WEEK FIVE: 20 October 2015, “A Vibrant Civil Society”

Civil society is one of the sectors of a modern democracy which offers alternative leadership and accountability measures to those located in the party-political system of government.

Vibrant and independent civil society movements and non-profit organisations can hold the government accountable for its delivery mandate, set legal precedents by testing constitutional principles in the courts, and act as public advocates for marginalised communities who are unable to influence the public agenda on their own.

In South Africa, it was civil society organisations and non-profits such as the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) which led the public effort to bring an end to the government’s disastrous policies on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

And in 2012, when the South African ruling party attempted to push the Protection of State Information Bill (also known as the “Secrecy Bill”) through Parliament - a draft law which ran the risk of criminalising investigative journalism by the free media - it was a coalition of civil society movements working with the press and opposition parties which brought international attention to this dangerous precedent.

The Hon. Wilmot James MP is a South African academic-turned-opposition political leader who served as Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and as Dean of the Humanities Faculty at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He will discuss the pivotal role of civil society organisations in South African and African public life, and reflect upon why this important pillar of a new democracy has been in decline there since the turn of the 21st century.

Guest Speaker: The Hon. Wilmot James, MP - Member of Parliament and Shadow Health Minister for the Official Opposition, Democratic Alliance (DA). Former Chairman of the DA, Dean of Humanities at the University of Cape Town and Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA).

Room: Faculty Dining Room, HKS

***All study groups are off-the-record and not for media coverage***