annual report 2011
17
Images far left:
Images below left:
IJR patron, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, leads the panel, which includes from left to right: Prof. Bernard Lategan, Sipho Pityana and Ferial Haffajee in conversation with SRC presidents, at ‘A Moral Imperative to Speak’.
Prof. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela addresses an engaged audience at ‘A Moral Imperative to Speak’. Emerging leaders engage at the ‘A Moral Imperative to Speak’ dialogue.
Images by Sara Gouveia
Johhny Bok’s documentary screening in Andriesville in June was attended by community members and people from surrounding farms. The elders in the community were extremely excited and approved of what was said. One of the elders even cried, saying that she never thought she would see the story of their community told with so much respect and integrity. It was interesting to note that all the community members came to see the film. These included some of the same people who had refused to participate in the film when it was shot the previous year, but now they were very keen to see what exactly the film was all about. Their original objection was that they had felt ‘used’ by many previous companies who came and recorded their history, promised to show them the results, but never returned, and even ridiculed them. When they saw this film, things were different. People were crying because they couldn’t believe that their story and their history could be told in such a respectful manner. Some even apologised for refusing to participate and promised that if ever they were needed in future, they would gladly cooperate.
around reconciliation in South Africa. In August, the Institute, together with the University of Cape Town, hosted a talk, themed ‘A Moral Imperative to Speak’. The event sought to promote a conversation between young and established leaders on the challenges facing South Africa. The group of senior leaders included Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; director of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Prof. Bernard Lategan; City Press editor, Ferial Haffajee; and Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) chairman, Sipho Pityana. The younger generation was represented by a group of young community leaders and student representative council (SRC) presidents from universities in the Western Cape. On a national level, the Institute contributes its insights to the National Forum Against Racism South Africa. Composed of
policy-makers from national government departments as well as civil society organisations, this forum has since developed a National Action Plan for South Africa to understand racism and to propose measures to address it as a nation-building challenge. The Institute played an important role in informing the action plan and provided extensive input based on established insights and experience of the tools for implementing such plans. In collaboration with the National Forum Against Racism, the Institute has contributed to the planning of a series of public consultations with communities, civil society organisations and policy-makers in an effort to deepen public discourse about the challenge of racism and understanding measures to address it. The IJR contributed to this process by submitting its SARB survey findings and insights from the Community Healing Impact Evaluation Report. As part of the South African Coalition for Transitional Justice, the IJR has also worked to facilitate the direct participation of communities and apartheid victims in response to the national government’s proposed Reparations Policy. Still in an initial phase, the coalition facilitated a meeting between community stakeholders in Salt River, Cape Town, to source inputs from affected groups. The aim was to gather information geared at informing the government’s proposed Community Reparation Programme to be launched in 2012 through the Department of Justice. To date, the department has been unable to conduct adequate community consultations about the shape and scope of this reparations package – a proposal that formed part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations.
Inclusive historical narratives In its work with learners and teachers, as well as other community stakeholders over the past few years, the Institute has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in understanding past narratives of exclusion and opening vistas towards inclusivity. This work has shown that engaging with the past has significant impact on people’s mindsets and behaviour towards others in