2014 marks twenty years since South Africa made a transition from apartheid to democracy. To celebrate these two decades of democracy, the Mapungubwe Institute and the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa (UNISA) are hosting the Save the Date conference.
Much has been achieved to transform and develop the country informed by the injunctions of the 1996 Constitution, which seeks to foster a shared common interest and formally guarantees equal opportunities without regard to race, gender and other social fault-lines.
@MISTRA_SA Day 2: Dr Msimang introducing panel discussants on innovation and transdisciplinary #sowheretonow pic.twitter.com/HsGdRYgV4z
— ndzalama (@ntamimakhuvela) November 13, 2014
The decades since 1994 have seen a remarkable improvement in people’s quality of life and tentative steps towards national unity and social cohesion
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Yet, much work lies ahead in realising the aspirations of many South Africans who still experience the effects of poverty and inequality. Much has to be done to build a capable state and active citizenry able to manifest in practical terms the narrative of an ‘Africa Rising.’
Day 2 of @MISTRA_SA @TMALIunisa conference on #20YearsofDemocracy #sowheretonow has begun with session on Knowledge for Action
— Barry Gilder (@bpgilder) November 13, 2014
Dr Erika Kraemer-Mbula -Some argue that we do not have enough representation of the stem disciplines in Africa @MISTRA_SA #sowheretonow
— TMALI (@TMALIunisa) November 13, 2014
20 Years of South African Democracy: So Where to Now? will provide an opportunity for projective reflections into the next two decades of democracy, informed firstly, by historical moments that led to democracy in South Africa, and secondly, by the experiences of the last twenty years.
The Conference aims to deal with the historical moments in the build-up to the democratic transition in South Africa, theoretical perspectives explaining the state of South Africa in two decades of democracy, and most importantly prospects of contemporary South Africa going forward.
Dr Imraan Patel – South Africa is in a leading position to evolve very robust innovative systems @MISTRA_SA #sowheretonow #DEMOCRACY20
— TMALI (@TMALIunisa) November 13, 2014
The conference is also aimed at providing an opportunity to interrogate current developments regarding economic growth in Africa and how this can translate into economic development measured in terms of improvement in the living conditions of the people on the continent, especially in the context of the recent Global Economic Recession.
#Ebola indicates that Africa needs to solve its own problems ~ @MISTRA_SA Hester du Plessis #20YearsofDemocracy #sowheretonow #Innovation
— Katiya (@XKasheKatiya) November 13, 2014
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