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Youth Council - Durban - South Africa - Bianca Nazareth, YMCA India |
The Youth Leadership Summit was supported by the Canadian International Development Agency.
Opening Address at the YMCA Youth Leadership Summit Kearsney
College, Durban - Rev. Sipho J. Mtetwa (7 July 2006)
UBUNTU - an ally in facing globalization
1. Introduction
President of the of the World Alliance of YMCAs - the Rev. Caesar Molebatsi; General Secretary of the World Alliance of YMCAs - br. Bartholomew Shaha and the entire Executive Committee; National President in SA - Honourable Judge President of the KwaZulu Natal Judge Vuka Tshabalala; Notional Chairperson in SA Ms. Maria Moate; National General Secretary in SA - the Rev. Sipho Sokhela; National Vice- President in SA - Mr. Steve Hobbs; National Presidents and General Secretaries and Executive Committees from all countries represented here; esteemed invited and distinguished guests, brothers and sisters. In case, I have inadvertently left or skipped any one worthy of mention, let me say all YMCA Youth Council protocol is observed.
I feel privileged and indeed honoured to have been considered for the delivery of the Opening Address of this momentous occasion of the YMCA Youth Leadership Summit. I have been requested to address, among other poignant themes, Globalisation in the context of current developments around the world. By both design and default, globalisation is an existential reality that we as citizens of the world should not choose to ignore because I will argue that it has a ring of permanence around it. It is going away tomorrow, with social, economic and cultural players making sure that it is permeating the entire global village. I realized at receiving documentation in preparation for this address that your theme is UBUNTU: Striving together for life and peace.
2. Economic Globalisation as witchcraft
For a number scholars, social and cultural activists, local economic players, performing artists, church, women, youth and indigenous community leaders as well as alternative media, among other social participants and commentators in the developing world, globalisation as a human project significantly elicits the same feelings, energies and attitudes that people of Africa have toward witchcraft. For those who do not know, witchcraft as an African construct is an art that accounts for continuous family and community destruction, for drought and famine, for war and revenge, for economic, social and environmental disorganization of individuals and communities, for disease and death. Witchcraft, for the African, denotes a scathing deterioration in the quality of personal and communal life, a sense of irrecoverable damage that leaves behind it pain, brokenness, a kind of defeatist resignation to some divine fate. It is understood as a craft that spells trouble, does away with the celebration and continuum of life and generally disrupts the rhythm of harmonious co- existence among people. That is what witchcraft represents within African psycho-social cosmology.
UBUNTU represents the opposite end of witchcraft. It celebrates life rather than death. It promotes sharing and the building of the spirit of community rather than self-interested individualism and the destruction of collectivity. UBUNTU is a life-giving alternative to witchcraft, placing the life of peaceful communal existence above that of solitary personal gain and gratification. It inculcates a profound sense of communication and interconnectedness between the Living and what John Mbiti, the Kenyan theologian, calls the Living-bead. UBUNTU implodes the Descartisian philosophy of: I think, therefore I am and mainstreams the African anthropological construct of: I belong, therefore, I am. Because we are, therefore I am. It engenders inter-dependence between families, villages, communities, nations, races, sexes and ages. In a nutshell, it promotes a people-centred existence in ethics, in culture, in economics, in society. I make these appositional assertions early in my argument because witchcraft and UBUNTU represent a bi-polar socio-economic, cultural, ethical and political construct, at least, in Africa.
Julio de Santa Ana1, a scholar with the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland during the Colloquium 2000 of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Hofgeismar, Germany cogently argues that the process of the capitalist economy can be characterized by five elements:
a) It has a dominating aim, subordinating all other interests. In this sense, the capitalist economy has been a process of conquest by Western powers which constructed an order of domination, operationally systemic and structurally hierarchical.
b) The capitalist economy is characterized by its instrumental character, combining political intentions with the evolution of western science and technology based on this science. In this way, de Santa Ana argues, it aims at the management of nature (space) and history (time)---resulting in the accumulation of material things - e.g. artefacts, gadgets, without it becomes impossible to live. The instrumentation process is male-dominated
c) The capitalist economy is an ambiguous process that buttresses contradictions. For example, it aims at freedom but imposes oppression. It aims at inclusivity but thrives on exclusion. It aims at creating individual happiness, success and personal satisfaction but creates collective pain and suffering. It claims to affirm life but brings death. It projects more toward having than with being but it is having (possession) that influences being (life)
d) The capitalist economy is a process where different projects o- exist, but where always one project has dominated within the current economic epoch. This is why we have a developed world, a developing world and an under-developed world. This bewitching co- existence ensconced within the capitalist has carved the world within which all the YMCAs into small chunk-bites that are mutually aggressive, destructively and competitive towards the resources dominated by the North
e) And finally, the capitalist economy is a world process, a global process. be Santa Ana argues that the process of world domination by the capitalist economy is now called ~the process of globalization". In other world the moral magnitude, the social propensity, the political dimensions, the diametrical proportions of the capitalist economy are global in nature and stature and so is their impact upon all of humankind.
This thorough-going and unflinching economic analysis of globalization by de Santa Ana has a contextual relevance for the YMCA during this Consultation and beyond because it affords you all the opportunity to create live-giving and life-affirming alternatives that are premised upon Christian ethical values, alternative to this positivist neo-liberal world economy. It is a cogent critique of the global economy as predicated upon the cultural and political assumptions of the North and their direct social consequences upon the developing and under-developed communities, countries and nations in the South (Africa, the sub-Indian region, South East Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America). He goes on in that article to analyze the actors and the productive processes of what he calls "the dominating project". But what de Santa Ana argues in a nutshell is that the current dominance of financial capital over industrial capital just as industrial capital overtook commercial and agrarian export capital is ruthlessly hierarchical with the America sitting at the top; has no mechanisms for supervision and control; integrates financial markets in an unprecedented fashion and is successfully enabled by technological advancement from the North. This epitomic model of economic globalization has been paraded and imposed by the International Monetary and the World Bank as the Model which is why Africa and other sub-economic regions had to deal with Structural Adjustment Programmes.
3. UBUNTU and the socio-cultural implications of globalization
Global capitalism does not only produce and create an ideological framework for the current economic world order. But it also manifests itself through the impact it has on family (divorce, single-parenting), permissive behavioural patterns including post-modern sexuality (HIV/ AIDS, change of sexual orientation after marriage, rape), war on "terrorism" post September 11 (invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, resolution of the Palestinian - Israeli conflict). I am arguing that the globalization has to a greater extent been propped up by both financial markets and growing militarism. This status quo has undermined peace and justice efforts in a world that has seen villages wiped out by military violence and war on terror.
Unfortunately, in my humble observation, in the North (which is representative of the Western world, ideals, values, ethics, spirituality and other such inherent moments of Western self-definition) peace is widely understood to be the absence of violence whereas in the South - a context that has seen massive environmental degradation, gross abuse of human rights, socio-economic and cultural rape of communities, peace is understood to be the presence of justice and the restoration of human dignity. Globalization has seen violence being imported into Africa via the medium of national wars fought on account of timber and diamonds in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur in the Sudan, the North of Uganda, and other regions in Asia and Latin America where imported wars have been fought on national fronts.
But, I believe that peace and justice cannot be expected to sweep in through some divine act of grace. The oppressed and those who stand in solidarity with them should confront their governments and the world bodies of governance with alternative initiatives started from below up. This is what Jarg Rieger of the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, calls "people taking things into their own hands". He argues:
If the individualistic self is a myth of the powers that be, then those who are margirtalized and oppressed assume a crucial role. Here we encounter another paradox - people on the margins of global capitalism are central to its transformation (Rieger 2000:45)
Put differently, there is an ever-present danger that the oppressed continue to expect their economic, social, environmental, political and cultural destinies shaped by the architects and proponents of globalization. Not learning from the turning wheels of history would render such a self-negating stance naïveté par excellance. However, we have seen this happening in relation to a continuous gullible search for funding in the NGO world whereupon the prospective funding agency in the North lays down rules that will ensure the continuance of the neo- liberal economic agenda in the receiving country. This state of existence has sustained very weird racist, sexist and uneven power relations between the North and the South in the name of protecting long established relations within the NGO funding community between the giver and the recipient.
The other significant consideration to be made here is that globalization has grossly undermined values that underpin the essence of family. As individuals within the family and the family as a unit within the community chase the mirage of success, they trample on each other, causing pain and brokenness into a situation that would otherwise be filled with stabilily and contentment. The global onslaught on family has permeated South in a way that has seen single-parenting grow phenomenally. In fact, in my pastoral ministry I am increasingly experiencing single-parenting as a chosen option by women who feel there is no need for a man in their lives. So they want the baby but not the man who provides the seeds for the baby. Is this the way globalization is going to manifest itself in regions where the family was always the anchor of the community? How are we dealing with the absentee fathers and mothers as they chase for gold and glory? What do we expect from young people whose role models celebrate drugs, crime and death? Globalization has ushered in serious family and community strains and divisions to the extent that people feel nothing about killing each other in their chase for fortune and fame.
The opportunities and challenges which you have as this august international body of YMCAS is to transform the negative, life-destroying energies of globalization into new oases of hope and new vistas of life, using UBUNTU as a humanizing agency. UBUNTU calls for the consideration of "the Other", the Other not being a philosophical construct as we have seen down the centuries. UBUNTU brings in an ideology that says you first, and me after. UBUNTU creates an atmosphere that draws people into an ethic of sharing. UBUNTU engenders an environment that prefers peaceful resolution of conflict and differences rather than war, violence and destruction of the environment through greed. UBUNTU will challenge you to intentionally move towards rebuilding the family and the community. In Riegers words, ~the task is not for the powerful to empower the powerless: the task is to create new forms of empowerment where the two encounter and re-shape each other" (2000:47). That is UBUNTU! When you as the YMCAs of the world stand together and make your critical submissions to the IMF, the World and the community of nations through the United Nations on the payment of the global ecological debt in solidarity with the South, that will be an existential expression of UBUNTU. When you sand up and express your ethical disgust on the abuse of human rights and the commitment of crimes against in Iraq, Darfur, Zimbabwe, Eastern Europe and other regions of the world, that is URUNTU. That will be UBUNTU becoming an ally and a tool in your facing up to the ravages of globalization.
4. Sustainable Communities
A closing world is on what David J. Wellmari3 calls "sustainable communities". Wellman argues that there are 9 priority issues listed by the World Council of Churches Advisory Group on Economic Matters (AGEM) established in 1991 to look how churches could respond to the new global context. These were poignant contextual issues through which the global ecumenical community would conscientize and interrogate the philosophy and spirit of globalization. The AGEM report out in 1992 and listed the following concerns: 1) The shocking extent of absolute poverty and the indifference to it 2) The growing gap between rich and poor (in general) and the deterioration of relations between the richer nations of the North and poorer nations of the South 3) The global debt crisis with many nations trapped (e.g. Structural Adjustment Programmes in Africa) 4) Threats to the environment 5) Land as an economic commodity (greed as profits before people became the ideological anchor of the commoditization and privatization of natural resources and the "global commons" 6) The differing roles of men and women 7) Unempolyment and under-employment (India and China) in almost every country in the word 8) Conflict, war and militarization and 9) The key role and often hidden power of communication systems
I will not go into the details of this report issuing from the AGEM after the Canberra Assembly. But I am sure that contextualising these issues of priority in establishing alternative sustainable communities as an affront to globalization will be a challenge that could occupy the YMCA Youth Council agenda for many years. dealing with each or some or all of these global challenges with UBUNTU as your moral point of reference, you will be on your way (individually and corporately) to existentially living UBUNTU as a re-humanizing project within the context of a rapidly globalizing world. Sustainable communities will be constituted by those pockets of community resistance to, infuse and sustained by a strong ethical base and spirituality.
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Address by Honourable VC Xaba, Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Development Portfolio Committee, on behalf of Dr Zweli Mkhize, Mec for Fiancne and Economic Development, KZN at the South African YMCA Youth Conference on 9th July 2006 at the Kearsney College, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Greetings,
I am deeply honoured to have been asked by Dr Zweli Mkhize, MEC for Finance and Economic Development to represent him at such an important event.
The theme of the Conference is: "Ubuntu, striving together for life and peace".
Ubuntu (botho, human dignity) is a figure of speech that describes the importance of group solidarity on issues that were pivotal to the survival of the African communities, who as a consequence of poverty and deprivation had to survive through group care and not only individual reliance (Mbigi and Maree, 1995).
However, collective unity is not something new or peculiar to Africa.
Universally all marginalised communities in places like Harlem in New York, Brixton in the United Kingdom, subscribe to this concept of ubuntu. It is a concept of brotherhood or sisterhood and collective unity for survival among the poor in every society. Ubuntu plays a significant role in our value system for it derives specifically from African mores: "I am human, because you are human" (Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy, 2001:16).
In an article entitled "Finding the lost generation," Valerie Moller suggests "Social cohesion has disappeared. Great waves of social, political and economic upheaval have changed the moral landscape and often destroyed the network of ethical values and norms that provided social cohesion and control".
The concept of Ubuntu is crucial to nation building, especially in countries that have been ravage by conflict. The concept of Ubuntu applied correctly can be the bedrock for development and prosperity essential for deepening democracy. Ubuntu is universal because it can be applied to the challenge of empowering marginalised minorities.
One of the pillars of Ubuntu is the noble of cause of voluntarism. This is 54th year since great leaders such as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, among others, led the Defiance Campaign of 1952. The religious leaders such as Dr. Beyers Naude, Bishop Tutu and others who joined and led campaigns against unjust laws were carrying out their prophetic duty. It is because of the heroic actions of such leaders that the youth of today enjoy equal rights. Would you not want your generation to be remembered for consolidating these gains and ensuring that never again shall a human being oppress by another in this country, the African Continent and indeed the whole world? I believe you do.
Christians, among other religious groups, have a long history of embracing and practicing the various tenets of Ubuntu. The future of the poor and the downtrodden of our world is in your hands. If you do not take up cudgels of social empowerment/development, the future is bleak. No individual is an island. It is therefore a fallacy to think, as a young man, you can succeed in life without thinking about social justice.
Gentlemen, (and these I believe you are) I must emphasise that social and political justice are not possible without economic justice. The existence of the former means nothing in the absence of the latter. Peace can never thrive where there are economic inequalities.
The KZN Provincial Government, as part of the national effort, has budgeted almost R200m towards the establishment of and support for co-operatives. More funds have been made available for assistance to small, micro and medium enterprises (SMME's). I challenge you to take up these opportunities.
Economic justice is about policies and resources that generate wealth for the country, and how the wealth is distributed among its people. The South African government, at all levels, seeks economic justice through various policies, and systems and initiatives. Just to mention a few, we have the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE); Supply Chain Management which among other issues, seeks to give practical effect to BBBEE; the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (ASGISA).
The South African Government was mandated in 2004 to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014. These objectives are feasible - indeed we would hope to surpass them - because of steady improvement in the economy's performance and job-creating capacity.
Growth averaged about 3% during the first decade of freedom, from 1994 - 2004, a considerable improvement on the decade before 1994, when growth averaged 1% per annum. Since 2004, growth has exceeded 4% per annum, reaching about 5% in 2005. Expectations for the current strong performance to continue are high - forecasts by banks and ratings agencies generally indicate expectations of growth continuing at around 4.5% in the medium term. Business confidence is very high. We set to build on this optimism.
At the provincial level we have various projects.
Dube TradePort
The flagship Dube TradePort (DTP) project incorporating a State of the Art Airport King Shaka International has made solid progress and we are on track to achieve our deadline for the project to be operational by 2009.
2010 World Cup stadium development
The second major infrastructure-related programme being advanced by the provincial government relates to financial support for the development of soccer stadiums in the province in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. We are proposing to allocate R89m and R139,5m in the next two years starting with R31m this year as a contribution to the building of soccer stadium infrastructure in the province. This funding will be allocated to the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, which will together with the Department of Sport and Recreation play a coordinating role in assisting the District Municipalities of Amajuba, Ugu, uMgungundlovu and uThungulu to build the infrastructure and facilities required for training and base camps. We are also of the view, however, that we need not just to build soccer stadium infrastructure, but also the sport itself in the province. In the MTEF period, therefore, funding allocations of R50, R55m and R60m have been set aside for the development of soccer at all levels in the province in collaboration with SAFA amd Office of the Premier will be responsible for coordinating the soccer development programme across the departments involved.
Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone
An important part of government's infrastructure-related strategic investment programme for the medium term is the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone. This IDZ was proclaimed by the Minister of Trade and Industry in 2002. Since then, however, there has not been any significant progress in terms of infrastructure outlays required to make the IDZ work.
BUDGET SPEECH 2006/2007
Creating jobs and alleviating poverty through targeted interventions in the
second economy
Establishment of secondary co-operatives
I have alluded to the successes already attained in establishing primary cooperatives around the province in the last year. This year we intend to move the cooperatives programme into the second phase of development by establishing secondary and tertiary cooperatives. Eleven secondary
co-ops will be set-up in each of the district municipalities and metro, with the main functions of providing support to primary cooperatives, which are by design production units. The intention is to ensure that primary cooperatives get support from secondary and tertiary cooperatives, including the provision and loan of capital equipment, on a day to day basis and are not dependant on government support permanently. Support will be given to secondary coops to empower them so as to be capable of running viable commercial enterprises. This means that secondary coops will need to possess skills in financial management, marketing and general business management.
Because of technical skills secondary coops should be the single point of entry by government departments with the require skills and for private sector wishing to do business with this sector.
Continued support for small business development
In respect of SMME support, during the trade mission to India in December 2005 led by the Premier, contact was established with the National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC) in India, which has more than fifty years experience in promoting the growth of small scale industries and business enterprises. We hope this network will enrich our small business development programmes.
Gentlemen, I am mentioning all these projects because I want to emphasise that it is not enough to talk about social, political and economic justice, but rather walk the talk as it were.
I challenge young leaders to participate and encourage their constituencies to also participate in government programs. Not only that but also to critique these programs so that we can keep improving everybody's lot and lay concrete foundations for a better world.
Lastly, please note that "umuntu wumuntu ngabantu" - a person is completed by other people and vice versa.
Thank you
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1. How can the YMCA provide positive life affirming alternatives to economic globalisation?
> By recognising the opportunities and positive effects of globalisation and strengthening them through both programs/ services and advocacy.
> YMCA should be the agent for the world to have access to info
> Belonging to a community.
> Power relations between north and south.
> Self help programmes. North can fundraise more.
> Use positive aspects of global and communicate these throughout the world movement.
> Every Y must be prepared for success in their local economies.
> Look out for buyers of your identity (don't sell it).
> We can use glob as a tool for change
> Through partnership across countries that are equal and sustainable
> Education of our members and participants about the experiences of the entire world.
> Promote values of justice and equity.
> Define glob anad encourage discussion by putting it on the agenda in our organisations. Encourage local work with the negative aspects of glob
> Establish small financial foundations to provide opportunities. Provide tools so that population can personally address the issue in their own way. Education. Leadership training.
> New ideas that promote values and make clear distinction between whats on TV and media and what is right by presenting positive role models.
> More exchanges with other countries.
> Instead of focusing merely on economic means, the YMCA can provide positive alternatives through support groups, Christian education, and alternatives to violence or other problems. Also the YMCA can be very conscientious of its monetary uses and make sure it's used in the best way possible.
> YMCA youth can become ambassadors of positive globalisation. YMCA worldwide should lead the way and work together use the tools (communications) to become leaders of positive global actions.
> YMCAs can become leaders in counselling eg for HIV.
> Promote cancellation of global debt.
2. What can YMCAs do to protect cultural identities in the context of globalisation?
> Rather than expecting people in our communities to give up their identity / religion / language etc our Ys should become like our communities and meet people on their terms
> Translations at international conferences
> Keep connecting people from different countries like a puzzle rather than melting pot.
> YMCAs can be as open to dialogue as possible to try and protect cultural identities. Local YMCAs can try and preserve culture and show it to others.
> Cultural activities that focus on traditions or themes that focus on traditions while also making them relevant to young people
> Build relationships within the community to create pride in ones own culture and encourage individuals to practice their culture and be honest with who they are.
> Provide activities both large and small in terms of exchanges / international activities and local education activities
> Promote cultural values
> Practice honesty and respect, share stories, all people have norms and beliefs
> Make people feel proud of their culture. Encourage sharing of culture and experiences. organise events where people get to know their own culture to create an interest.
> Networking possibilities, possibilities to connect.
> Highlighting different cultures as the cultural evening.
> Local YMCAs supporting the own country's culture.
> Ys should mainstream cultural activities within their communities so that youth wont adopt negative culture spread through globalisation. Cultural activities should be practised in YMCAs.
> Sharing, cultural exchange.
> Adapt programs to fit the needs of the community reflect the culture.
> Organise regular cultural events and share with other YMCAs in the world.
> YMCAs can be as open to dialogue as possible to try and protect cultural identities. Local YMCAs can try and preserve culture and show it to others.
> Watch out for people wanting to buy the YMCA identity
2. What do you think can be your personal contribution towards Ubuntu in response to globalisation? (think about social and ethical aspects)
> "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
> We must model the behaviour that we want to see in others, care for others, putting others before yourself.
> Increase own awareness.
> Promote Christian values and principles.
> Make sure all 3 facets of YMCA are emphasised not just commercial.
> Build strong self esteem and respect and honour of humanity in respect to globalisation.
> Consider how you live your life as an individual.
> Encourage conversation about globalisation at your YMCA.
> Share my knowledge, my learning of ubuntu with my YMCA members, employees, my family, my friends and my colleagues.
> Constantly work on embracing diversity
> Volunteering in other countries.
> Accepting and including people different to myself. Creating a "we"
> Spread message of this conference to others. Love each other!
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Resource materials are available to prepare your Youth and World Council delegates prior to arriving in Durban. Review and discuss the Global Operating Plan for Movement Strengthening, the World Alliance South Africa orientation, practical matters, expectations for the Youth Council and more.
Download a resource for preparing younger leaders now:
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The Youth Council was supported by the Canadian International Development Agency.
Youth Council delegates will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of social exposure trips. Delegates will select their excursion at the Youth Council and should not sign up before arriving in Durban. See the options below:
Lilly of the Valley Children’s Home - AIDS orphanage
Lily of the Valley is a Children’s Home providing care, love and support to children abandoned or orphaned due to their parents having died of AIDS. The number of orphans continues to escalate as AIDS spreads through South African communities. A number of homes have been established around the country to care for children orphaned or abandoned due to the AIDS pandemic.
The Lily of the Valley Children’s Home in KwaZulu Natal was founded with this very objective. Situated on a 59-acre farm in Eston, near Pietermaritzburg, it is a Government registered home for children, who are admitted from various child welfare organisations with a court order from the Children’s Court. It is a non-profit institution of a public and permanent nature.
Valley Trust - community development projects
The Valley Trust, a non-profit welfare organisation, was established in 1953 to complement the work of the Health Centre. Various projects were established, such as a demonstration vegetable garden, a food preparation unit to encourage correct cooking practices, a home produce market, a maize grinding mill, and recreational facilities, all designed to address life-style deficiencies at the root of many diseases. The Trust works on a referral system; patients from the clinic were referred to The Valley Trust for agricultural and nutritional advice and assistance, and this rapidly led to outreach activities to assist with the establishment of home vegetable gardens and other basic amenities. Over the fifty years of its existence, The Valley Trust has been able to expand its range of activities, and is currently engaged in many community development projects designed to improve the health, quality of life and self-reliance of individuals and the community as a whole.
Habitat for Humanity - house building project
Habitat for Humanity is an international non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. It seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.
World Vision - economic and sustainability development projects.
World Vision of South Africa is a non-governmental Christian development and relief organisation. It has been in operation since 1967, and is playing an important role in the building of our nation.
Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian and Social Awareness (PACSA)…. HIV, Gender and AIDS
The Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness is an independent ecumenical non-governmental organisation committed to the transformation of our society based on principles of freedom, equality, human dignity and mutual respect. Working within the KwaZulu Natal Midlands region, PACSA seeks to facilitate the empowerment of marginalised communities - especially women, youth and unemployed people - to enable full and worthy participation in society by working directly with such groups on current issues of social concern, conscientising the churches to the social implications of their faith, and establishing strategic alliances with other agencies concerned with the achievement of a just and empowered society.
Quarry Heights
Bothas Hill based organisation working on Community Development. Projects include an Edu-care Centre, sewing and craft work, a life orientation club, a HIV/AIDS support group, and senior citizens.
Sakhithemba Programme
AmanziMtoti YMCA Rehabilitation programme for young offenders.
Centre for Public Participation (CPP) - civic education
A project of a consortium of four non-governmental organisations (NGOs): the Black Sash; the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA); the Institute for Multi-Party Democracy (IMPD); and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR). The IMPD agreed to act as an accounting organisation, providing financial management support to the CPP. The CPP’s legal status as a consortium project was that of a voluntary association. The CPP’s initial mandate was to increase public awareness and understanding of the structures and processes of the KwaZulu Natal Legislature, and build capacity among NGOs and community-based organisations to engage with these through advocacy.
Centre for Civil Society, University of KwaZulu Natal - community development.
This is a University of KwaZulu Natal based organisation, focusing on strengthening the non-profit and voluntary sector by disseminating information to the sector itself, and by building networks and encouraging collaboration both within the sector and between it and researchers and teachers in Higher Education institutions around the country. The Centre endeavours to ensure that access to quality education about the sector, and appropriate training for its volunteers and employees is available in all major metropolitan areas and as widely as possible in the country as a whole.
South African NGO Coalition
Visit two Community empowerment organisations in Durban, which deal with gender justice, and participatory democracy.
The World Council will be preceded by a Youth Council, an event designed to equip youth delegates for YMCA leadership and to prepare them to play a crucial role in the World Council. The Council will be an opportunity to explore the current role and potential of young people as leaders in strengthening their YMCAs and in building community.
It is expected that 250 younger leaders will participate in the Youth Council and that most of these delegates will stay for the World Council. The programme will include plenary sessions on transformational leadership and justice issues, excursions to see justice issues in context, preparing for the World Council, worship, live music and evening entertainment.
Venue
The Youth Council will be held at Kearnsey College, 42km outside Durban, and surrounded by enchanting scenery of hills and valleys. Accommodation will be in 2 comfortable residences at Kearnsey College.
Cost
The cost is 150 USD per person. This includes registration fees for the Youth Council, full board and lodging. The deadline for registration is January 31. All participants must be endorsed by their National Council.
Youth Council Pre-event, 3-6th July 2006
A practical 4 day global youth work programme will be held immediately before the Youth Council, to allow participants to explore the work and life of the South African YMCA in the social and cultural context of contemporary South Africa. Participants will be hosted in the homes of local people and will join local YMCA programmes, actively working alongside YMCA colleagues and local young people on day to day YMCA activities. The pre-event aims to empower young people to take a lead on issues of youth justice in South Africa, during the Youth Council, the World Council and in their communities across the world.
Aims:
- To give younger YMCA leaders the opportunity to understand the context of the work of the YMCA in South Africa, to explore how the YMCA is responding to justice issues, and to build their capacity as younger leaders to respond to justice issues in their own contexts
- To give delegates a first hand experience of life in South Africa through exchanging experiences with local young people, local work placements and homestays.
- To prepare delegates to get the most out of the Youth Council and World Council
Programme
The programme starts at lunchtime on Monday 3rd July and finishes with breakfast on Friday 7th. Participants will then be taken to join the Youth Council which starts with lunch on Friday 7th July.
Delegates will be encouraged to participate directly in YMCA programmes in and around Durban. They will interact with local young leaders and YMCA staff / volunteers, and look at ways of addressing the root causes of issues. There will also be plenary sessions and group work. The event will be led by experienced youth workers.
Day 1: welcome and orientation
Day 2: plenary and workshops on justice issues. Visit neighbourhood of
homestay.
Day 3: workplacement: youth justice in action
Day 4: workplacement in the morning; debriefing and preparation for
World Council.
Accommodation
For the 1st and 4th nights, delegates will stay in the Durban YMCA.
For the 2nd and 3rd nights, delegates will stay with local host families in their homes. These families are all connected to local YMCAs.
Cost
200 USD per participant. This includes registration, full board and lodging and transport from the airport and whilst on the programme.
Eligibility
The programme is aimed at younger YMCA leaders who will participate in the Youth Council and World Council.
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