This week — Remembering the Marikana massacre, World Humanitarian Day and Land Conference

15 Aug 2022

The Kalashnikovv Gallery is opening an exhibition, ‘Marikana: 10 years through the lens’, featuring photos by Daily Maverick photo editor, Felix Dlangamandla, and others; Maverick Citizen is launching a podcast series that discusses the many areas of Food Justice, titled ‘What’s Eating Us’; and the Land Conference 2022 — hosted by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies and partners — is kicking off on Wednesday.

On Monday, 15 August, at 8am, the Department of Social Development, in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation, is hosting a roundtable discussion on the Basic Income Grant (BIS) with the view to strengthen draft policy.

“The objective of the BIS roundtable discussion is to strengthen the business case, explore possible options and also to navigate the contestations,” according to the event description.

The event is taking place at Cresta Grande Cape Town at 37 Loop St, Cape Town City Centre. It will run until 4pm, and again between 8am and 4pm on Tuesday, 16 August.

Queries can be directed to Chuene Mpati at [email protected].

From 9am on Monday, the University of Johannesburg is holding a series of events to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Marikana massacre.

The events include a documentary screening, panel discussions and engagements with the artists behind the Marikana in Paint and Photo exhibition hosted on the Bunting Road Campus.

“A decade ago, police slaughtered 34 striking mineworkers. No police have been charged, no compensation has been paid and Cyril Ramaphosa, implicated in the massacre, has refused to apologise,” according to the event description.

“We detail and reflect on events, discuss their impact and consider what’s changed for ordinary people.”

Queries can be directed to Lynford at 074 891 0438 or [email protected].

On Monday at 10am, the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is hosting a dialogue based on a research project it commissioned. The project aimed to map out development pathways that are climate-resilient.

It focused on two case studies in the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone and the eThekwini metropolitan municipality, “to ground the approach in practical contexts and socio-ecological systems”, according to the event description.

“Drawing on the findings from these two pilot spaces, the dialogue will examine the possibilities of a [climate-resilient development pathway] approach to mapping pathways and forming partnerships across different scales, sectors and contexts in South Africa.”

Register here.

At 12pm on Monday, small-scale fishers and members of civil society will be gathering on Marine Drive in Paarden Island (33°55’07”S, 18°27’30.7”E) for a harbour blockade.

The group is protesting against offshore oil and gas exploration and demanding sustainable energy solutions.

On Monday at 4pm, the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research is hosting a webinar based on Seth Koven’s paper “Born White: Race, Religion, and the Conscientious Objector to Smallpox Vaccination in Britain and Natal”.

Those wishing to attend the event are encouraged to read the paper first. It is available here.

Register for the webinar here.

On Monday at 5.30pm, the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education is hosting a public seminar as part of a series of events to “Remember the slain of Marikana: 10 years on”.

The event will take place at Bertha House, 67 Main Road, Mowbray. Speakers include Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Nomzamo Zondo of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa and Meshack Mbangula of Mining Affected Communities United in Action.

The following day, 16 August, at 3.30pm, the centre will host a book launch for Marikana: A people’s history by Julian Brown.

Those wishing to RSVP can do so at [email protected] or 021 685 3516.

On Tuesday, 16 August, members of Mining Affected Communities United in Action and Women Affected by Mining United in Action will be gathering outside Parliament, Cape Town, as part of a “Civil Disobedience Day” to demand consultation between Parliament and mining-affected communities.

For more information, contact Meshack Mbangula on 074 977 5588.

At 2.30pm on Tuesday, the Wits School of Governance and Democracy Works Foundation is facilitating a conversation between Professor William Gumede; Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood; and Ukrainian civil society leader, Natalia Popovych.

The participants aim to explore lessons for Africa when it comes to civil society resilience in war. The discussion will take place in the Wits School of Governance boardroom.

Visit Daily Maverick's home page for more news, analysis and investigations

On Tuesday at 6.30pm, the Kalashnikovv Gallery will be opening an exhibition, Marikana: 10 years through the lens.

The exhibition will feature photographs by Leon Sadiki, Alon Skuy, Lucas Ledwaba, Felix Dlangamandla and Kevin Sutherland.

The gallery is at 70 Juta Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

On Wednesday, 17 August, at 8.30am, the Land Conference 2022 — hosted by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas), the Land and Accountability Resource Centre (Larc) and partners — will kick off. The theme is “The failed promise of tenure security: Customary land rights and dispossession”.

The conference will run until 19 August, and cover themes such as:

Threats to tenure security;

The place of customary law in the constitutional era;

Customary land rights and common and statutory law;

Customary law protection strategies; and

Alternative tenure security policies, practices and laws.

On Wednesday at 10am, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the National Youth Development Agency, is hosting a dialogue on “Bridging the gap between education and labour for persons with disabilities”.

“The majority of working-age South Africans remain confined to the sidelines of economic participation. As a result, the pursuit of economic freedom is a pipedream for most,” according to the event description.

“While there is consensus that not all graduates enjoy equitable access to the labour market, and that interventions aimed at addressing the crisis should be premised on ideals of transformational redress, persons with disabilities remain relegated to a footnote of the dominant discourse.”

Panellists at the event include Dr Armand Bam; Advocate Bokankatla Joseph Malatji; Collins Ombajo; Losh Pather; and Lidia Pretorius.

This is a hybrid event, with the in-person session taking place at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, 107 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg.

Register here.

On Thursday, 18 August, Maverick Citizen will launch a podcast series that discusses the many areas of Food Justice, titled “What’s Eating Us”.

Over the past year and a half, Maverick Citizen has been investigating and writing about the often under-reported area of Food Justice, which covers issues of realising the right to food, food sovereignty, food literacy, big food industry interference in food regulations and the detrimental health impact that ultra-processed foods have on people as well as the health system.

The podcast will feature discussions with industry experts and will be hosted by Maverick Citizen journalist Zukiswa Pikoli. You can find Maverick Citizen’s catalogue of articles on Food Justice here.

On Thursday at 6pm, Jacana Media is hosting a panel discussion in commemoration of the Marikana massacre.

The panel will bring together Koketso Moeti, civic activist; Julian Brown, author of the recently-published Marikana: A People’s History; Asanda Benya, contributor to Business as Usual After Marikana: Corporate Power and Human Rights; and Gabsile Khanyile, community activist.

“The Marikana Massacre is one of the most significant outcomes of the corporate impunity seen in South Africa, alongside the toxic collusion between private interests and the state,” according to the event description.

“The panel will explore other pressing questions: Has there been any meaningful change in the arrangement between the state and corporates which led to the massacre? Have the conditions, both in the mines and in the community, that led to the strike in the first place, changed at all? What have we done?”

Register here.

Friday 19 August is World Humanitarian Day. The theme for this year’s observance is “It takes a village”.

According to the United Nations (UN), it takes a village to support a person experiencing a humanitarian crisis.

“With record-high humanitarian needs around the world, this year’s World Humanitarian Day builds on this metaphor of collective endeavour to grow global appreciation of humanitarian work,” stated the UN.

“Whenever and wherever people are in need, there are others who help them. They are the affected people themselves — always first to respond when disaster strikes — and a global community that supports them as they recover.”

World Humanitarian Day 2022 seeks to draw attention to the many volunteers, professionals and crisis-affected people who provide emergency healthcare, water, food and shelter.

On Friday, 19 August, at 8am, the first day of the 24th National Family Practitioners Conference — hosted by the South African Academy of Family Physicians — will begin at Lagoon Beach Hotel, Cape Town.

The event will run until 6pm. Day two of the conference will take place from 8am to 6.30pm on Saturday, 20 August.

On Friday at 1pm, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group is hosting a Facebook live discussion titled “Perinatal Depression: When is it more than baby blues?”

The talk will explore symptoms of the condition, as well as the treatment available to those who experience it. Speakers include Hayley Lieberthal of Mums Support Network and Dr Bavi Vythilingum, a psychiatrist specialising in women’s mental health.

On Sunday, 21 August, at 10.30am, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation will be opening the Ahmed Kathrada permanent exhibition at Constitution Hill Human Rights Precinct, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

“The exhibition, located at Constitution Hill, Old Fort, will focus on different elements of Kathrada’s rich legacy and will draw in audiences, both old and young,” according to the event description.

RSVP for the event at [email protected]. DM/MC

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