In Transformation Initiative

The full-length version.

In July of 2021, South Africa saw uprisings and unrest in large parts of the country following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma. In this episode Liesl Louw-Vaudran speaks to well-known political commentator and ITI board member, Judith February, who describes these events as "unpresented" and something that caught her by surprise. In this interview February also discusses the reaction by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his subsequent cabinet reshuffle.

The In Transformation Initiative has been involved in dialogue and reconciliation efforts in Myanmar for the last four years. Liesl Louw-Vaudran spoke to Fanie du Toit, who leads ITI’s work in Myanmar, about these efforts and the implications of the recent coup d’état in the country.

In the seventh episode of the Moments in Transformation podcast series, the country of Sri Lanka becomes the main focus.

The In Transformation Initiative (ITI) started their work in Sri Lanka in 2013 after other organisations’ work had run its course. ITI set out to get opposition groups to come together, using the South African experience as their guiding principal. 

The guests for this episode are two ITI Directors namely Mohammed Bhabha, who is a former Member of Parliament, qualified attorney, and experienced negotiator, along with Geoffrey Doidge, also a former Member of Parliament, who went on to become a highly accomplished diplomat representing South Africa in many Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, as High Commissioner.

The podcast series is hosted and produced by journalist Karen Allen in collaboration with ITI. Zapslat contributed to the sound design for this podcast and all podcasts were recorded at One Big Room Studios.

The sixth episode of the Moments in Transformation podcast series takes a behind the scenes look at South Africa. However, the topic of discussion will not focus on a peace deal or a traditional conflict in the same way as the previous podcasts do. The main focus of this episode is how the tools used to mediate conflict can be used in homegrown initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between the South African government and the private sector.

The guest for this episode is Tanya Cohen, a South African labour lawyer, conflict resolution specialist and In Transformation Initiative (ITI) facilitator. 

The podcast series is hosted and produced by journalist Karen Allen in collaboration with ITI. Zapslat contributed to the sound design for this podcast and all podcasts were recorded at One Big Room Studios.

In the fifth episode of In Transformation Initiative’s (ITI) Moments in Transformation podcast series, the focus shifts to the kingdom of Lesotho. 

In this episode Karen speaks to another ITI director Patience Zonge-Hwenha, about the small kingdom, surrounded by South Africa, which has endured many years of turbulent coalition politics. ITI became involved in Lesotho in 2018, after being invited by the Christian Council of Lesotho, to train the new coalition partners on coalition management. 

Patience is a development management and democratic governance practitioner. Along with that, she has a background in the social sciences, with more than ten years of extensive experience working in the civil society and governance space. 

The podcast series is hosted and produced by journalist Karen Allen in collaboration with ITI. Zapslat contributed to the sound design for this podcast and all podcasts were recorded at One Big Room Studios.

The fourth podcast of the Moments in Transformation series focuses on Palestine, where In Transformation Initiative (ITI) was invited in 2015 to help behind the scenes in preparation for the Palestinian peace negotiations.

The guest for this podcast is Mohammed Bhabha, who is a former Member of Parliament, qualified attorney, and experienced negotiator. He was part of the African National Congress (ANC) team at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), and later as part of the agreements on the final South African Constitutions. Bhabha is also a Director at ITI

The podcast series is hosted and produced by journalist Karen Allen in collaboration with ITI. Zapslat contributed to the sound design for this podcast and all podcasts were recorded at One Big Room Studios.

This is ITI's first podcast on the National Dialogue discussion. Prof Nick Binedell, the founding director of the Gordon Institute of Business Science facilitated this discussion.

The proposal for a new ‘national dialogue’ was put on the table by the In Transformation Initiative, Democracy Works Foundation, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation and Gordon Institute of Business Science.

Due to Covid-19, as well as the mismanagement and stagnation that were present well before the pandemic, South Africa has shed millions of jobs. Poverty has increased dramatically and there is a clear failure of leadership at various levels – in politics, business and civil society.

The debate addressed many issues, such as the question as to whether or not the people in the middle ground, who have the wellbeing of South

Africa at heart, will be able to forge a new consensus around how to fix the country.

These were closed discussions, held virtually where over 70 of the country’s most prominent and influential thinkers and policymakers gave their inputs about the matters at hand.

In this podcast, the views of Mavuso Msimang, Gill Marcus and Mmusi Maimane are shared.

The third podcast of the Moments in Transformation series focuses on ITI’s involvement in South Sudan and in supporting and advising the National Dialogue process in the country based on the South African transition experience. The guest for this podcast is Roelf Meyer, who served as the National Party’s chief negotiator during South Africa’s peace negotiations during the 1990s. Meyer is one of the founders and Directors at In Transformation Initiative (ITI).

The podcast series is hosted and produced by journalist Karen Allen in collaboration with the ITI. Zapslat contributed to the sound design for this podcast and all podcasts were recorded at One Big Room Studios.

The second podcast of the Moments in Transformation series explores the role ITI played in addressing certain gaps in the Myanmar negotiations by advising on the peace process, the transition to democracy and reconciliation in Myanmar by sharing the South African experience and assisting the key players to find a permanent political solution for the country. The guest for this podcast is Roelf Meyer, who served as the National Party’s chief negotiator during South Africa’s peace negotiations during the 1990s. Meyer is one of the founders and Directors at In Transformation Initiative (ITI).

The podcast series is hosted and produced by journalist Karen Allen in collaboration with the ITI. Zapslat contributed to the sound design for this podcast and all podcasts were recorded at One Big Room Studios.