Friedrich Naumann Foundation South Africa

24/08/2026

Carried by community. Driven by purpose.

👉Read MEC Wendy Kaizer-Philander’s story here: https://www.freiheit.org/liberal-workshop-south-africa/carried-community-driven-purpose

From growing up in Paarl East to becoming the Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Wendy Kaizer-Philander’s journey has been shaped by community, resilience and a commitment to serving others.

Having experienced first-hand the power of a community that steps up when people need it most, she has carried that lesson throughout her journey from local government to provincial leadership. Her focus remains on protecting vulnerable people, strengthening communities and ensuring dignity stays at the heart of public service.

Her message is a powerful one: government has a role to play, but building stronger communities is something we all have a responsibility for.

“We need to cultivate that love for each other. We need to bring that back into our communities.”

20/08/2026

A new chapter in political leadership development 🇿🇦

FNF South Africa welcomes the first cohort of the Political Leadership MBA to Cape Town, hosted by the new Naumann Academy – marking a new chapter in FNF’s approach to international political leadership development.

For more than three decades, the International Academy for Leadership (IAF) in Gummersbach brought together emerging and established leaders from around the world. While the physical academy in Germany closed at the end of 2025, its mission continues through the Naumann Academy: bringing political education closer to the contexts in which leadership is practised today.

FNF South Africa’s Wayne Alexander welcomed the first cohort this week:

“I take the Political Leadership MBA as an invitation to understand the whole democratic enterprise: people, institutions, values, power, communication, strategy and implementation – not simply the next election, the next position or the next news cycle.”

A new format, a new chapter, and a continued commitment to developing responsible democratic leadership.

14/08/2026

BEYOND WOMEN’S DAY | FOUR HELENS

Principle. Protest. Parliament. Power.

Women’s Day may have passed, but the conversations about women, political courage and leadership shouldn’t end on 9 August.

Today, we look at four Helens who each took a different path to shaping our country’s political history

Helen Newton-Thompson represented constitutional resistance and was a founding member of the Black Sash, standing against apartheid legislation and the erosion of voting rights.

Helen Joseph took resistance to the streets through organisation, protest and mass mobilisation, alongside many other women in the historic 1956 Women’s March.

Helen Suzman, one of the most prominent liberal women in South Africa’s history, chose another battleground: Parliament, where she became one of apartheid’s most persistent liberal parliamentary opponents.

Helen Zille began as a journalist, exposing the circumstances surrounding Steve Biko’s death, before moving into anti-apartheid activism and eventually politics, where she became a prominent liberal political leader in democratic South Africa.

Women’s Day is one day. The conversation about women, freedom and leadership should go far beyond it.

Helen Zille

13/08/2026

🧱 ONE WALL FELL. MANY MORE STILL NEED TO.

The fall of the Berlin Wall showed the world that barriers once thought immovable can come down.

That moment is at the heart of Falling Walls.

The Falling Walls movement was created around a simple but powerful question:

Which are the next walls to fall?

Today, those walls are not only physical.

They exist in science, healthcare, technology, education and society. And around the world, researchers and innovators are working to break them.

Here in Cape Town, our 2026 Falling Walls Lab winner Sandile Gumbi is tackling one of them:

🔬 Breaking the Wall of Paediatric TB Diagnostics

Children cannot always cough up the sputum required for conventional TB testing. Sandile’s V-OX concept explores a paper-based diagnostic using chemical colour shifts as a different approach to this challenge.

From the wall that fell in Berlin to the walls being challenged today in Cape Town, the idea remains the same:

Walls can fall when people are brave enough to challenge them.

And now Sandile takes his wall from Cape Town to Berlin. 🇿🇦 ➡️ 🇩🇪

This is Falling Walls.

12/08/2026

FNF Sub-Saharan Africa invites experienced exhibition, activation and experiential design companies to submit proposals for the design, fabrication and installation of an FNF exhibition stand for The Gathering 2026.

The stand will be hosted at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 11 September 2026 and should create an engaging, interactive and visually compelling space for conversations around freedom, democracy, innovation and international cooperation.

Deadline for proposals: 14 August 2026

Download the full RFP for more details.

FNF invites proposals for the design, fabrication and installation of an interactive exhibition stand for The Gathering 2026 at CTICC, showcasing freedom, innovation and democratic engagement.

12/08/2026

From activism to the council chamber.

For Zintle Olayi, serving the community has always come first. One of South Africa’s youngest serving councillors, Olayi’s journey began in grassroots activism before taking them into formal politics and a seat at the decision-making table.

But one thing hasn’t changed: the commitment to advocate, serve and make people’s voices heard.

Read more about Zintle Olayi’s journey from activist to political leader: https://www.freiheit.org/liberal-workshop-south-africa/olayi-has-always-been-activist

09/08/2026

Today, on Women’s Day, we honour the courage, conviction and contribution of the women who helped shape South Africa’s journey to freedom.

Women who stood up. Spoke out. Organised. Led. Challenged injustice. And refused to accept that things could not change.

Some became names written into our history. Countless others did not. Yet their courage, sacrifice and determination helped build the freedoms we enjoy today.

As we celebrate them, we are reminded that freedom is not simply inherited. It is protected, strengthened and carried forward by every generation.

Their legacy. Your freedom.

Happy Women’s Day, South Africa. 🇿🇦🌸

07/08/2026

What an incredible day for Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2026! 🎉

After months of preparation, we are proud to celebrate a hugely successful event that brought together brilliant minds, bold ideas and people committed to breaking down the walls standing in the way of progress.

🏆 Congratulations to our 2026 winner, Sandile Gumbi, for his breakthrough pitch:

“Breaking the Wall of Paediatric TB Diagnostics.”

Sandile will now represent Cape Town at the Falling Walls Lab global finale in Berlin, taking his idea onto the international stage. We wish him every success on this exciting journey!

A special thank you to our Guest of Honour, Hon. Yusuf Cassim, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, for joining us and sharing this important occasion. We were also honoured by the presence of Karl-Heinz Schmitz, German Acting Consul General, and Professor Mosa Moshabela, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town. Our sincere appreciation also goes to Phillip Tshabalala, DHET Chief Director: Teaching, Learning & Research & Development; Peter Matthews, Deputy Director of the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika; and Prof Edward Sturrock, Deputy Dean for Research in UCT’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

👏 A huge thank you to our jury, Dr Zulfah Albertyn-Blanchard, Maurisa Moloto, Manfred Braune, Dr Kathryn Wicht and Mercy Mukulu, for giving their time, expertise and thoughtful consideration to every pitch.

We also extend a very special thank you to Dr Samantha Douman from UCT, whose volunteer support and assistance played an important role in making the event possible.

And, of course, congratulations to all 11 presenters. The quality, diversity and ambition of the ideas presented made this year's competition something truly special.

Finally, thank you to our partners, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika and the University of Cape Town, and to everyone who joined us, supported the event and helped make Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2026 such a success.

Cape Town has found its wall breaker. Next stop: Berlin! 🇿🇦✈️🇩🇪

06/08/2026

This Week in History | Women’s Month 🇿🇦

Eight women. Eight stories. Eight very different contributions to South Africa’s history.

Their journeys crossed generations, communities and political traditions. Some organised from the ground up. Some marched. Some challenged the system from within. Some became national figures, while others are not remembered nearly enough.

And their legacies are not all simple.

As we head towards Women’s Day, we want to do more than celebrate these women. We want to start a conversation about how we remember the people who helped shape our democracy.

Can we recognise courage while acknowledging controversy?
Who gets remembered, and who gets left out?
And can we honour someone’s contribution without endorsing everything they subsequently said or did?

History isn’t always comfortable. That’s exactly why we should talk about it.

What do you think? Who deserves their flowers? 🌸

05/08/2026

We are honoured to welcome Hon. Yusuf Cassim, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, to Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2026!

We are delighted to have him join us as an Honoured Guest, as we celebrate bold ideas, breakthrough thinking and South Africa’s next generation of innovators and changemakers.

His presence reflects the importance of creating opportunities for young people to shape the future through science, innovation and entrepreneurship. Yusuf Cassim