Southern Africa and Solidarity Centre

Southern Africa and Solidarity Centre

About the Programme: 

The Southern Africa and Solidarity Centre incorporates the Anti-Xenophobia Project and the project for Building Solidarity Networks.

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For many years, the oppressed people in South Africa have been recipients of solidarity from many peoples and organisations around the world. The peoples and governments of Southern Africa occupy a special place in this solidarity movement. The processes of regional integration and globalisation pose special challenges to the striving for regional solidarity. The Southern Africa and Solidarity Centre constitutes Khanya’s response to these challenges and aims to facilitate the building of links between various social movements to strengthen prospects of regional solidarity.

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Anti-Xenophobia Project

A large number of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers see South Africa as the country in which they will find political, economic and social security. Yet most South Africans regard other African nationals with suspicion and dread. Among the factors responsible for the intensification of negative attitudes towards immigrants in South Africa are those of nationalism, media influence and job scarcity.

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The weakness of the social justice movement also contributes greatly to on-going xenophobia within sections of the South African working class. The primary work of this project will involve promoting discussion and dialogue on xenophobia within the various civil society organisations and social movements in South Africa, and combating xenophobia in society more broadly.

The objectives of the Project are to:

  1. Promote tolerance and thereby sustaining the gains of the democratic transition
  2. Build links and solidarity between South African communities and immigrant communities
  3. Advocate for change in the legal and institutional set-up in South Africa so as to ensure improvement in the lives of immigrant communities,
  4. Advocate for improvements in the social, economic and political conditions of immigrants so as to facilitate easier naturalisation and the recognition of rights for immigrants
  5. Promote cultural diversity and cultural tolerance
  6. Promote regional solidarity

Activities:

  • Awareness raising workshops
  • Publications including a newsletter, posters and flyers, educational booklets and audio-visual materials.
  • Anti-xenophobia festival, conferences and seminars
  • Campaign and advocacy support activities
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KARIBU! newsletter of Khanya's campaign against xenophobia

KARIBU! newsletter is a publication of Khanya's campaign against xenophobia. It aims at strengthening and reinforcing a discourse against xenophobia in South Africa, sharing knowledge and experiences of anti-xenophobia work and to explore further approaches of organising and mobilising social justice activists.

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KARIBU! is committed to put into practice the aims and objectives of Khanya's anti-xenophobia campaign:

  • Enabling a change in attitude towards foreign nationals among the South African population in the interests of peace and justice;
  • General awareness raising: Promoting tolerance and thereby sustaining the gains of the democratic transition;
  • Promoting regional solidarity, cultural diversity and cultural tolerance;
  • Building links and solidarity between South African communities and immigrant communities;
  • Building a network of organisations working on immigration issues;
  • Enabling local immigrant organizations to take up issues affecting immigrant communities through mobilization and advocacy;and
  • Providing for institutional support to immigrant organisations.

To download the latest Karibu! newsletters, click below:

AttachmentSize
Karibu_1_May10.pdf920.69 KB
Karibu_4_Sep09.pdf968.6 KB
Karibu_3_June09.pdf730.98 KB
Karibu_2_May09.pdf886.83 KB
Karibu_1_March09.pdf774.34 KB
Karibu_4_Nov07.pdf442 KB
Karibu_3_Sep07.pdf1.32 MB
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Building Solidarity Networks

As the process of regional integration has intensified, civil society organisations in Southern Africa have sought to respond to this process by creating a number of networks and forums through which common responses and campaigns are forged. Among such networks are the Southern Africa Social Forum, the Southern African People’s Solidarity Network, Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Council, and the Southern Africa NGO Coalition. The aim of this project is to facilitate links and solidarity between South African social movements and civil society organisations and their counterparts in the region.

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The objectives of the Project are to:

  1. Ensure that Khanya College is able to participate consistently in these and other networks in order to contribute to the building of regional solidarity
  2. Ensure that Khanya initiatives like the Winter School, the Journal and other projects of the College with a Southern Africa dimension are aligned with initiatives by other organisations and partners
  3. Bring together movements that deal with similar issues – for example the environment – across Southern African borders in seminars, exchange programmes, the Winter School, and conferences.
  4. Facilitate and initiate joint publications, joint programmes and common advocacy interventions among civil society in Southern Africa

Activities:

  • Publications, including educational booklets and newsletters
  • Organising the Southern Africa Social Forum through membership of the Regional Organising Committee of SASF
  • Educational events
  • Facilitating the participation of South African civil society organisations in SASF and at the WSF
  • Facilitate linkages between SA organisations and organisations from the region.
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