Events in South Africa over the last year and a half have been extraordinary, including the recent turmoil in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng; the devastating impact of COVID-19 on lives, livelihoods, and the functioning of government; the low economic growth that South Africa was experiencing before the pandemic, significantly exacerbated in 2020 and 2021; and the challenges the state has been facing generally in the aftermath of state capture.
These issues collectively constitute the fundamental challenges facing the country. They require a multiplicity of voices – government, business, academia and civil society – to both unpack what has happened and to develop solutions-oriented insights and ideas that would help rebuild South Africa.
The Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) and the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) have partnered to host a series of three webinars under the theme Rebuild SA. The Rebuild SA webinar series aims to deepen the conversation around recent events and possible paths to recovery through the hosting of three interrelated dialogues: (1) Rebuilding Communities, (2) Rebuilding Economies, and (3) Rebuilding Government.
The first webinar, Rebuilding Communities, explores some of the immediate causes and effects of the July 2021 events, in turn located in the frame of broader challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, which have been cited as being at the root of a lack of social cohesion in South Africa. The discussion will be foregrounded by an understanding of what happened on the ground at the flashpoints themselves, in the run-up to, and during, the July turmoil. The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, 29 September, 14:00–17:00. See the GCRO event page for how to register.
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