Bottomup

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Bottomup Bottomup is an organisation that works with high school youth to promote critical thinking, social justice and participatory democracy.

Read more: www.bottomup.org.za

Back us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bottomup

09/10/2026

Here is a look back at our tournament at Hyde Park Primary last month. From the first move to the last, it was a day of focus, learning, and community. Thank you to everyone who played, volunteered, and cheered. ♟️

📢 BIG NEWS, Comrades!Everything Must Change 2026 will not be happening this year as a summit. Instead, we're taking it o...
10/09/2026

📢 BIG NEWS, Comrades!

Everything Must Change 2026 will not be happening this year as a summit. Instead, we're taking it on the road. 🚌

Introducing: Everything Must Change: Road Show Edition ✊

We're bringing a 3-hour workshop straight to your school, building knowledge and understanding around xenophobia,so you and your RCL can support and educate your peers.

Would your school like to host the Road Show?

👉 Scan the QR on the poster or hit the link in our bio to apply.

Questions? DM us.

Chess isn't just chess for us.♟️It's children and youth learning they have the power to shape the world they're growing ...
21/08/2026

Chess isn't just chess for us.♟️

It's children and youth learning they have the power to shape the world they're growing up in.

Bottomup isn't just running chess clubs. We're building organisers and community spaces where play becomes practice for questioning power, imagining different, and refusing to just accept the world as it is.

17/08/2026

Who gets space to think?

Every week, hundreds of young people walk into a Bottomup chess club at their schools and public libraries across Cape Town. Not only to become great at chess. To learn how to read the board, read the room, and read the world.

Because thinking for yourself, in a system that keeps telling you what to think, is resistance.

Follow along. Come see what we're actually building.♟️

You’ve probably seen some of our latest posts 👀So we thought it was time to reintroduce ourselves.We’re Bottomup.✊🏾We’re...
11/08/2026

You’ve probably seen some of our latest posts 👀

So we thought it was time to reintroduce ourselves.

We’re Bottomup.✊🏾

We’re a youth-led community working with young people across Cape Town to build critical thinking, bold leadership and the tools to understand—and challenge—the systems shaping their lives.

From chess programmes in schools and libraries, to our Youth Summit, Student Assembly and student leadership work, we create spaces where young people can think critically, organise collectively and imagine a different future.

Because we believe education should be more than preparing young people to fit into the world as it is.

It should give them the tools to change it.

So, if you’re new here—or you’ve been following along for a while—here’s a little reminder of who we are, what we do, and what we’re building.

Welcome to Bottomup. ❤️‍🔥

24/07/2026

"Chess is a very creative game and I can apply the lessons I learn on the board in my real life. It has made me think strategically and has taught me a lot of skills on and off the board." - Tihaana Case ♟️

This is why chess matters.

Watch our Chess Programme learners share what the board has taught them on and off the board.

♟️ International Chess Day was yesterday. The lessons continue today.At BottomUp, we don't see chess as just a game. We ...
21/07/2026

♟️ International Chess Day was yesterday. The lessons continue today.

At BottomUp, we don't see chess as just a game. We see it as a way of creating spaces where young people can gather, think critically, build community, and discover their own power.

That's why we asked our co-ordinators one question:

What has the BottomUp Chess Programme taught you about yourself, on or off the board?

Swipe through to read their reflections. ♟️

Character illustrations done by



YOUTH DAY RAPID HIGH SCHOOL SECTION 🏆♟️We hosted our Youth Day Rapid this month, and our High school players brought it....
03/07/2026

YOUTH DAY RAPID
HIGH SCHOOL SECTION 🏆♟️

We hosted our Youth Day Rapid this month, and our High school players brought it. Swipe through to see how the top 4 finished, plus our girls award. 🔥

Every player who sat down to play earned this one. Congrats to everyone who showed up, calculated, and competed.
More to come. ♟️

Standings powered by Tornelo

On Youth Day, we turned Floreat Primary's hall into a tournament venue — primary schoolers facing primary schoolers, hig...
30/06/2026

On Youth Day, we turned Floreat Primary's hall into a tournament venue — primary schoolers facing primary schoolers, high schoolers facing high schoolers, coaches and learners trading moves as equals in the breaks between rounds.

In between matches, young poets shared work on the history of Youth Day in South Africa, because the day was never just about chess.

Swipe through for what we learnt 👉

Our chess clubs run out of public libraries and school classrooms across Cape Town — spaces we're reimagining as hubs for connection, not just competition.

YOUTH DAY RAPID PRIMARY SCHOOL SECTION 🏆♟️We hosted our Youth Day Rapid this month, and our primary school players broug...
27/06/2026

YOUTH DAY RAPID
PRIMARY SCHOOL SECTION 🏆♟️

We hosted our Youth Day Rapid this month, and our primary school players brought it. Swipe through to see how the top 4 finished, plus our girls award. 🔥

Every player who sat down to play earned this one. Congrats to everyone who showed up, calculated, and competed.
More to come. ♟️

Standings powered by Tornelo

Address

Cape Town

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27847024733

Website

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