Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Letshego Zulu – an author, a lover of life, a mother and Gugu Zulu’s wife
On Wednesday the 21st of August, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will host a conversation between Sello Hatang and Letshego Zulu on Letshego’s new book I Choose To Live: Life after losing Gugu.
In her memoir, she writes candidly about her relationship and the bond she shared with the late motor racing legend, Gugu Zulu, who passed away in 2016 while he and his wife were summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. They were taking part in the Trek4Mandela expedition to raise funds for sanitary pads for school girls… She shares poignant details about the grueling summit attempt, which ended in tragedy after Gugu experienced respiratory problems, resulting in his untimely death.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Dr. Oscar van Heerden who is a Scholar of International Relations, Political commentator, one of the contributors to the Umrhabulo Journal and a at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation
The OR Tambo School of Leadership hosted their monthly Umrabulo Dialogue at Constitution Hill last week and the focus was on the burning issue of The National Question: Who belongs? Given the recent xenophobic attacks on African foreign nationals in South Africa, such dialogues are crucial for the advancement of the African continent. Umrabulo Journals are political education publications of the OR Tambo School of Leadership. They are intended to share information that is educational as well lay a basis for debate. Each Journal has a theme and the dialogues are based on either the theme or a sub-themes.

The AfrikanNarrative: Is African culture the biggest violator of women’s rights and women empowerment?
African woman’s demands are transforming into something most people never envisaged. Women and children dream of being empowered and independent. But how realistic is it to achieve these dreams when we still belong to cultural communities? -Communities and families that subscribe to cultural practices, which have been viewed as inhumane and demeaning to women - Is culture, in its current form, against the empowerment of women? Is culture not contributing the violation of women’s rights?

The significance of archives and humanities in preserving our history and strengthening our democracy
Songezo Mabece was in conversation with the CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council, Prof Crain Soudien

We’re talking about the archive as a means for understanding the relationship between the social science disciplines, the institutions and the idea of Pretoria – the capital of South Africa. Archives show that this relationship shows how the bureaucratic mind meets the academic mind to facilitate the emergence of a praetorian sensibility — a sensibility of standing in ‘guard of power’. We’re in conversation with the CEO of the HSRC, Prof Crain Soudien who will be delivering a lecture at the commemoration of the HSRC, 50th anniversary – some of the questions that his lecture will address include, How do new ideas created within and outside institutions increase resistance to dominance? And how does such resistance lead to new power relationships and ultimately impact society?

Songezo was in conversation with Dr Abdul Karim Elgoni, Chairperson of the African Diaspora Forum AND Mr Wayne Ncube, Head of the Strategic Litigation Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights

Plenty of wrongdoing transpired during last week's raid on counterfeit goods in the Johannesburg CBD. Policemen have been arrested for defeating the ends and justice and fraud, some foreign nationals have been detained for not having the correct documents. The courts have since ruled that the undocumented persons should be sent to the Lindela Detention Centre and await deportation – civil society and interest groups are not pleased with and one of them is taking legal action against Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Mostoaledi. Conditions at Lindela are no secret – the centre has been in the news for a number of reasons ranging from the inhumane treatment of detainees, long waiting periods before deportation and the unacceptable conditions. Is there a different way to handle the repercussions of last week’s raids?

We’re in conversation with the MEC of Health in Gauteng Dr. Bandile Masuku. We engage the MEC on a number of issues pertaining to health issues in Gauteng i.e. the Gauteng health sector reform plans; reviving the basic principles of Batho Pele in the health sector; resources and personnel in public healthcare; overcrowding in healthcare facilities; foreign nationals and the Gauteng healthcare system; and we will also speak about Litigation costs - how much does Gauteng spend on those and what are the causes

Recent media coverage of homeless people has again focused on them as victims: in Pretoria at the hands of an unknown murderer; in Cape Town in the face of a harsh law enforcement regime; in Durban neglected by an uncaring municipality. But victimhood is only part of the story. Homeless 101 is a photo essay that was put together by an inspiring young photographer Obakeng Molepe and a meticulous copywriter Sithembiso Shoba. They encounter women and men who, despite all they have suffered, are not victims but agents. They are people who are able to transform their lives and transform the lives of others.

An interview with Karabo Masedi (The challenges of doing advocacy and Fundraising for NGOs)
Karabo holds a degree in Humanities (Political Science and Public Governance and Management) from the University of Johannesburg which has fuelled her passion in social development work. She has always cantered her work on women and education however, in the last year, her focus shifted to fundraising specifically individual donors and issues on gender equality. Currently, she is a Fundraising Assistant trying to find ways on how to maximise individual donors in South Africa and beyond and becoming a Salesforce guru and business development champion. Prior to IJR, she was a Fundraising Officer at the South African Education and Environment Project, where she worked on a variety of fundraising opportunities such as events, social media and proposal writing

Vuyolethu is a professional in technology, innovation, media and business development. She is currently working as an Associate of Impact Accelerator at investment and advisory firm Impact Amplifier, a Mentor at Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and, the Chair of the Board for GirlHype which is an NPC that has impacted coding and leadership skills training of 100 000 young girls over 14 years. She is also a One Young World Ambassador and an Ambassador and Judge for the Global Startup Awards.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Mama Lillian Ngoyi’s grandson, Nqaba Ngoyi - talking about the work he is doing as a Television and Film Director to keep his grandmother’s legacy alive.