Location: South Africa
Helping rural women engage in land reform
Southern African Alliance for Youth Employment
Issue
The Southern African region (SADC) has a large youth population and low levels of decent employment for its youth, resulting in high levels of youth unemployment and underemployment. The lack of formal employment, irregularity of work and social protection means that youth in the SADC region face poverty and inequality.
Researchers have described the effect of this insecurity on youth as a ‘transitional limbo’. Without a secure income, young people are unable to meet their social roles that accompany adulthood. These challenges are compounded by a lack of credible information and a lack of mobilisation around youth employment. Youth voices in designing and implementing prevalent national and regional youth employment strategies and policies has been limited.
Project
The Southern African Alliance for Youth Employment (SAAYE) was formally established in February 2016 by the Economic Justice Network with the Commonwealth Foundation’s support. The Alliance is made up of representatives from trade unions, church councils, student unions, and civil society organisations across nine Southern African nations. Trade unions, churches and the civil society organisations, cumulatively have considerable potential power to determine the shape of policy for youth employment in Southern Africa.
The Economic Justice Network (EJN) performs as the Secretariat of SAAYE. SAAYE aims to play a coordinating and facilitating role for youth formations to inform and influence public discourse about youth employment; contribute to reforming employment and youth related policy; and, to hold governments accountable to their commitments to address youth unemployment across the SADC region – both nationally and regionally.
The Commonwealth Foundation’s capacity development approach has facilitated training, engagement and development of structures within the Alliance. A six member Working Group serves as the highest decision-making body of SAAYE. They also represent the Alliance at events such as the SADC-CNGO Civil Society Forum and to plan regional actions.
Improving the environment and the livelihoods of waste pickers
Issue
The 2012 National Waste Information Baseline Report from the Department of Environmental Affairs in South Africa found that in 2011 approximately 108 million tonnes of waste was generated, 90% of which ended up in landfills. On these sites, and in inner-city streets, informal waste pickers are collecting and recycling what others have thrown away, a service for which they are not paid.
Project
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) will support waste pickers and their organisations in Johannesburg, Sasolburg, and Pretoria, South Africa, to effectively participate in decision-making in order to secure better working conditions and improved livelihoods. The research in many cities suggests that the formal inclusion of waste pickers in municipal waste management contributes to higher recycling rates, increased efficiency and cost effectiveness, as well as significant environmental benefits. Despite these contributions, waste pickers in the project locations struggle for formal recognition and inclusion in solid waste management plans, and for decent working conditions and fair compensation.
Through this project WIEGO will support the organising efforts of local waste picker organisations, to ensure the official inclusion of waste pickers in municipal waste management policies and systems, and to secure better working conditions and more secure livelihoods. This will be achieved through training, awareness-raising (both for waste pickers and decision makers), and facilitated negotiations and liaison with key officials and allies. Further, waste picker organisations will be strengthened within the context of vibrant regional, national, and international networks.
Endorsed project title: Improving the environment and livelihoods of waste pickers in South Africa
Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organising
WIEGO is a global action-research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy, through increased organization and representation; improved statistics and research; more inclusive policy processes; and more equitable trade, labour, urban planning, and social protection policies. Alongside informal workers, WIEGO uses its credible, grounded knowledge of the informal economy to leverage supportive policies, services, and resources for the working poor.www.wiego.org
Strengthening the voice of older people
Issue
Forty percent of older people in South Africa live in poverty, resulting in poor health, increased likelihood of illness and disability, and difficulty in paying for basic needs like food and shelter. .
Project
HelpAge International aims to make the National Development Plan more effective in addressing the key needs of older people, by promoting the inclusion of their concerns into the design and implementation of development activities. This will be achieved by developing a strong and cohesive voice for older people across the country, bringing together key civil society organisations (CSOs) to advocate more cohesively for their improved access to services and their delivery. Strengthened collaboration between these groups at provincial, district and national levels will ensure that older people’s issues brought to the national stage reflect grassroots concerns.
It is expected that by the end of the project, CSOs will be in a better position to coordinate their work and engage constructively with government representatives to influence decisions on older people’s issues at the local and national level.
HelpAge International
HelpAge helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives. They work with like-minded organisations in over 65 countries across all continents. They have an office in South Africa and have worked in the country for several years with local partners on a range of issues affecting older people. HelpAge will be responsible for the overall management of the project. It will be in charge of the capacity building component of the project and will provide technical assistance to the South Africa Older Persons’ Forum (SAOPF) on documenting and delivering advocacy messages.
Follow @helpage on Twitter
Like HelpAge International on Facebook
Subscribe to the HelpAge Youtube channel
Partner organisations
The South Africa Older Persons’ Forum (SAOPF) was established in 2005 by the South Africa Human Rights Commission. Its mission is to identify and articulate the concerns and needs of older persons, as voiced by them, and, in consultation with government and other key players, to ensure that these needs are addressed in legislation, services and programmes.
Making the Post-2015 agenda work for gender equality
Issue
In 2008, Southern Africa governments signed and adopted the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development, which integrates and mainstreams gender issues in the region. The Protocol is now under review.
Project
Gender Links will enable civil society organisations from eight Southern Africa countries to work with the SADC Gender Unit and governments on drafting a revised Protocol on Gender and Development, and to follow up on its implementation. This will include gathering case studies on gender equality from civil society, local and national government in the region, and using the Citizens Score Card to gather citizen perspectives on progress made by their governments towards gender equality.
It is expected that by the end of the project, a new Protocol with civil society input will have been adopted by the Southern Africa Development Community. Civil society will also have acquired the necessary tools to track progress towards achieving gender equality in line with the new Post-2015 development framework.
Gender Links, South Africa
Gender Links works with partners at local, national and regional level to: produce evidence based research on gender gaps and progress in the SADC region and use it in advocacy efforts; promote gender equality in all areas of governance; foster a gender movement through coalition building; and, build capacity of civil society to engage in processes that advance gender equality and justice. Gender links coordinates an alliance of 15 national networks, comprising 40 organisations, and nine regional networks. Organisations from the alliance based in the eight target countries will be involved in country activities such as in the delivery of workshops, collation of a matrix of indicators and case studies.
Follow @GenderLinks on Twitter
Like Gender Links on Facebook
Subscribe to Gender Links on YouTube
Promoting the integration of refugee communities
Issue
The South African refugee protection model is based on local integration. This policy promotes refugee integration into society and participation in social and government processes. However, refugees are not integrating effectively into society.
Project
This project recognises that while services provided to refugees by government are important and help to alleviate pressing needs, a long term improvement in the situation will require that refugees themselves are able to influence the policies that affect them. This will be achieved by building the capacity of leaders of refugee organisations to better represent and organise their communities, and for these groups to design and implement issue-based advocacy campaigns.
It is expected that the project will lead to refugee communities engaging in dialogue with the government, and building better relations with their host communities.
Lawyers for Human Rights
Lawyers for Human Rights was established in 1979 (LHR). It strives to promote awareness, protection and enforcement of legal and human rights through the creation of a human rights culture. LHR has a specialist programme that advocates, strengthens and enforces the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and other marginalised categories of migrants in South Africa. LHR also work in the areas of land reform and housing, environmental justice, strategic litigation and penal reform.
Follow @LHR_SA on Twitter
Like Lawyers-For-Human-Rights on Facebook
Subscribe to Lawyers for Human Rights on YouTube
Improving labour rights for farm workers
Issue
South Africa’s agricultural industry is increasing in prominence as a major economic driver for the country. The industry is under the spotlight, however, due to the prevalence of critical workers’ rights issues such as discrimination and wage inequalities. This project will support constructive dialogue to help address these issues.
Project
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs; its members include major UK supermarkets that have sourcing relationships with the South African agriculture industry. To improve working conditions and secure the future stability of this sector, ETI is working with local partners the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership and the Institute for Development and Labour Law of the University of Cape Town.
Pooling their collective experience, this group will bring together farm workers, civil society organisations, employer organisations and government institutions for the first time, to develop an innovative multi-stakeholder forum to address these issues through constructive dialogue between these different groups.
This project will examine employer-employee negotiating methods, identify appropriate opportunities for fostering dialogue and build capacity within workers’ groups to advocate more effectively for their members. The goal is to develop the trust and frameworks that are needed for effective dialogue between South African farm owners and their workers.
ETI Executive Director, Peter McAllister, said: “A successful agriculture industry is vital for South Africa, and for the supermarkets that buy its produce. I’ve seen first-hand there is a need and interest in constructive dialogue where workers’ issues can be raised and resolved through negotiation. The time is ripe to establish a suitable forum and we are grateful to the Commonwealth Fund for supporting this effort.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-dYUI-Ju4?rel=0]
Follow @ethicaltrade on Twitter
Strengthening the PEN Africa network for civil society engagement
Issue
The pen and the written word are powerful tools for upholding free expression, cultural rights and democratic governance. Through creative expression, Commonwealth citizens have the ability to advocate for the legislation that underpins these rights.
Project
PEN International (founded 1921) is a global community of writers, who work to promote literature and defend freedom of expression. The organisation will target measures to build capacity, skills and knowledge in order to advocate in favor of freedom of expression. Local PEN Centres will participate in policy training to help with advocacy work on local, regional and international levels and a three-year advocacy strategy will map out plans to engage with regional-level forums such as the Africa Commission on Human Rights.
This work will serve to leverage the voice and influence of PEN Africa Network members in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. PEN members will gain greater understanding of areas including freedom of expression and digital freedom, cultural and linguistic rights and quality education. It will help to empower not just them but the people with whom they work and future generations of writers, journalists and advocates.
Follow @pen_int on Twitter
Giving a voice to young people with HIV and AIDS
Issue
Stigma has been identified as the most significant challenge for people living with HIV and AIDS, stopping many from accessing health services early.
Project
Children’s Radio Foundation are training mentors and young people in Cape Town to use radio as a tool to get young people talking about HIV/AIDS in their community. A project entitled ‘Future Positive‘ will train 12 facilitators to lead radio training workshops for 70 young people, increasing airtime allocated to discussions about HIV/AIDS by 200% and creating over 200 hours of relevant content directed at young people.
Through radio training and broadcast, stories will be shared, fostering dialogue within the wider community. Young people at clinics and community centres will be trained to host talk shows and facilitate events within the community, involving decision makers, policy stakeholders and other young people.
This initiative will create more airtime for programming on HIV and AIDS and train radio staff and youth mentors to engage with audiences more effectively.
It will also create platforms for young people living with HIV/AIDS to speak openly about their experiences. The project will facilitate feedback by involving decision makers and policy stakeholders. A curriculum for community radio stations and pop-up stations to engage audiences around HIV and AIDS will be developed and shared widely with other civil society organisations in Africa. The content will be distributed to local and national stakeholders via outreach activities, contributing to the learning component of the project. It will be delivered as part of a joint work plan with the government of Cape Town.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMFIFgh7GFc?rel=0]
Children’s Radio Foundation – South Africa
Children’s Radio Foundation is a registered not-for-profit organisation in South Africa, the UK and the USA, providing young people with the skills to make their voices heard. It uses radio to create opportunities for dialogue, participation, leadership and active citizenship. Through radio broadcasts, young people can speak about their concerns and reach out to others, sparking important conversations in their communities.
www.childrensradiofoundation.org
Follow @CRFprojects on Twitter
