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It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Mary Turok, a lifelong activist, struggle stalwart, and the beloved wife of IFAA’s founder, Ben Turok. Throughout her remarkable life, Mary combined courage and compassion — from her defiance of apartheid laws in the 1950s, to her contributions as…

Inviting you to:A Social Compact in South Africa: Can it achieved? Online Panel Discussion Hosted by IFAA Date and Time: Thursday 26th January, 2025, 4 pm Zoom Registration: https://shorturl.at/45mi7 The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) will host an online panel discussion titled “A Social Compact in South Africa: Can it…

This Youth Month, we’re turning waste into wealth—and you’re invited! Join IFAA and weRagency for The Green Roadshow, a hands-on, inspiring morning where we’ll explore how to transform everyday organic waste into resources that nourish our communities and planet. 📍 Kensington Community Centre, Factreton Avenue📅 Friday, 20 June 2025🕤 09:30 – 13:00 Get ready for live composting…

To read New Agenda 98 see here…

Introduction How do we conceptualise and develop a global development agenda that is attentive to the needs, requirements and entitlements of all the world’s people? In this contribution I problematise dominant approaches to development and the ways in which these approaches, firstly, conceptualise ideas about the ‘universal’ and, secondly, erase,…

How can we hold the powerful to account in Africa? Many countries call themselves democracies simply because they hold regular elections. At a panel discussion in October 2024 as part of IFAA’s Living Rights Festival, participants were reminded that elections are a necessary but not sufficient requirement for democracy. A…

Must Gandhi Fall? By Ari Sitas Many people have asked me in a rather bewildered tone, what was it that we staged during the Living Rights Festival at the Avalon Theatre at the District Six Homecoming Centre in Cape Town? The performance was not a play but felt like one!…

The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) extends heartfelt congratulations to Honourable Kgalema Motlanthe, Chair of our Board, on being conferred an honorary Doctorate in Politics and International Relations by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on 18 March 2025. This prestigious recognition is a testament to his decades of unwavering dedication…

INVITATION TO AN ONLINE PANEL DISCUSSIONLessons from the Stilfontein Mining Crisis Hosted by the Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA)Date: 26th March 2025Platform: Register for Zoom at: https://shorturl.at/Cs36V The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) invites you to an engaging online panel discussion examining the pressing issues raised by the Stilfontein Mining…

Screening & Panel Discussion: Capturing Water Join us for a special screening of Capturing Water at Bertha House Bioscope in Mowbray, Cape Town, co-hosted by the Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA). This powerful documentary by Rehad Desai explores the struggles of activists fighting for water justice in Cape Town. Following…

Click here to read New Agenda 95…

The Institute for African Alternatives and The Institute for Social Development at the University of the Western Cape, are proud to invite you to attend the annual Ben Turok Memorial Lecture. Please see the attached invitation and registration link. The 4th Ben Turok Memorial Lecture will be delivered in Cape Town…

Join Us for A Day of Reflection on the Refugee/Migrant Experience Date: 30th November 2024Time: 10:00 am – 3:00 pmVenue: Community House, 41 Salt River Rd, Salt River, Cape Town In light of recent events, including the controversial police operations sealing off illegal underground mines and the food poisoning scare…

Join us for the online launch of “The Geopolitics of Green Colonialism” on Monday, 25th November 2024, at 3 pm SAST (UTC+2). This essential new book reveals how the global push for sustainability often perpetuates colonial exploitation under a “green” guise, as wealthier nations extract critical resources from the Global…

Calling for a Justice-Centred approach to Sustainability “The Geopolitics of Green Colonialism” dives into a critical, thought-provoking issue: how today’s global push for environmental sustainability, instead of reversing colonial and capitalist injustices, often intensifies them. Edited by Miriam Lang, Mary Ann Manahan, and Breno Bringel, the book asserts that the…