Abbreviation | IFH |
---|---|
Predecessor | None |
Formation | 19 February 2013 |
Type | Nonprofit, Nonpartisan |
Headquarters | Johannesburg |
Location | |
Region served | South Africa |
President | Ms Lindelwe Dube |
National Coordinator | Lindelwe Dube |
Finance Director | Matthew Low |
Key people | Kgotsi Chikane Rehana Odendaal Mohato Madibo Olwam Mnqwazi Frederik Thomas de Ridder Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh |
Affiliations | None |
Volunteers | 50+ |
Website | inkulufreeheid |
There is a growing List of social movements in South Africa, amongst these is the youth-led non-partisan InkuluFreeHeid Organisation. The majority of social movements have a particular focus on the housing crisis in urban area while others range from focusing on HIV/AIDS, working conditions, unemployment, access to service delivery and issues of democracy, transparency and accountability.
InkuluFreeHeid launched in February 2013 and aims to unite South Africans, particularly young people, behind efforts that help solve major economic challenges, deepen democracy and enhance social cohesion. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
According to South Africa former Minister of Finance and Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, the InkuluFreeHeid movement is a 'youth-led non-party affiliated movement that mobilises against political apathy among young people in South Africa.'. [6]
Since launching in early 2013, representatives of the organisation have supported critical debate and action on issues of national importance, including the need for South Africa to create a "unifying identity", [7] the importance of indigenous languages amongst the youth, [8] the National Development Plan 2030, [9] [10] the Marikana miners' strike, [11] [12] and the youth-vote in the 2014 National General Elections, [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] as well as speaking out against the abuse of women and children. [18] [19] [20]
InkuluFreeHeid featured in Vanity Fair magazine in March 2014, [21] [22] was selected by Global Poverty Project's 'Global Citizen' in July 2014 as one of three global movements driving change [23] and was named by Primedia Broadcasting's Lead SA as one of its top 15 causes to support and champion in 2015. [24] In 2013, InkuluFreeHeid co-founder, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh was recognised as one of the Mail & Guardian's 'Top 200 Young South Africans'. [25] On 1 April 2015, InkuluFreeHeid President, Kgotsi Chikane was recognised by leading pop-culture magazine Mahala as one of '10 young South Africans leading the way to making change in South Africa'. [26]
In September 2014, InkuluFreeHeid announced that it will host its Inaugural National Democratic Convention in early 2015. The National Democratic Convention took place 10/11 January 2015 and resolved a new Programme of Action to define the future work and policies of the organisation. [27]
InkuluFreeHeid remains in support of the call for a "decommodified, Afrocentric education system", according to a recent interview of newly elected President Lindelwe Dube in VICE NEWS. [28]
"I want to say to those involved in the National Youth Engagement initiative that there is so much that I encounter so frequently that is inspirational about what you do...but, part of what you'll need, is to shape the ideals that will hold you together, you need the kinds of ideals that will commit you to action, the kinds of ideals against which you can measure your own progress arising from this engagement.."
National Youth Engagement on National Development Plan 2030, brought together 35 national youth organisations in Johannesburg on 1 June 2013, including political parties and youth representatives from different labour unions. The Engagement advocates for critical youth-led engagement, action and debate around issues of national planning and for the role of young people in national development. The National Youth Engagement was facilitated NPC Commissioner Mohammad Karaan and "resolved to assist in making the long NDP document more accessible to young people. "Moreover, the Engagement resolved to create a "dashboard" to monitor implementation of youth related proposals in the plan and hold government and business accountable and to meet annually to track progress on implementation." [32] [33] The Port Elizabeth NPC Youth Engagement, born of the National Youth Engagement, took place in New Brighton on 5 October 2013, facilitated by Minister Trevor Manuel, brought together youth organisations from across the Eastern Cape to engage on the National Development Plan.
Our Vote Our Voice Campaign 2013-2014: was a grassroots democracy and soapbox campaign aimed at getting young people critically engaged in the 2014 National General Election, which drew support from all major political parties contending the 2014 National General Election. [17] [34] [35]
"The request for funding by the said attorneys was considered, but could not be granted, as the legal framework of the State Attorney Act and the Commissions Act do not provide for legal representation for witnesses who are not in the employ of the State when the incidents or events being investigated, happened."
— Radebe, 2013 [36]
Citizens4Marikana Campaign: was a 2013 media campaign highlighting inequality-of-arms with respect to legal representation for victims at Marikana Commission of Inquiry appointed by President Jacob Zuma in 2012, advocating that the truth surrounding events in Marikana during the month of August in 2012 should be uncovered, that justice should be done and that adequate reparations must be made to the families of the victims on all sides of the conflict. Citizens4Marikana led a non-partisan march attended by thousands of citizens to the Union Buildings in September 2013. The campaign, in partnership with a number of stakeholders, created a platform for the public to help push a precedent-setting case in the High Court of South Africa regarding mandated State funding for poor individuals at future Presidential Commissions of Inquiry. The campaign wound-down in early 2014 following the victory in the High Court, and is no longer active. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45]
"The judgment is also significant in recognising that the Constitution guarantees the right to state-funded legal assistance in some civil proceedings and commissioner of inquiry, where the circumstances require legal representation in order to secure a fair hearing."
— Legal Resources Centre, 2013 [46]
InkuluFreeHeid contributed to the Electoral Institute of South Africa '2014 Elections Update'. [47] In April 2014, Frederik Thomas de Ridder briefed the Southern African Development Community Election Observer Mission in Pretoria on "Youth and elections in South Africa", and the African Union Election Observer Mission in Johannesburg. [47] On 22 April, speaking at an event in Port Elizabeth organised by InkuluFreeHeid, the "Former National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, [was] the latest to disagree with former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils' notion that South Africans should spoil their vote in the May 7th election." [48] On 30 April, InkuluFreeHeid in association with ANN7 hosted "The Real Debate" between the top three political parties campaigning in the Gauteng region (according to Ipsos polls) at Liliesleaf, Johannesburg. [49] The Real Debate featured Dali Mpofu, Mmusi Maimane and David Makhura. [50] On 20 May, following "The Real Debate", Mr David Makhura, African National Congress Gauteng Secretary, was "confirmed as the Premier of the country’s biggest economy, Gauteng." [51]
"Twenty years ago, baba uZuma was a liberator: he had survived a decade on Robben Island, put his life in danger serving the underground liberation movement and played a seminal role in the negotiations that secured the South African Constitution. But 20 years can change a man. Twenty years can change a movement. And 20 years on, the liberator has become a tyrant."
— Mpofu-Walsh, 2014 (City Press) [52]
InkuluFreeHeid co-founder Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh released a hip-hop track in April 2014 criticising the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma about his failings in dealing with the Marikana miners' strike, allegedly benefiting from state-funds in the upgrade of his homestead at Nkandla, and undermining women as well as undermining the African National Congress. [53] The song also calls for Jacob Zuma to resign as the President of South Africa.
An accredited short course about democracy and citizenship is hosted by the Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Institute for Student Leadership Development in collaboration with InkuluFreeHeid. The course was launched in 2013 and explores the concepts of democracy and citizenship in the context of South Africa and Africa. [54] [55] The theoretical elements of the course is complemented with a practical component. Participants are encouraged to engage as active citizens in democratic processes in local communities and to acknowledge accountability for their continuous role in the development and democratisation of South Africa.
On 20 September 2014, InkuluFreeHeid's Kgotsi Chikane 'took over' Primedia Broadcasting's LeadSA social-media accounts for 24-hours, as part of their 'future leader' series. [56]
In July 2013, InkuluFreeHeid co-founders Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and Frederik Thomas de Ridder participated in the Kofi Annan Live Dialogue on Democracy and Elections, "an unprecedented series of online discussion" with the 7th Secretary General of the United Nations organised by the Kofi Annan Foundation to 'inspire young people to lead'. [57] [58]
On 21 September 2013, InkuluFreeHeid organised the Live Global Moment from South Africa with Peace One Day and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rivonia trials that led to the incarceration of Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada. Peace One Day, is a non-profit organisation whose objective is to institutionalise Peace Day 21 September. [59] According to an independent McKinsey & Company Report, 470 million people in 200 countries across the world were aware of Peace Day 2013. [60] The Live Global Moment was broadcast live from Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia, Johannesburg, reaching an estimated global audience of 18-million, and featuring a panel that included Ahmed Kathrada, Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, Kay Sexwale, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and Frederik Thomas de Ridder. [61]
In October 2013, InkuluFreeHeid co-founders presented at the One Young World Summit in Johannesburg South Africa. [62] [63] Following a presentation at the Summit, Bob Geldof described InkuluFreeHeid as "being a threat without violence", [64] while Kofi Annan "emphasised that it takes individual and group efforts to make this kind of change." [65]
Tokelo David Matlou is the 'Chief Technology Officer' of the organisation. [5]
2016-2017 National Executive Team
2015-2016 National Executive Team
2015-2016 National Working Group
2013-2014 Organisers
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (AM/FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state-owned enterprises.
Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and the first headmaster was James Picot, a French scholar, who was only 18 years old on his appointment.
LM Radio is a radio station based in Maputo, Mozambique. Historically it was a shortwave station broadcasting to South Africa and Rhodesia from Lourenço Marques, the colonial era name of Maputo, hence the name "Lourenço Marques Radio" from 1936 to 1975 when it was shut down by the government of the then newly independent country. In 2010, following political reforms and economic development in Mozambique a new station was launched with the brand "Lifetime Music Radio", trading on the nostalgia of the original LM Radio.
Adriaan Johannes Vlok was a South African politician. He was Minister of Law and Order in South Africa from 1986 to 1991 in the final years of the apartheid era. Facing increasingly intense opposition and political unrest in this period, the South African government – through the State Security Council of which Vlok was a member – planned and implemented drastic repressive measures, including hit squads, carrying out bombings and assassination of anti-apartheid activists.
South Africa since 1994 transitioned from the system of apartheid to one of majority rule. The election of 1994 resulted in a change in government with the African National Congress (ANC) coming to power. The ANC retained power after subsequent elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Children born during this period are known as the born-free generation, and those aged eighteen or older, were able to vote for the first time in 2014.
The Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) is an umbrella organization that unites and motivates media companies around the world to use their influence, resources, and creative talent to address AIDS. The GMAI creates a framework for sharing television and radio programming among media companies in order to increase public health messaging. The organization also educates journalists, editors and producers on how to cover the issue. HIV is preventable, and GMAI members aim to improve public awareness and knowledge to help stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.
South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world", with one of the highest rates of public protests in the world.
The Constitution of South Africa protects all basic political freedoms. However, there have been many incidents of political repression, dating back to at least 2002, as well as threats of future repression in violation of this constitution leading some analysts, civil society organisations and popular movements to conclude that there is a new climate of political repression or a decline in political tolerance.
General elections were held in South Africa on 7 May 2014, to elect a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. It was the fifth election held in South Africa under conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994, and also the first held since the death of Nelson Mandela. It was also the first time that South African expatriates were allowed to vote in a South African national election.
There have been many political assassinations in post-apartheid South Africa. In 2013 it was reported that there had been more than 450 political assassinations in the province of KwaZulu-Natal since the end of apartheid in 1994. In July 2013 the Daily Maverick reported that there had been "59 political murders in the last five years". In August 2016 it was reported that there had been at least twenty political assassinations in the run up to the local government elections on the 3rd of August that year, most of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
Sinenjongo High School is a high school in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, in 2013. Malema is president of the EFF, heading the Central Command Team, which serves as the central structure of the party. It is currently the fourth-largest party in the National Assembly.
Bandile Mdlalose is a former general secretary of the South African shackdwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo. She is now the President of the Community Justice Movement which operates in some informal settlements of Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal.
The Big Debate South Africa is a South African television debate series with a focus on pertinent contemporary political topics to South Africa. It is conducted in a "town hall debate" style with the presenter, Siki Mgabadeli, interviewing key guests, asking questions, and moderating the subsequent debate. It began running in 2009 and was devised by filmmaker Ben Cashdan. The show is produced by Broad Daylight Films Foundation, a non-profit production company, based in Johannesburg.
Manemolla David Makhura is a South African politician. He served as the 6th Premier of Gauteng following his election in 2014 until his resignation in October 2022. He was also a member of the Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature during that time. Makhura is a member of the African National Congress (ANC). Makhura is also the trustee of the board of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.
Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh is a South African University lecturer, Podcaster, author, musician and activist. Mpofu-Walsh was president of the University of Cape Town Students' Representative Council in 2010. He holds a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford. In September 2017, Mpofu-Walsh published his debut book, Democracy and Delusion: 10 Myths in South African Politics. Along with the book, he released his debut rap album, also titled Democracy and Delusion.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Daluxolo Christopher Mpofu is a South African lawyer, politician, and former businessman who was the National Chairperson of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) from 2014 to 2019. He served on the Judicial Service Commission from 2017 to 2022 and formerly served as chief executive officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation from 2005 to 2009.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections, the total number of parties registering candidates were: