Yearly Archives: 2021

The Anti-Racism and the Gender Justice and Reconciliation Projects were in Calitzdorp, Western Cape from the 25th of October to the 3rd of November 2021. The underlying mandate of the projects was to conduct engaging and fruitful conversations and workshops with the community members of Calitzdorp on issues that relate to anti-racism and gender-justice.

To quote the late Dr Alex Boraine, ‘Reconciliation, as a process for seeking an often-elusive peace, must be understood through the lens of transitional justice. It is better understood if victims believe that their grievances are being heard and addressed, that the silence is being broken. Reconciliation can begin when perpetrators are held accountable when the truth is sought openly and fearlessly, when institutional reform commences and when the need for reparation is acknowledged and acted upon.'

Through the year, the Inclusive Economies project has busied itself with a study of how human development might lead to transformed and peaceful African societies. Often, where pockets of instability emerge or persist there have been human development deficits that are typically underpinned by weak government capacity. The first such study focused on Kenya, considering trends at a national level before investigating these links in three localised pockets of instability. The research was disseminated in the media and two webinars, one hosted by the IJR and the other hosted by the Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IPPIA) based in Kenya.