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This week — launch of 17th Child Gauge, seminar on Africa’s energy transition, and remembering Babita Deokaran

This week — launch of 17th Child Gauge, seminar on Africa’s energy transition, and remembering Babita Deokaran
Takudzwa Pongweni
By Takudzwa Pongweni
19 Aug 2024
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World Humanitarian Day, commemorating the 2018 #TotalShutDown march against gender-based violence and femicide, the launch of the latest Child Gauge, and remembering whistle-blower Babita Deokaran are but a few of the events on a packed civil society calendar this week.

Monday, 19 August is World Humanitarian Day


‘2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers. 2024 could be even worse. These facts lay bare a glaring truth: the world is failing humanitarian workers and, by extension, the people they serve,” the United Nations brief reads.

“Despite universally accepted international laws to regulate the conduct of armed conflict and limit its impact, violations of these laws continue unabated, unchallenged and unchecked. And while civilians, including aid workers, pay the ultimate price, the perpetrators continue to evade justice.

“This failure of those in power cannot be allowed to continue. Attacks on humanitarian workers and humanitarian assets must stop. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop.

“This World Humanitarian Day, we demand an end to these violations and the impunity with which they are committed. It is time for those in power to end impunity and #ActForHumanity.”

On Monday, at 1pm, the Department of Criminal Justice and Procedure and the Children’s Rights Project of the Dullah Omar Institute will host a talk on stories for impact, titled “Co-producing knowledge with street young people through multimedia story maps”.

“This presentation explores co-production of knowledge for impact with young people through the process of creating digital story maps, drawing on co-produced research from two projects: with homeless youth in African cities, and with youth refugees in Uganda and Jordan. It examines the process of creating story maps with the intention of enabling young people to co-produce knowledge exchange and research impact,” say the organisers.

“Participants were able to engage in the latter stages of research as part of research analysis, outcomes and outputs beyond the temporal and spatial confines of data collection. The story maps were therefore not only used to ‘bring life’ to reports produced for stakeholders and funders, but also to take young people’s research stories beyond locally bound contexts to reach a variety of global audiences. The reflections also highlight that while the approach adopted was not without challenges, in all story maps a knowledge exchange process was fostered that resulted in young people feeling they had been listened to, were able to contribute to debates that affect their own lives and to instil a desire to create change, influence policy and inform publics about their lives. The paper concludes that story mapping is a useful creative process for extending young people’s input into knowledge exchange and longer-term research impacts.”

The speaker will be Lorraine van Blerk, a professor of human geography and assistant vice-principal of research at the University of Dundee in the UK and an honorary professor at the University of Cape Town’s Children’s Institute.

“Lorraine’s research sits at the intersection of social and development geography research with young people in the Global South experiencing poverty, inequality and injustice around issues such as homelessness and [the] protracted refugee experience. She has methodological expertise in co-produced research and knowledge exchange, qualitative and participatory methods, and collaborative story.”

This will take place at the Kader Asmal Moot Court, University of the Western Cape.

RSVP: Elizabeth Witten ([email protected]). 

On Tuesday, 20 August, at 10am, in commemoration of the #TotalShutDown march of 2018 to call for action against the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, Sonke Gender Justice will host an event at Diepkloof Hall.

The #Total Shutdown and Intersectional Women’s March Against Gender-based Violence on 1 August 2018 was organised by an alliance of feminist and gender activists, calling for all women, gender non-conforming people and the LGBTQIA+ community to stay away from work and join the protests around the country against gender-based violence. A memorandum of demands was presented to the government in various cities.

RSVP: [email protected] or [email protected]

Also on Tuesday, at 5.30pm, the UCT Law Faculty will host Professor Tarun Khaitan who will deliver the 2024 Rabinowitz Lecture. He will address the topic of “Liberal Constitutionalism, Media Ownership & the Public-Private Divide”.

It will take place at the Oliver Tambo Moot Court, Kramer Law, Level 5.

Refreshments will be served after the lecture, so please register your attendance for catering purposes.

Register here.

From 20 to 22 August, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre will host an online legal empowerment course for CSOs to learn about defending communities against human rights violations.

The course content includes criminalisation, police abuse and strategic litigation. It will take place daily from 11am to 1pm, drawing on lessons from strategic litigation and community empowerment work across the region.

Register here.

On Wednesday 21 August at 3.30pm there will be a launch of the South African Child Gauge 2024. 

“This 17th issue of the Child Gauge focuses on early childhood development – from conception until the start of formal school. It collates the latest evidence to reflect on progress, identify challenges and point the way forward. At a time when South Africa is seeking solutions to complex societal challenges, it reminds us that the answers lie in early childhood. With nurturing care and the proactive support of families, communities and the whole of society we can protect young children from harm, enable them to thrive and build a strong foundation for national development.” 

It will take place at the Hasso Plattner d-School Afrika, Middle Campus, University of Cape Town. 

For enquiries, email Zerina Matthews: [email protected]   

On Thursday, 22 August at 6pm, Open Secrets in partnership with the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will host “They Killed Dulcie Listening Cinema”.

“Join us for an engaging listening session of ‘They Killed Dulcie’, a podcast by Open Secrets & Sound Africa about the life and assassination of Dulcie September. Following the listening session a panel discussion will explore Dulcie’s activism, assassination, and the broader theme of women in political movements. As we celebrate Women’s Month, join us in continuing to celebrate women who were in the struggle,” the organisers say.

It will take place at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Old Granary Building, Buitenkant St, Cape Town. 

RSVP by Tuesday, 20 August 2024 to [email protected]

Also on Thursday, at 5.30pm, the Ahmed Kathrada foundation will host the launch of Born to Struggle, the biography of Fatima Meer, one of the most prominent leaders in the liberation struggle, authored by Arjumand Wajid.

It will be held at the Mandela Foundation Auditorium

RSVP here.

Friday, 23 August is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition


According to Unesco: “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on 23 August each year. It was first celebrated in a number of countries, in particular in Haiti (23 August 1998) and Gorée Island in Senegal (23 August 1999).”

The day “is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project ‘The Routes of Enslaved Peoples’, it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.”

On Friday, at 11am, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and AUDA-NEPAD will host a seminar on Africa’s energy transition: the need for gas, nuclear and renewables.

“The continent is on track to become a major global carbon emitter if the current fossil fuel-dependent trajectory prevails. Africa exports much of its fuel sources, yet a large portion of its people lacks access to electricity. With rapid population growth and increased energy demand, the continent will become a major global carbon emitter if the current fossil fuel-dependent trajectory prevails. What are the implications of a reasonable transition to renewables in Africa and how important is a global carbon tax to finance that transition?”

This seminar will examine findings from two reports on Africa’s climate and energy futures, developed by the ISS’ African Futures programme. The reports explore various scenarios that track the impact of a global carbon tax, aggressive energy policies, and sustainable practices.

The seminar will be moderated by Pamla Gopaul, senior programme officer and data analyst at AUDA-NEPAD, and presented by Alize le Roux, senior researcher, African futures and innovation at the ISS.

The panellists will be Dr Kennedy Manduna, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wits School of Governance, and Kgaugelo Mkumbeni, research officer, climate risk and human security at the ISS.

Register here.

Also on Friday, at 9am, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies will host a seminar on “Mining Global Decarbonisation for Development in Africa? Regional Geopolitics and the question of South Africa in Africa”.

“Research into the geopolitics of ‘critical’ mineral mining is expanding, with a predominant focus on conflicts related to access and control of renewable energy supply chains among global powers. However, there remains a notable dearth of analysis concerned with addressing how the geopolitics of global decarbonisation relates to regional relations and configurations of power. This absence is concerning given the relatively widespread acceptance that regional development strategies should be embraced by economies seeking to leverage their ‘green’ transition mineral endowment for industrialisation and development. This paper revisits the debate on character and role of the South African state in Africa, from the vantage point of the mineral intensity of global decarbonisation and the competitive dynamics of the contemporary global political economy. By examining South Africa’s role in contemporary Zambia in the context of increasing international competition for access and control of Zambia’s ‘green’ mineral reserves, the paper highlights the ambiguity of South African state action and the evolving and dynamic relations it forges with domestic and international class and state forces,” the event description reads.

The speaker will be Michael Smith, a lecturer in economic development at UCT’s School of Economics and a PhD candidate in sociology at York University in Canada. His research interests include the geopolitics of the green transition, critical mineral mining and South Africa’s evolving economic and political role in Africa. 

This hybrid event will take place in the SCIS Seminar Room, North Lodge, Parktown Management Campus, 2 St David’s Place, Parktown.

Register here.

Also on Friday, the Feast of the Clowns festival will be under way. It is a community-based festival, a celebration of the city, its diversity, and God’s presence in the city, run by the community, for the community. It also provides an awareness-raising platform for various social justice issues, reclaiming the city as a larger community transformation process towards healthy communities and spaces. 

Register here to attend workshops.

For more information contact [email protected].

Also on Friday, the SOS Coalition will host a discussion on the state of public broadcasting in South Africa.

“Join us for an interactive day exploring the understanding and development of [public service media] in South Africa through a series of diverse discussions with the aim of fostering a collaborative environment that enhances the effectiveness, sustainability, and impact of the SABC. The day will be broken up into three sessions, each exploring pertinent issues within the public service media space in South Africa,” the organisers say.

The Venue, 39 Melrose Boulevard, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

For more information contact [email protected]

RSVP here.

Also on Friday, at 5.30pm, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation will pay homage to Babita Deokaran, on the third anniversary of her assassination.

Read more: Gauteng Department of Health’s Babita Deokaran

The civil servant, who blew the whistle on irregular spending worth millions at Tembisa Hospital, was chief director of financial accounting in Gauteng’s health department. She was shot nine times as she pulled up to her home in a south Johannesburg suburb, minutes after dropping her teenage daughter at school.

Venue: 167 Columbine Avenue, corner Ashden Road and Columbine Avenue, Mondeor, Johannesburg South.

RSVP to [email protected] or on 011 854 0082.

On Saturday, 24 August at 12pm, a book launch will be held for Life Esidimeni: Portraits of Lives Lost. 

“In 2016, 144 people with mental illness died in the care of the public health system in Gauteng – from neglect, starvation and torture. They died at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them,” the organisers say.

“The portraits and stories in Life Esidimeni: Portraits of Lives Lost are a testament to the human cost of this disaster. The book explores this heartbreaking event by offering a powerful narrative built on the stories of those most affected. But it is not merely a chronicle of loss: it is also a celebration of resilience and courage.”

Venue: Nelson Mandela Foundation, 107 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg. 

RSVP here. DM

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