Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Africa

14/08/2026

🚨Webinar

🚨 SA’s Pharmaceutical Sector with Swasthi Soomaroo (DTIC)

📅 Wednesday 19 August at 16:00

🎦 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/cWuT-FjIROqb-P7Fe1ydyQ

12/08/2026

No renewal without feminism!

What if the real challenge is not deciding whether someone was a hero or a villain, but learning to hold the contradictions that shape political struggle?

Day 4 of the 2026 Fort Hare Activist School explored the feminist tradition through the lens of The Big Elephant in the Room: Feminist Reflections. Building on the legacy of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela alongside that of Charlotte Maxeke, Fatima Meer, and Ruth First, participants examined how women's political lives are often flattened into simplistic labels. The session challenged participants to move beyond liberal ideas of "hero" or "villain" and engage with the complexity of political leadership, resistance and liberation.

Participants also reflected on feminism as a process of learning and unlearning together—an ideological tradition that is not only about women, but about transforming society. The discussions highlighted that feminism is inseparable from struggles for economic emancipation, justice and collective liberation.

Through discussions on Black, African and anti-colonial feminisms, participants explored how feminist ideas take shape in practice and why they remain essential for understanding power, inequality and social transformation.

The session was facilitated by Oyisa Sondlo, who invited participants to rethink feminism not as an identity, but as a political tradition that challenges systems of oppression and imagines more just futures.

11/08/2026

🗞️Reclaiming taxation as an instrument of democracy, equality, and justice.

"The richest 10% own 86% of the country’s wealth, and yet around 15-million people experience daily food insecurity, and more than 12-million people are unemployed - and so don’t have access to any income to meet their basic needs." Read more👇

https://www.polity.org.za/article/reclaiming-taxation-as-an-instrument-of-democracy-equality-and-justice-2026-08-11

Taxation is often thought of as just being a technical economic issue outside the sphere of influence of ordinary people or civil society organisations. In reality it is a deeply political matter and so is a site of contestation using the tools of engagement in our democracy if we want it to be used...

06/08/2026

Rage alone is not enough – build bridges for real people's power

The struggle for land and housing is not only about buildings. It is about dignity, belonging and the right to call a place home.

Following the morning session on Socialist Traditions and African Experiments, Fort Hare Activist School participants watched Mother City and engaged in a powerful dialogue with Nkosikhona Swartbooi of the Reclaim the City movement.

The discussion unpacked how apartheid spatial planning continues to shape Cape Town, why housing has become a commodity rather than a human right, and how organised communities are using political education, collective action and the law to challenge injustice and advance spatial justice.

Participants also reflected on the power of language in activism. The words we choose are never neutral. They shape public understanding, influence political narratives and can either criminalise poor and working-class communities or affirm their dignity, constitutional rights and humanity. Activists must therefore use language deliberately, challenging dominant narratives while advancing those rooted in justice and solidarity.

One of the day's key lessons was that lasting change is built through organising, not simply mobilising. It requires clear political demands, strategic alliances, sustained political education and the courage to confront systems that place profit above people.

As we continue asking Whose ideas? Whose power? Thinking like an activist, participants were reminded that activism is about more than protest. It is about building movements, reclaiming narratives and transforming society through collective action.

05/08/2026

Politics is too important to be left to politicians alone ❗

Day 1 of the 2026 Fort Hare Activist School challenged participants to ask a fundamental question: Whose ideas shape our society, and whose interests do they serve?

In Module 1, Ideas Have Consequences: Liberalism and Its Limits, facilitator Mondekazi Ntshele, FHAS Alumni, unpacked the promises that accompanied South Africa's democratic transition. Together, participants reflected on the hopes of 1994 and examined whether political freedom has translated into material justice for the majority.

The discussion explored the foundations of liberal democracy, constitutional rights and representation, while confronting the realities that continue to define South Africa today: deep inequality, unemployment, land dispossession and unequal access to opportunities.

Thinking like an activist means asking difficult questions. If democracy promises dignity and equality, what does it mean when millions remain excluded from the material conditions needed to live with dignity? And what role must young activists play in imagining and building alternatives?

The journey has begun. Over the coming days, participants will continue to interrogate the ideas, systems and power structures that shape our society and explore how collective action can advance a more just and democratic South Africa.

04/08/2026

A call was made: South Africa needs progressive leaders. Will you be one of them?

The 2025 Fort Hare Activist School cohort answered that call.

From engaging with South Africa's histories to exploring feminism, social democracy and Black Consciousness, graduates reflected on how the programme transformed not only what they know, but how they understand their role in advancing justice, democracy and social change.

"Never stop learning. Remain grounded in the communities you serve. Never underestimate the power of collective action." — Tyanikazi Cuba

"The struggle for dignity cannot be replaced by material compensation." — Kamva Mbangatha

"Democracy flourishes through respectful debate." — Sinethemba Funani

"Never underestimate the power of your voice." — Nontanda Nabumoza

These were just some of the reflections shared as the cohort celebrated their graduation and the journey they have taken together.

Political education is not about having all the answers. It is about cultivating the courage to ask difficult questions, challenge systems of injustice and build democratic futures rooted in equality, solidarity and social justice.

As Tyanikazi Cuba reminded the incoming cohort:
"Treat this programme as an opportunity for knowledge rather than competition. Learn from each other and gain diverse perspectives."

Graduation is not the end of the journey. It is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to advancing democracy in communities, classrooms, courtrooms, hospitals, workplaces and every space where justice must be defended, democracy expanded and new possibilities imagined.

Congratulations to the Fort Hare Activist School Class of 2025. We look forward to seeing the impact you will continue to make.


📸by Sihle Nako Photography

04/08/2026

Don't just defend democracy - expand and innovate it.

We gathered to celebrate the Fort Hare activist school 2025 cohort ( ) graduation, a new generation of young leaders committed to democracy, justice and social change.

Reflecting on the cohort's journey, our Programme Manager for Democracy and Political Culture, Khanya Burns-Ncamashe, reminded graduates that "protest is necessary, but it is not enough." The task ahead is to move beyond protest towards power by building communities, institutions, organisations and policies that can transform society for generations to come. Democracy demands more than resistance. It requires critical thinking, collective action and a commitment to building a future that serves the public good.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof Eddy Maloka, challenged graduates to confront South Africa's current interregnum with courage and imagination. He argued that moments of crisis are ultimately contests of ideas, reminding young activists that "the future belongs to those who generate new ideas and organise society around them." Rather than defending a failing status quo or giving in to populism, he called on the next generation to shape a more just, democratic and equitable future.

To the Class of 2025: your graduation is not the end of your journey. It is the beginning of a greater responsibility. Continue to organise, to question, to build, and to lead with conviction. South Africa needs young activists who are prepared not only to imagine a better future, but to work collectively to make it possible.



📸 by Sihle Nako Photography

31/07/2026

Tax affects all of us.

It shapes the quality of our schools, clinics, hospitals, roads, public transport and other essential services we rely on every day. When public money is lost through corruption or when the tax system fails to reduce inequality, ordinary South Africans pay the price through underfunded services and missed opportunities.

The first seminar in the South African Tax Justice Working Group Seminar Series reminded us that taxation is never just about numbers. It is about power, democracy and the kind of society we choose to build.

The discussion explored the role of taxation in addressing South Africa's intersecting crises of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Speakers challenged dominant narratives around the "tax base", explored taxation as a tool for redistribution and economic transformation, and reflected on how fiscal policy can either deepen inequality or advance social justice. The conversation also highlighted the need to examine tax policy through gendered and intersectional lenses, recognising that its impacts are not experienced equally across society.

“These are not abstract policy debates. They shape whether governments can invest in quality public services, create decent work, reduce inequality and realise socio-economic rights.”

Thank you to everyone who joined the first South African Tax Justice Working Group Seminar. Together, we explored why tax is not just an economic issue, but a matter of fairness, accountability and justice.

The conversation continues. Join us at the next seminar as we unpack how a just tax system can help build a South Africa that works for everyone.


📸 by

23/07/2026

📍Reminder

📢 Understanding the South African Tax Landscape

South Africa continues to face persistent challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. With more than 12 million people unemployed under the expanded definition and millions facing food insecurity, questions about taxation and fiscal policy remain central to the pursuit of economic justice.

Is South Africa's tax system fit for purpose? How does it compare with tax systems around the world? What policy choices are shaping our tax landscape, and what do they mean for progressive change?

Join the SA Tax Justice Working Group Seminar Series for the first seminar in a five-part series bringing together civil society, researchers and advocates to explore tax justice in South Africa and its implications for progressive actors.

🗓 28 July 2026
🕙 10:00–13:00
📍 Hybrid Event
Lindiwe Mabuza Space, 34 Dunkeld West, Johannesburg

🔗 Attend in person: https://forms.gle/hkV5XvDxYGGCyD9C9

💻 Join virtually: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/n3GsjN8mRqmMvxKe8m9g_w

13/07/2026

📢 Understanding the South African Tax Landscape

South Africa continues to face persistent challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. With more than 12 million people unemployed under the expanded definition and millions facing food insecurity, questions about taxation and fiscal policy remain central to the pursuit of economic justice.

Is South Africa's tax system fit for purpose? How does it compare with tax systems around the world? What policy choices are shaping our tax landscape, and what do they mean for progressive change?

Join the SA Tax Justice Working Group Seminar Series for the first seminar in a five-part series bringing together civil society, researchers and advocates to explore tax justice in South Africa and its implications for progressive actors.

🗓 28 July 2026
🕙 10:00–13:00
📍 Hybrid Event
Lindiwe Mabuza Space, 34 Dunkeld West, Johannesburg

🔗 Attend in person: https://forms.gle/hkV5XvDxYGGCyD9C9

💻 Join virtually: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/n3GsjN8mRqmMvxKe8m9g_w