Social Justice Archive
Fund the Ecosystem: The Missing Piece in Digital Inclusion
By Shirley Gilbey, Director of Immersive Learning, Caribou Unequal, but digitally connected South Africa sits at a peculiar crossroads. It is arguably the most unequal
Philanthropy: Strengthening Democracy and Social Cohesion Amidst Election Noise
By Jenna-Lee Strugnell, Stefan Snel and Geoffrey Mamputa – Directors, Tales of Turning Philanthropy role in safeguarding elections Election periods often expose deeper social tensions
Why Systems Change Matters for Philanthropy in Southern Africa
By Margie Brand, Executive Director, Vikāra Institute The dilemma of immediate challenges and underlying dynamics Across Southern Africa, philanthropic organisations invest significant resources each year to address
Reckoning with the Past, Reimagining the Future: Reflections on Justice-Oriented Philanthropy in South Africa
By Zuziwe Khuzwayo, Social Justice Project Manager at IPASA Understanding where we stand More than 30 years into democracy, South Africa’s present remains deeply connected
Co-creating a New Vision for Education in South Africa
By Dzunisani Mathonsi, Project Management Officer at MISTRA and Sarah Cairns, Head of Trust, Optima Forward-looking and ambitious A one-of-a-kind, forward-looking collaboration between philanthropy, government
From Turbulence to Possibility: Reimagining Philanthropy for a World in Transition
By Louise Driver, Executive Director, IPASA Looking back over the past tumultuous, unpredictable year, I have a sense that we are standing at a threshold
The Hidden Architecture of Innovation: How Funders Build (or Block) Learning Systems
By Sarah Binos, CEO of Huddle Education Innovation requires trust and messy experimentation Innovation in social change is often imagined and then proposed as a
HOPE as Contagious Capital to Shift from Problem to Possibility
By Rene Parker, Director at Rlabs From statistics to humanity and connection The discussion surrounding South Africa’s youth employment challenge is far too often confined
From Global Summits to Grounded Change: Philanthropy’s Role in a Shifting Landscape
By Kirsten Pearson, Researcher and Activist (views are her own) This November, multilateralism, and the voice of civil society came under scrutiny at the G20
Organising in the Time of Crises: A Survival Kit for Philanthropy
By Thokozile Madonko, Researcher, Public Economy Project, The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand Philanthropy’s interest in crisis and disruptions Crises, like
Poetic Provocation: 2025 IPASA Annual Philanthropy Symposium
By Ashanti Kunene, Poetic Provocateur and Founder of Learning 2 Unlearn I wear many hats but today I come to you as an art activist
Philanthropy is Not About Giving What We Have – It is About Changing What is Possible, Over Time
By Koffi M. Kouakou – Strategic Foresight Practitioner, African Futures Scholar & Sessional Lecturer, Wits School of Governance Protecting the past or constructing a future
Philanthropy at the Crossroads: Rebuilding Power in a Fragmenting World
By Lusako Munyenyembe, Program Officer, Ford Foundation Southern Africa Officer Making sense of the current moment The Ford Foundation office for Southern Africa’s recent research commissioned to make sense
Leaning In: Promoting Community-led Climate Resilience for Sustainable Solutions
By Giuliana Bland (Jim Joel Fund), Nathalie Koenig (Solon Foundation) and Ntjantja Ned (Masoleng Rising) Climate impacts on all aspects of people’s lives Recent floods
From Frustration to Partnership With Local Government: Citizen-Led Monitoring and Democratic Renewal in Amathole
By Fia van Rensburg, IPASA Knowledge Manager IPASA spoke to Tess Nolizwe Peacock, Founder and Executive Director of the Equality Collective about their work in the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, about
From Uncertainty to Opportunity in a Pressurised Period
By Louise Driver, Executive Director, IPASA Some periods ask more of us than others and this is one of them. South African civil society is
Beyond Jobs: Building Pathways to Economic Mobility for South Africa’s Youth
By Ariane De Lannoy, Deputy Director, SALDRU and Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis is a stubbornly intractable problem, with millions of young
From Extraction to Regeneration: Why Trust Must Anchor the Future of MEL
By Jennifer Bisgard, Independent Senior Evaluator, and Jerusha Govender, Director at Palmer Development Group Measuring success amid change and uncertainty Geopolitics has entered a period of profound instability. The governance architecture that shaped the post-Second World