Forums

The IFAA Forum is an open platform that hosts speakers or panel discussions about pressing current social issues or political developments. Our aim is to facilitate the democratization and dissemination of progressive alternative ideas and practices; and to create opportunities for the public to engage with the ‘expert knowledge’ of intellectuals, academics, and policymakers.

IFAA Forum: A Tribute to Peace Activist Rommel Roberts

Sadly, the Youth Speak event that IFAA co-hosted with the Peace Centre became the last event to be organized by the founding director of the latter organization, Rommel Roberts, who tragically passed away in a motor accident the day before the event. Rommel Roberts (1949–2024) was a South African human rights...

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IFAA Forum: Youth Speak

As the South African Elections approached, and with June also being South African Youth Month, IFAA engaged in discussions with several partners to host a large youth event, in which young people would take center stage and express their collective vision, concerns, and expectations for the future of the country....

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Book Launch: 'Honoring My Village' by Josephine Norward

IFAA and Surplus hosted Professor Josephine Noward, the daughter of legendary investigative journalist Henry “Mr Drum” Nxumalo. Now resident in the USA, Norward’s body of work is described as ‘grounded in issues of social inequality in education, health care, and housing.’ Amongst her achievements, is an interdisciplinary documentary on...

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THE CREATIVE WRITERS WORKSHOP SERIES

The Writers’ Workshop, a co-project of IFAA, Surplus Books, and the Cape Cultural Collective, continues to attract a dedicated group of budding writers, young, published or unpublished, from across the community, who come to meet and interact in the space. This initiative shows great potential for consistently engaging a diverse...

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Book Launch: “And Uncomfortable Paradise: A History of Dispossession and Slavery in Simon’s Town” by Joline Young

Our first official forum was the book launch of “An Uncomfortable Paradise: A History of Dispossession and Slavery in Simon’s Town,” by Joline Young. This was successfully co-hosted by IFAA, Surplus Radical Books, and The Peace Centre on Saturday, 09 March, at the Peace Centre. This forum was attended by...

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IFAA FORUM: Celebrating World Food Day with Surplus Radical Bookshop, Project 90 by 2030, PHA Food and Farming Campaign, and the Baha’i Faith Community

Surplus Books, IFAA, Project 90 by 2030, the PHA Food and Farming Campaign, and the Baha’i Faith Community invite you to a celebration of World Food Day. This event will feature a film screening of the acclaimed documentary “The Ants and the Grasshopper” and a presentation, focusing on Climate Change...

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IFAA African Film Series: "Concerning Violence"

The Institute for African Alternatives and Surplus Radical Books are pleased to invite you to a film screening of “Concerning Violence: Nine Scenes from Anti-Imperialistic Self-Defense” by Göran Hugo Olsson. This event forms part of our African Film Series in which we explore the life and times of important African...

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IFAA Forum: African Film Series Screening. Thomas Sankara. The Upright Man

The Institute for African Alternatives and Surplus Radical Bookshop are pleased to invite you to a film screening of “Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man” by Robin Shuffield. This event forms part of our African Film Series in which we explore the life and times of important African revolutionaries and events...

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IFAA Forum: Celebrating the UDF at 40

This Forum is hosted by IFAA and Surplus Radical Books and will be held at the Ashley Kriel Hall, Community House, Salt River Cape Town, on Tuesday 9th May 2023 at 6 pm. Launched at the Rocklands Community Hall, in Cape Town on 20th August 1983, the United Democratic Front (UDF) was...

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Chris Hani Photographs by Rashid Lombard

Please don’t forget to join IFAA and Surplus Radical Books for our Chris Hani commemorative event on Monday 17th April 2023, at 5.30 pm, at the Cinema, Bertha House, 67-69 Main Road, Mowbray. The program consists of the screening of the SABC-made documentary ‘The Life and Times of Chris Hani’, followed...

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IFAA FORUM: Remembering Chris Hani. 30yrs after his Assassination

The Institute for African Alternatives and Surplus Radical Books invites you to our Chris Hani commemorative event, on the 30th anniversary of his assassination. The evening includes the screening of the rare SABC-made documentary, ‘The Life and Times of Chris Hani,’ followed by two reflections from former Minister of Arts...

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Zimbabwe@43: Challenges and Contradictions of a Postcolonial State

The Institute for African Alternatives and Surplus Radical Books is pleased to invite you to a Public Lecture by Dr. Freedom Mazwi of the Department of African Studies and Linguistics at UCT, entitled “Zimbabwe at 43: Challenges and Contradictions of a Postcolonial State.” This is the fourth in a series...

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IFAA FORUM: The State of the Small Business Sector. A critical discussion on barriers to the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems

This online discussion forum is brought to you by IFAA and Surplus Books, featuring Jonathan Jacobs, Entrepreneur, and small business owner, and discussant Patrick Kadalie, CEO of Social Business Advisory Services. In this critical discussion, we seek to acknowledge the crucial role SMEs play in improving the business environment at the...

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IFAA Forum: Energy Options for South Africa

The Institute for African Alternatives invites you to a seminar on Energy Options for South Africa to be presented by Mr Viv Crone on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at 2:30 pm Zoom Registration: https://cutt.ly/K1PwZi3 Our Presenter: Viv Crone is an electrical engineer with 50 years of experience in high-technology product design and project management. He...

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IFAA Forum: Niger Delta Command, a book launch, and panel discussion

Venue: Bertha House, 67 & 69 Main Rd, Mowbray, Cape Town Date: 23rd November 2022 Time: 4.30 pm for 5 pm (Snacks and Drinks in Dining Area) RSVP to: https://cutt.ly/UMAaEPh Press Statement The “Niger Delta Command”, a work of fiction will be launched at Bertha House in Mowbray, Cape Town on Wednesday the 23rd of...

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IFAA Forum: India at 75: Division and Repression

Unpacking the unfolding of the current social and political crisis in India

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IFAA Forum: Book Launch of 'Shoot to Kill: Police and Power in South Africa

Surplus Books, Inkani Books, The Tri-Continental Institute for Social Research, and The Institute for African Alternatives, invite you to the launch of the riveting new book by Christopher McMichael Shoot to Kill: Police and Power in South Africa. From the slave-driver’s whip in the 18th century Cape Colony to the...

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Reflections on Sport and Physical Culture in South African Society

The Surplus Books Reading Incubator Project and The Institute for African Alternatives invite you to join us for this unique panel discussion entitled ‘Reflections on Sport and Physical Culture in South African Society’. This session will be led by Dr. Francois Cleophas, a Sports and Social Historian based at the...

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Introducing The Men's Cafe

Surplus Books, InsideOut and the Institute for African Alternatives invite you to Surplus Radical Books Store for the first in a series of Men’s cafes. This first meeting anticipates International Women’s Day in the same week. The gatherings will provide participants with a platform to share ideas, strategies, and tactics...

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In New Agenda 82

NA 82_Continuity consolidation and changeDownload

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IFAA Forum: How South Africa and Corporates are fueling the crisis in Cabo Delgado

IFAA, in partnership with Surplus and Shack Dwellers International invites you to a public forum entitled ‘How South Africa and Corporates are fueling the crisis in Cabo Delgado (Mozambique)’, presented by Ilham Rawoot of Justica Ambiental/Friends of the Earth Mozambique. For IFAA this will be our first live event/online since...

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Forum: What is happening in Ethiopia? Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Crises of Society and State in Africa

What is happening in Ethiopia? Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Crises of Society and State in Africa Jointly organised by the Socialist Students and Workers Network (SSWN), International Socialist Organisation Ghana (ISO Gh) and the Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) In the early 1990s, a wave of democratisation ended dictatorships and led to...

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IFAA Public Forum: The African Continental Free Trade Area: Labour, Gender and Economic Justice

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), if successfully implemented, holds the prospect of lifting 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and boosting the continent’s income by $450 billion by 2035, amongst many other touted benefits. There is a clear global consensus that creating a single, continent-wide market for...

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IFAA Public Forum: Youth Unemployment

The Institute for African Alternatives will mark Youth Day by inviting you to attend a public discussion on the critical challenge of Youth Unemployment on Tuesday 15th June 2021 at 3pm. Youth Unemployment is one of South Africa’s most formidable challenges and now even more exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite...

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IFAA FORUM: COVID-19, THE FUTURE OF WORK AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

On Wednesday 28th April 2021, 3 pm The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) marks the forthcoming Workers’ Day with a Public Forum that draws attention to the impact of Covid-19 on the future of work and social justice. The disruptions created by the pandemic have radically altered the way we see how...

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IFAA FORUM: THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Topic: Institute for African Alternatives’ COVID 19 AND THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES Time: Mar 31, 2021 03:00 PM Harare, Pretoria Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83863360229?pwd=NVowVEpaYWJHd1FIaSswTk85eGZWQT09 Meeting ID: 838 6336 0229 Passcode: 414155 The Institute for African Alternatives invites you to an online discussion forum on Wednesday 31st March 2021 entitled “Covid-19 and the Creative Industries”. We invited a number...

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IFAA FORUM: AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SPATIAL JUSTICE

The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) would like to invite you to our public online discussion forum on the issue of Affordable Housing and Spatial Justice, on Tuesday 30th March at 3 pm. Twenty-five years into our democracy, the struggle for affordable housing in urban spaces continues, and it signals one of...

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IFAA Forum: NSFAS and the Education Crisis

Featuring speakers: Chwaita Mtsewu, Duma Nqulube and Morris Masutha According to the findings of the Auditor-General, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has incurred R5 billion in irregular expenditure for the 2019/2020 period, while the figure for 2018/2019 is R3.2bn. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology has described...

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IFAA Forum: Teaching and Learning in the time of a Pandemic

What impact has the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated ‘new normal’ had on the teaching and learning environment? In this IFAA Forum we invite, parents, teachers and students from a cross-section of high schools to reflect on the challenges that they have faced over the last year. Topic: Institute for African...

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IFAA Public Forum: South Africa's Urban Farming Revolution

Urban farming is not a new phenomenon but it has proliferated rapidly in recent years. This has been driven by advances in technology and global challenges that include food insecurity, energy shortage, urban migration, poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization urban farming is currently...

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IFAA Open Discussion Forum: The Revised Budget and the struggle for educational access

Equality in access to education is critical to the socio-economic transformation of our country and a cornerstone of the South African constitution. Yet, since the dawn of democracy, our government has consistently presented budgets that slash funding for schools and universities. It is for this reason that students took to the...

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The Future of the Independent Media in South Africa

South Africa’s strong independent media institutions have been credited as one of the great strengths of its 25yr old constitutional democracy. But there have recently been insidious instances of harassment, intimidation, assault and incitement to violence against the media. In this public forum our lead question is whether the independence...

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The Coloured Identity

Our rationale for this event is to bring the growing national discourse on the complex subject of Coloured Identity and Coloured Identity Politics into public focus. The South African population census has, since 1994, continued to categorise a demographic group ‘Coloured’, as distinct from’ Black African’, ‘Asian’ and ‘White.’ While...

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IFAA Webinar: Reflections on Trotsky, Thursday, 29th October 2020

The Institute for African Alternatives invites you to join our online discussion forum: Reflections on Trotsky, on Thursday 29th October 2020, 3pm. Please read the brief and find the webinar link information below: Brief As we mark the 80th anniversary of Trotsky’s assassination we find ourselves in the midst of intense and escalating...

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Land, Heritage & Agency: An IFAA Forum

The new R4-billion River Club Development, which will house the headquarters of Amazon in Africa, has encountered vociferous opposition from several civic organisations, Khoi and San groups, including a 20 000 signed petition. The developers though are pushing ahead with their plans, supported by the First Nations Collective, a breakaway...

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The Zimbabwe Crisis: An IFAA Forum

After protests in November 2017 saw the end of Robert Mugabe’s rule with the intervention of the military, there was a rise of optimism of the future for Zimbabwe. Emmerson Mangagwa on his inauguration promised ‘radical economic reforms’. In spite of this, the economic crisis has continued to deepen with...

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