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International Day of Education 2025: AI and Education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation.
International Day of Education is an annual international observance held on January 24 and January 24, is held on January 24, is held on January 24, and is dedicated to Education. On December 3, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming January 24 as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for bringing global peace and sustainable development.
Reflections on democracy
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Global Economic Recovery and Resilience in a shock-prone system – Challenges and Opportunities for the G20
The advancement of globalization has led to an increase in network flows. This can be seen in the rise and expansion of trade blocs and alliances. These networks have since encouraged state interdependence and subsequently impacted their domestic economies. Whether informational, physical or financial, these network flows contribute to the global economy. The Group 20 (G20) is one such example that can showcase the network flows and their impact on the global economy.
The Future of Human Rights of Immigrants in a Changing World Order
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a foundational document adopted by the Nations General Assembly on 10th December 1948. It defines 30 essential human rights that are generally applicable to all individuals, irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, gender, or religion. The UDHR is a foundational basis for global human rights legislation and practices. [1]
Strengthening Institutional Advocacy: Anti-Corruption Effectiveness of Civil Society in South Africa
Corruption is pervasive and undermines democratic governance, economic development, and social justice worldwide. In South Africa, corruption has significantly eroded public trust in institutions and hindered efforts to achieve sustainable development (Mungiu‐Pippidi, 2023). Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a crucial role in addressing corruption through advocacy, policy engagement, and grassroots mobilisation.
G20 and Digital Transformation in South Africa: Reforms, Threats, and Opportunities.
The Group of Twenty (G20), an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union, represents the world’s largest economies (Hajnal, 2019). While South Africa is the only African nation in this influential group, its role provides a unique platform to address global economic challenges, including digital transformation. Digital transformation is the integration of digital technologies into all areas of society, economy, and governance. South Africa, as a country grappling with economic inequality, unemployment, and infrastructure deficits, digital transformation offers both unprecedented opportunities and formidable challenges.
Mechanisms for protecting whistleblowers in South Africa - Whistleblowing in South Africa: An Overview
Corruption remains pervasive in South Africa, affecting both public institutions and private entities. Despite the country's rich resources and a constitution that promotes transparency and accountability, the reality is that corruption has deeply entrenched itself in various facets of governance and business. High-profile scandals involving government officials and corporate leaders have marred South Africa's reputation on the global stage, leading to diminished public trust and economic instability.
South Africa’s diplomacy of Ubuntu – An approach to inclusive socio-economic growth?
Authors have written extensively about the linkages between diplomacy and foreign policy. Western theories have dominated within the international system for the longest time, and it is within the contemporary era that non-Western theories are being acknowledged and adopted – but to what extent? The news bulletins are saturated with information about Trump’s next move. Strategic or not, his policy reforms have kept the world at its feet, thinking or arguing potential justifications of his policy reforms. These reforms have a knock-on effect on inequality and inclusive socio-economic growth in societies.
1st Quarter Newsletter 2025
Newsletter: January - March 2025
Safeguarding Civic Participation in an Era of Misinformation and Mitigation Strategies
Civic participation, the act of engaging in activities that influence public policy and decision-making, is a cornerstone of democratic societies. It encompasses a range of activities, from voting to community organising, and empowers individuals to express their voices and advocate for their interests. In juxtaposition with civic participation is the pervasive challenge of misinformation and disinformation—misleading or false information spread with the intent to deceive.
The Current State of Africa and Factors Shaping Its Future
Africa, often described as the cradle of humankind, holds a unique position in the global landscape. It boasts immense natural wealth, including rich mineral resources, vast arable land, and a growing, literate population. Yet, despite these assets, Africa continues to grapple with entrenched socio-economic and political challenges that hinder its advancement. This article explores the current state of Africa, analyses the factors influencing its trajectory, and offers recommendations for a sustainable future.
Financing for development at cross-roads amid global economic and political instability: the role of the G-20
The global landscape in 2025 is marked by unprecedented economic and political instability, posing significant challenges to financing for development (FfD). Developing nations face mounting debt burdens, climate vulnerabilities, and structural inequalities, while global economic growth remains sluggish amid trade tensions, geopolitical conflicts, and the lingering effects of recent crises.
CSO Mentoring and Strengthening Program
Purpose: To contribute to the development of an effective and united voice of civil society in KwaZulu Natal, through supporting and capacitating the KZN CSO Coalition.
Sisonke in Democracy Project
The project is about inclusive governance, human rights, and democracy, promoting the inclusion of African migrants in local governance structures (that is, ward committees) in three selected localities in the greater Durban Metro.
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Why gender-based violence remains an elusive challenge in South Africa
Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a pervasive and deeply entrenched issue in South Africa, presenting significant challenges to achieving gender equality and ensuring the safety of women and marginalized individuals. Despite the country’s progressive legal framework, including the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act, the prevalence of GBV continues at alarming rates. This article explores why GBV remains unresolved in South Africa, addressing socio-economic factors, cultural norms, and systemic inadequacies within law enforcement and judicial systems.
Democracy, Voter & Civic Education
In 2012 the NDP ignited the national imagination with its possibility to regain the fervour and spirit of South Africa’s can-do attitude. The NDP remains a hopeful and visionary document, despite its shortcomings.
Community of Practice
Purpose: To support and nurture community development practitioners that DDP has trained as community facilitators, using our connecting communities approach.
Parliamentary Program
The Democracy Development Program (DDP) exists to deepen the practice of democracy in South Africa. It seeks to build strong and active communities that can hold those in power to account. The programme seeks to promote civil society engagement with the KZN provincial legislature towards deepening accountability and promotion of good governance in the process, promote public engagement with the legislature through its various programmes.
Political Party Capacity Development
Political parties may be guided in their structure and functioning by external regulations, such as the Constitution or laws and regulations, by internal party rules, such as the Party Constitution, or by both. Practice, however, may differ from written Party Constitutions or internal rules. Given that political parties perform such important tasks in democracies today, their internal functioning becomes very important. Aspects of this include the policy-formulation and general decision-making process of the political party, the involvement of members and party groups, and the accountability of the party leadership.
Women in Politics and Leadership
Almost two decades into the 21st century, women are still not accorded a place of prominence in politics, particularly in Africa. However, South Africa has made notable progress, and has arguably one of the most gender-diverse parliaments in the world, ranking number three in Africa and tenth globally. However, it still falls short in achieving gender parity. In response to this breaking this inertia, the program aims at mobilizing, training, and nurturing women interested in politics so that they can participate actively and confidently in the political arena to influence politics in South Africa.
Youth in Politics and Leadership
Domestic and global challenges facing young people require multidisciplinary approaches if they will be addressed satisfactorily. These challenges include unemployment, poverty inequality, HIV/AIDS and hunger to mention a few. Due to their scale, these challenges continue to disempower young people in a variety of ways. One of the ways these challenges are disempowering them is by entrenching a sense of despair about their future. As such, by nature, young people become despondent about their future where no hope is insight. Consequently, they become inactive in their communities to an extent that they abdicate their democratic rights, which if enforced, would grant them a future full of possibilities. This is the motivation underpinning DDP’s youth programmes. At the its heart is a desire to develop and nurture a cadre of young people who possess a sense of identity based on common values, a shared history and culture, who can take charge of their future as active citizens and play a significant role in promoting democratic values in their own communities. This broad-based and multi-faceted programme works with young people from all backgrounds, race, religion, gender as well as across ages of between 20 -35 years comprising of out-of-school youths including youths in tertiary institutions.
