Compiled by Tasmi Quazi & Richard Dobson
The call for nominations for the next round of the Investing in the Future and Drivers of Change Awards was a reminder of Asiye eTafuleni’s (AeT) recognised significance as a contributor to systemic change.
Under the compelling article title above, AeT was solely profiled as winners of the Civil Society Award 2011 in the Mail & Guardian edition April 26 to May 3, 2012 on page 7. AeT’s work was exemplified with the call for nominations of promising individuals and organisations for this year’s awards.
The article notes, “…Through its innovative work in the Warwick Avenue market area in Durban, South Africa, Asiye eTafuleni is a driver for systemic change towards more inclusive cities across the Southern African region. The initiative exemplifies higher level partnerships that work for the benefit of vulnerable groups at a very local level, the judges said when they gave Asiye eTafuleni the Drivers of Change award in the Civil Society category.”
The precursor to the call for nominations is an article by Neville Gabrielle (Executive Director of the Southern Africa Trust and member of the panel of judges for the awards) titled “By Africa for Africa”, who writes, “Africa is changing. There are signs of new energies, interests, actors and wealth. Yet underdevelopment, inequality and exclusion persist. Old practices, relationships and frameworks of social investment can no longer contain these contradictions. We must imagine new ways of doing things in a changed context and we must prove that they can be done if we want to remain relevant and effective as doers of growth and development…”
He adds, “…The Drivers of Change awards, in partnership with the Mail & Guardian’s Investing in the Future awards, recognise those who are doing just that. The game changers in social investment, philanthropy and development are the rightful recipients of these awards…”
As Mr Gabrielle has highlighted above, the profiling of initiatives is critical for stimulating systemic changes. Therefore, the likes of these prestigious awards are invaluable if these innovative ideas and strategies are to become normative. AeT prides itself in being associated with a network of like-minded agents of change.
