Jobs, Clean Energy and Climate Justice’; the Life Esidimeni Family Committee is holding a healing session for all bereaved family members; and Daily Maverick is hosting its flagship event — The Gathering.
On Monday, 21 November, the first day of the “Social Justice and the Law” course kicked off at the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch University. The first part of the course will run until 23 November, while the second will take place between 28 and 3o November.
The course is intended to equip participants with conceptual knowledge, values, skills and praxis that “optimally positions them to make sound decisions and… provide competent advice to decision-makers in government, business and civil society”, according to the event description.
For more information, contact Emile Vercuil at [email protected].
On Monday at 11am, the Health Living Alliance (Heala), its partners and over 300 citizens marched to the National Department of Health as part of a “Food Justice Picket”. The picket took place at 1112 Voortrekker Road, Pretoria.
“This World Diabetes Month, Heala is calling on government to utilise all tools at its disposal, including front-of-pack warning labels, to create a healthier food environment and fix the food system [of] all South African citizens,” stated the event description.
“Illnesses such as diabetes do not only affect individuals on the personal level, they also have a crippling effect on the country’s growth.”
For more information, contact Nzama Mbalati, programmes director at HEALA, on 082 734 5414.
On Tuesday, 22 November, at 10am, the Climate Justice Coalition Movement is hosting a march for “Jobs, Clean Energy and Climate Justice”.
The march will take place at Burgers Park, Tshwane. For more information, contact [email protected] or 082 565 2393.
On Tuesday at 11am, Corruption Watch is hosting a webinar on “Beneficial Ownership in the Extractives Industry”.
The event will involve the launch of two new reports, “Beneficial Ownership Transparency in South Africa’s Mining Sector” and “The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and South Africa”.
The moderator of the discussion is Asiphe Funda of Corruption Watch. The speakers include Michael Barron, director of Michael Barron Consulting, and Tim Law, director of Engaged Law Consulting Limited,
Register here.
At 12pm on Tuesday, Daily Maverick will be hosting a webinar titled, “COP27: Debrief with Daily Maverick”.
The event will involve a discussion around the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which took place between 6 and 18 November.
Speakers include Kevin Bloom, Our Burning Planet senior investigative reporter; Ufrieda Ho, a Daily Maverick journalist; and Ethan Van Diemen, an Our Burning Planet journalist.
Register here.
On Tuesday at 1pm, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas) is hosting an academic seminar on “A digital revolution in agriculture? New technologies and the future of the corporate food regime”.
The presenter at the seminar will be Dr Louisa Prause. Based on her fieldwork in South Africa and Germany, Prause will be bringing together the food regime approach and critical technology studies to argue that rather than a revolution in agriculture, digitalisation deepens certain aspects of the food regime.
Register here.
On Tuesday at 3pm, the Land Portal Foundation is hosting a webinar on “Uncovering Land Data Opportunities: The Cases of Senegal and Namibia”.
The Land Portal and Open Data Charter have been working with the Senegalese government to open up land data. This collaboration has followed the guidance set out in the “Open Up Guide for Land Governance”.
“The webinar will share the latest results from the Open Up Guide implementation pilot in Senegal and… research in Namibia. We will ask and answer pressing questions concerning the interest in and maturity of open data in the two countries and specifically in the land sector,” according to the event description.
Register here.
On Thursday, 24 November, at 8am, the 13th South African Child Health Priorities Association Conference will kick off at the School of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
The event will run until Saturday, 26 November.
“The South African Child Health Priorities Association (CHPA) was created to support and promote child health priorities. The association represents over 140 participants representing amongst others: doctors, nurses and other international and local governmental and non-governmental practitioners within the health sector, working together to support and improve child health and wellbeing in South Africa,” according to the CHPA website.
Register here.
On Thursday at 9am, Daily Maverick will be hosting its flagship event, “The Gathering”.
The event, taking place at Cape Town International Convention Centre, brings together experts across politics, business and civil society who are looking at what each of us needs to and can do to build a better South Africa.
There will be seven panels at The Gathering, including:
- “In the Public Interest”, with Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood, Gift of the Givers CEO Imtiaz Sooliman, and Groote Schuur Hospital head of general surgery Lydia Cairncross;
- “Pandemic Preparation”, with Glenda Gray, CEO of the South African Medical Research Council; Tim Tucker, CEO of Sead Consulting; Precious Matsoso, director general of the National Department of Health; and Prof Koleka Mlisana, executive manager of academic affairs and research and quality assurance at the National Health Laboratory Service;
- “Energy – Beyond Eskom”;
- “Economy and business environment”;
- “Security cluster: The Wolves”;
- “Hope Springs”; and
- The Political Will For A Political System.
Book tickets here.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
On Thursday at 10am, the People’s Pantry is hosting a homemade potato gnocchi cooking class.
The event will take place at Balen warehouse, building 8E, Victoria Yards, Johannesburg. Those participating should bring an apron for themselves, and one to donate.
RSVP at [email protected] or 079 096 7998.
Friday 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
“Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it,” according to the United Nations (UN) information page on the observance.
“Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals — to leave no one behind — cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls.”
On Friday, 25 November, at 9am, the 10th Neville Alexander Commemorative Conference is taking place at Neville Alexander Building at the University of Cape Town.
The theme of the conference is “Reflecting on the Struggle against Racial Capitalism: Looking Back and Looking Forward”.
On Saturday, 26 November, at 12pm, the Life Esidimeni Family Committee is hosting a “Healing Session” for all bereaved family members to attend and support one another.
The session will take place at the Holocaust Centre at 1 Duncombe Road, Forest Town, Johannesburg.
For more information, contact Christine at 082 411 9229.
The Public Service Accountability Monitor has prepared a “People’s Guide to the Adjusted Budget”. This guide is intended to make information from the 2022 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement and Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure more accessible to a wider audience, including civil society organisations, citizens and the media.
“The guide highlights key changes in the budget, spending to date and notable performance in key service delivery departments such as health and education. We hope that the guide will contribute to public discussions on the budgets and complement budget analysis by activists,” according to the event description.
For more information, contact Lisa Higginson on [email protected] or Lindokuhle Vellem on [email protected].
Access the guide here.
Wits University Press has published a “Special Issue of the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine” on the climate emergency and the impact on health. The journal is open-access.
Articles include:
- “Education for Sustainable Healthcare in South Africa: Stepping Up Climate Action”, by James Irlam of the University of Cape Town;
- Climate change and impact on infectious diseases by Dr Jeremy Nel of Wits University; and
- “Living with Climate Health Risks” by Wits Global Change Institute researchers, Prof Francois Engelbrecht, Colleen Vogel and Caradee Wright.
Access the special issue here.
DKMS Africa, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders, has embarked on a fundraising campaign to cover the donor-related costs associated with blood stem cell transplants through the Bell of Hope campaign.
“The state currently does not cover the donor-related costs for stem cell transplants from an unrelated donor, which range from R120,000 to R1-million,” said Nabiella De Beer, communications manager at DKMS Africa.
Donate to the Bell of Hope campaign here.
Sign up as a stem cell donor here. DM/MC
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