The week in civil society: a focus on vaccine progress, oversight at Facebook and the secret power of pulses

South Africa is full of activists whose voices and campaigns need to be heard, and we want to report on all of them. So, wherever you live, if you have virtual events or meetings which you think other activists ought to know about, write to us at [email protected]. 

This week, the world commemorates a “world day” many might not have heard of: World Pulses Day. On 10 February, these packs of protein will be honoured for their high nutritional value and their critical role in combatting food insecurity and enriching soil. This day was declared by the United Nations in 2019.



The rest of the week…

On Monday 8 February, the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation launches its vaccine webinar series. It kicks off with a discussion on what vaccines are, how they work and why we can trust them. Register here.



That same day marks International Epilepsy Day. Started in 2015, the day is a platform for people to share their experiences of living with epilepsy and for global audiences to listen, in order to fight stigma and discrimination. 

The focus this year is to get #EpilsepyDay to trend on social media platforms. The Epilepsy Foundation encourages people to use the #EpilsepsyDay badge on their social media profiles and share information about “why epilepsy is more than seizures”. 

In the leadup to the day, the international network of epilepsy advocates has been raising awareness by challenging people to take 50 million steps for epilepsy —  a step for every person in the world affected by epilepsy. They had from 4 January to 8 February to do it, but they smashed the goal in 16 days. Naturally, they kept walking. More than 101 million steps were taken by 5 February.

In 2020, schoolchildren in South Africa lost between 82 and 87 school days – that’s about 40% or 43% of their school year. Pupils will return to school on Monday 15 February after yet another postponement. 

On Thursday 11 February, a panel of education researchers and professionals will discuss what needs to be done to reopen schools successfully. The webinar discussion is hosted by the Public Affairs Research Institute, an organisation which researches how effectively the state delivers services and provides infrastructure. 

Speaking at “Back to School: Challenges to teaching and learning while managing a pandemic”, are:

• Prof Martin Gustafsson, an associate professor in the Economics Department of Stellenbosch University and senior researcher at RESEP, specialising in education policy and comparative education.


• Dr Faranaaz Veriava, is the head of education at SECTION27. She was worked for the South African Human Rights Commission, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits University and as an advocated of the Johannesburg Bar.


• Mugwena Maluleke, the secretary-general of the South African Democratic Teachers Union. He is an alternate trustee of the Government Employee Pension Fund board (GEPF) and is a non-executive director of the interim board of the Public Investment Corporation.


• Xolisa Guzula, a lecturer and doctoral student in the University of Cape Town’s School of Education. Her research interests range from children’s literacy and multilingualism to teacher training and development.

• Dr Özlem Türeci, the co-founder and chief medical officer of BioNTech;


• Dr Anggia Prasetyoputri, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences; and


• Prof Jennifer Thomson, the president of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World.