Friday, 1 August 2014

The key general challenges facing NGOs working in South Africa today

Injairu Kulundu will be participating in our upcoming Thinking Africa Colliquim. Sally Matthews recently interviewed Injairu about her work and the role of NGOs in bring about social justice in South Africa. This is part one of two parts of the interview.

Injairu Kulundu is a creative practitioner, a politics, drama and arts-based enquirer, a social learning researcher and a singer/songwriter. She has worked with the Tantyi Youth Empowerment Programme, Arkwork Collective and the Environmental Learning Research Centre at Rhodes University. More recently Injairu had extended her praxis as part of the ACTIVATE! Change Drivers team. 

Thursday, 24 July 2014

NGOs and Social Movements

Umama- Gladys Mpepho, ngusihlalo wombutho obizwa ngeUnemployed People’s Movement (UPM), enye yemibutho eqhanqalazo eRhini/Grahamstown, eMpuma Koloni. UThembani Onceya, kwintsuku ezidlulileyo ebebambe udliwano ndlebe noMaMpepho malunga nendima edlalwa yimibutho yokuhlala (NGOs) ekuziseni umthetho eMzantsi Afrika.


Ungatsalela iUPM yaseRhini/Grahamstown kwezinkcukacha 0466222318 okanye uthande icandelo labo ku- facebook.

Click here for the English version.


Wednesday, 16 July 2014

NGOs and Accountability.

Ashley Westaway will be participating in the upcoming Thinking Africa colloquium Sally Matthews interviewed him recently about the role of NGOs in Grahamstown and more generally.

Ashley Westaway is the manager of GADRA Education, a Grahamstown based public benefit organisation which provides key education services and advocates for transformation of the school education system. One of its key projects, which is discussed below, is the GADRA matric school which provides matric students with an opportunity to rewrite their matric in order to pass (if they failed the first time) or to improve their results. Ashley is also a research associate of the Environmental Learning Research Centre at Rhodes University. He has written on land reform, rural development and rural politics with a particular focus on the Eastern Cape. He used to work for the Border Rural Committee (BRC).

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

'If you want to know what NGOs are all about follow the money and you will know':NGOs and Social Movements

Ayanda Kota will be participating in our upcoming Thinking Africa colloquium. He is also involved in the organisation of a workshop on NGOs and Social Movements which will take place on the 26th of September 2014. Sally Matthews interviewed him recently about UPM, social movements and NGOs.

Ayanda Kota is a member of the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) in Grahamstown and President of Makana Football Association. He is a campaigner for social justice whose roots can be traced in the Black Consciousness movement. He is also a community development worker for the organisation Masifunde Education and Development Project Trust. He is a die-hard fan of Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and other divas.

Friday, 13 June 2014

Social Movements and NGOs

Gladys Mpepho is the Chairperson of the Grahamstown branch of the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM). Thembani Onceya recently interviewed MaMpepho on the role of NGOs in bringing about social justices in South Africa. This interview was conducted in Xhosa and has been translated. Here's the Xhosa version if you'd like to read it in Xhosa.

You can contact  UPM Grahamstown on 0466222318 or like the Unemployed People’s Movement page on Facebook.



Monday, 26 May 2014

'There is no "outside the law"': How can Social Movement use the law to bring about radical change and social justice.

Tshepo Madlingozi will be participating in our upcoming Thinking Africa colloquium. Sally Matthews recently interviewed him about his work. This is the second part of a two part interview, the first part of which can be found here Thinking Africa blog.


Tshepo Madlingozi teaches law at the University of Pretoria. He is also a research collaborator with the ALICEproject, based in Portugal, which is dedicated to promoting Epistemologies of the South. Tshepo also serves as an Advocacy Adviser and Board Member for the Khulumani Support Group and is a member of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution. He recently co-edited Socio-economic Rights in South Africa: Symbol or Substance.  One of Tshepo’s key research areas relates to the use of the law by social movements. In this research he asks some very important questions about how the law (and NGOs providing legal advice) can assist social movements in their attempts to achieve social justice.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

The difference between NGOs and Social Movements


Tshepo Madlingozi will be participating in our upcoming Thinking Africa colloquium. Sally Matthews recently interviewed him about his work. This is the first part of a two part interview.

Tshepo Madlingozi teaches law at the University of Pretoria. He is also a research collaborator with the ALICE project, based in Portugal, which is dedicated to promoting Epistemologies of the South. Tshepo also serves as an Advocacy Adviser and Board Member for the Khulumani Support Group and is a member of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution. He recently co-edited Symbol or Substance:Socio-economic Rights in South Africa (2014). One of Tshepo’s key research areas relates to the use of the law by social movements. As such Tshepo asks some very important questions about how the law (and NGOs providing legal advice) can assist social movements in their attempts to achieve social justice.