The Open Field of Reconciliation
By Stan Henkeman “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right [...]
Public Seminar – Elite Resistance to Economic Reforms in South Africa and Australia: The Persistence of Settler Coloniality
There is a growing consensus that reconciliation without economic [...]
The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation pledges solidarity with the people of Kenya ahead of the forthcoming August 2017 elections
The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) pledges solidarity with the people of Kenya ahead of the elections on 8th August 2017. Since 2012, IJR has been working with key governmental and civil society actors in Kenya to promote and support peace-building and reconciliation initiatives
IJR Spends 67 Minutes Caring For 67 Girls at a Juvenile Centre in the Western Cape
In honour of the late statesman, a team of IJR [...]
MEDIA RELEASE: IJR CALLS ON SA TO REACTIVATE THE STALLED PEACE PROCESS IN SOUTH SUDAN
IJR CALLS ON SA SPECIAL ENVOY TO SOUTH SUDAN, DEPUTY [...]
Attitudes towards interracial marriages in South Africa
Intergroup marriages are considered an important measure of the dissolution of social and cultural barriers, therefore of social and cultural integration. Despite coming from different backgrounds, partners in intergroup (here interracial) marriages are likely to share some common values and aspirations. These elements are seen to be enabling of social cohesion in multicultural societies. Elnari Potgieter, Project Leader for the South Africa Reconciliation Barometer at IJR, further notes that attitudes towards interracial marriages are of importance when considering intergroup marriages as a measure of integration.
IJR Launches a Safeguarding Policy
The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) has added a [...]
Internalised Racism – thoughts on the intersections of oppression
It has been over 100 years since Du Bois first described the effects of white domination and supremacy on the black mind. He reflected on how it affects a “double consciousness” as a peculiar sensation. The sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity (Du Bois 1989). Ashanti Kunene, intern for the Sustained Dialogue Programme shares her thoughts on the intersections of oppression.
Cultivating a self-reflective practice in doing social justice work
As practitioners, it is important that we are committed to doing the emotional heavy lifting required in doing the challenging work of authentic engagement with issues of race, power, identity and the past. Eleanor du Plooy, Project Leader for the Ashley Kriel Youth Desk and Project Leader for Gender, Justice & Reconciliation at IJR, highlights the importance of cultivating a self-reflective practice in doing social justice work.
Masculinity in Crisis
Toxic masculinity is embedded in South African culture, as evidenced by the spurt of gender-based violence highlighted by the media since January 2017, and manifests itself in a myriad of overt and covert ways. Danielle Hoffmeester, a Gender Justice and Reconciliation Project Assistant at IJR, shares her thoughts on how the importance of inviting men into spaces that interrogates toxic masculinity is fundamental to subverting misogyny, dismantling patriarchy, and by extension, ending gendered violence.