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Featuring an Introduction by Director Raj Patel Surplus Radical Bookshop and The Institute for African Alternatives invite you to a screening of the recently released film ‘The Ants and the Grasshopper,’ directed by internationally renowned food policy expert, author, and social justice activist, Raj Patel and Zak Piper. The film…

Featuring an Introduction by Director Bobby Rodwell Surplus Radical Bookshop and The Institute for African Alternatives invite you to a screening of the film ‘Word Down the Line’ by Bobby Rodwell ‘Word Down The Line’ is a poetic reflection of South Africa’s journey to democracy, told through the voices of…

Keynote speaker Yanis Varoufakis, renowned radical economist and former Greek Finance Minister, will speak on Africa in the Face of the new Cold War and the West’s new colonial escapades The annual Ben Turok Memorial Lecture marks the anniversary of the death of IFAA’s founder and former director, the struggle…

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…

Please join us for Crossroads Homecoming– a collaborative book launch festival– cohosted by: Jacana Media, the Department of History and the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of Western Cape, the City of Cape Town Crossroads Library, the UWC-Robben Island Museum Mayibuye Archives, the Crossroads Philippi Young Women’s Reading…

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

On March 8, International Women’s Day, IFAA reflects on the perspectives of feminist and women leaders who have fought against colonialism and apartheid for freedom, and continue to date to fight for social, economic and political transformation. Importantly, Ruth First warns that there is a danger of: ‘forgetting or ignoring…

IFAA would like to congratulate our senior researcher, Dr Hibist Kassa, on the publication of her chapter ‘The Crisis of Social Reproduction in Petty Commodity Production and Large-scale Mining: A Southern Perspective on Gender Inequality’ in the new collection Inequality Studies from the Global South, Routledge (2020). For more information…

South Africa’s distorted distribution of wealth is one of the biggest challenges facing the country’s economy, with unemployment sitting at an unsustainable 27.7%. In terms of wealth, the top percentile households hold 70.9% while the bottom 60% holds a mere 7%. 76% of South Africans face an imminent threat of…

Thuli Madonsela, Founder and Chief Patron of Thuma Foundation and former Public Protector, shares her thoughts on South Africa’s inequality problem. It is an absolute honour to be invited to this important conference on Confronting Inequality. The dialogue on inequality is timely as inequality and poverty in our country and…

On the 28th of September IFAA, with support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy, convened a conference on Confronting Inequality in South Africa. The conference covered the many dimensions of inequality as experienced in South Africa.  Presentations were delivered by Dr Pali Lehohla, Dr Neva Makgetla, David Francis, Prof. Ivan Turok,…

  By Michael Nassen Smith, Deputy Director of the Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) publisher of New Agenda: South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy The Institute for African Alternatives recently hosted a conference on “Confronting Inequality”. This is a report back on conference proceedings. We believe that sharing…

THIS IS THE BACKGROUND PAPER FOR IFAA’s FORTHCOMING CONFERENCE ON INEQUALITY. THURSDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2017, JOHANNESBURG *This paper will appear in New Agenda Issue 66 “We know from historical experience that if inequality is not addressed through peaceful means and peaceful democratic institutions it’s always potentially a source of violence.”  …

By Ben Turok,  The author is an economist, former ANC member of parliament and the editor of New Agenda. This article originally appeared in New Agenda: South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy, Issue 66.     State capture may have dominated the headlines this past year but the…