IJR

During the first week of February 2023, I had the privilege of conducting a short research trip to Botswana with Prof Cheryl Hendricks. We spent a few days in Gaborone and then made our way Kasane, situated on the borders of Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. This area, where the Chobe river flows into the Zambezi, is the world’s only quadripoint. We returned to South Africa, just prior to the much-awaited State of the Nation Address (SONA) on the 9th of February. In this short piece we share some of our insights on the decline of democracy in these two countries, once heralded as its torchbearers in Southern Africa.

I was recently invited by Danielle Hoffmeester, the project leader for the Youth Identity Project, to attend the premier of the documentary of Bergsig in Bergsig, Calitzdorp.  The film was produced by IJR and Abrasive Media, documenting the lives and experiences of the young people in the town, through the lens of an IJR workshop held in August 2022.

Climate change is a global crisis that is affecting the entire world, and it is especially impacting developing countries like South Africa. The country has been experiencing the effects of climate change in the form of droughts, floods, and extreme weather conditions. These effects have significant implications for the country’s socio-economic development and its energy system. Therefore, this report aims to investigate climate change and the just energy transition in South Africa.

This year, the Data for Governance Alliance (D4GA) has been actively participating in various events aimed at promoting good governance, transparency, and accountability across Africa. One of the significant events D4GA attended was the Africa High Level Forum of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC) for Sustainable Development, hosted by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The forum, which took place in Kampala, Uganda, focused on building national capacities for South-South and Triangular Cooperation Ecosystem in Africa and forging horizontal partnerships for sustainable and resilient societies. Uganda's President, Yoweri Museveni, officially opened the event.

On Friday the 14th of October, the IJR hosted the book launch of Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in South Africa: The National Peace Accord 1990-1994, authored by Oxford academic and former activist, Revd Dr Liz Carmichael MBE.

Storytelling has emerged as one of the methodologies that can be used to promote healing and reconciliation processes after years of violence, repression, or other forms of trauma that affect both individuals and communities, particularly after war or authoritarian rule. In effect, storytelling is a rich oral tradition found to be an effective healing intervention for societies that have suffered from atrocities that have generated trauma. The healing process happens when storytelling is linked to what can be described as narrative therapy, or when someone is giving a testimony of what they have endured.