From approximately twenty-eight million registered South African voters for the 2024 National Elections, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) results show that only a rounded fifty-eight per cent managed to cast valid votes. This could highly likely mean that about forty-two per cent of registered voters in South Africa either have little to no knowledge about the right processes of casting a valid vote or lack civic education and therefore see no significance in following through with their right to vote. To educate citizens about voting systems and their civic duties, private and public sectors merge their resources and find optimal ways of reaching every eligible voter in the country.

In a series of tireless, numerous efforts already put into tackling this issue before the 2024 elections, Activate! Change Drivers showed resilience by hosting a roundtable stakeholder meeting coupled with the Civic Education Projects Launch on September 18, 2024, at Constitution Hill, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. The main goals of this event include reflection on previous year's elections, evaluation of NGO roles and impact, extraction of lessons learned and strategic construction of future collaborations with relevant stakeholders.

When welcoming all present stakeholders, before her opening remarks, Lebohang Zimba guided all representatives on the roundtable to break the ice by introducing themselves with the help of an Asset Tree. This is an activity where everyone receives a piece of branch-like paper to write their names, organisation they represent and the mission of their organizations, and the branch would be pinned on the “Asset Tree” that would be pasted on the wall, then they would stand and present what they wrote on the branch. This way, each stakeholder would know who to liaise with based on the organizations they represent for their future projects. Present stakeholders were NGOs and civil society organizations involved in civic education or collaborating with Civic Education Programmes from Activate! Change Drivers, Civic Education Champions and project custodians, representatives from local communities of Gauteng Province (more especially from Duduza, Ekurhuleni and Kagiso, Mogale City), and government officials as well as policymakers who are active in civic education and community engagements.

Tebelelo Lentsoane kick-started the discussion with a thorough presentation on the activities and impact of the Civic Education Programme. She highlighted that it is significant for citizens and youth at large to become informed voters in the next elections to experience optimal democracy. Mr Seth Mazibuko carried the discussion forward, invigorating the room with a remark that prodded applause, suggesting that the youth came in numbers during the 2024 Elections, stating, “You neutralized the space, as young people.”

Mr Seth Mazibuko is one of the freedom fighters who was arrested during apartheid and confined at Robben Island, at the age of fifteen. When he was facilitating the discussion, I felt his passion on this topic from his digressions and intonations. He was troubled by the lack of civic participation from the youth before the 2024 Elections and was excited to see them coming in larger numbers during the Elections. “Guiding that ballot, guiding that vote, to me is what I fought hard for,” he said. “For our people to enjoy the fruits of that tree, they must vote.”

After recapping on the main events that took place in the previous year, Mr Seth Mazibuko mentioned that the hindrance to youth engagement in civic education could be that the events hosted so far had not been catered for the youth. Perhaps fun events that are aligned with already existing youthful types of events should be considered for the next elections, as a way to lure more young people into participating and learning voluntarily about their civic duties as citizens.

Under collaborative efforts and future strategies, the stakeholders contributed with ideas and resource-offering proposals to enhance and build the impact that Civic Education Programmes seek to have in South Africa. Good questions were asked, such as, “How can we make a grassroots community mapping a broad big strategic plan?” and “Why can't we replace Life Orientation with Civic Education?” Thought-provoking arguments and suggestions were made, such as, “South Africans don't imagine enough about the kind of country they want.” and “When we have civic education and conversations, we should include our roles as citizens in making the local government work.” It was also stated that the term “civic education” is underrated, and therefore it should from then on be called “civic conversation.” When the topic of inclusivity and diversity was brought up, spaces like churches, schools, groundwork collective mobilization and social media were suggested as mediums for broader reach. However, one of the big problems spotted during elections was the fast spread of fake news by mainstream media platforms. So, one of the stakeholders said with concern that the media should be held accountable for misinformation.

The first launch of a community project led by a civic education champion, Nompumelelo Nhlapo, is aimed at solving an unemployment problem at Duduza. It is founded on making the youth realize their potential, offering them tools and giving them hope and career-based support. Stakeholders provided assistance with relevant contacts for office space, collaborations and funding.

Following was another community project launched by two civic education champions, Kelebogile Mangole and Matshepo. Their organization strives to eradicate mental health problems and social ills in Kagiso, as well as to lead an AIDS awareness programme. They were offered help on finding office space by stakeholders, and a suggestion on registering with relevant platforms for legitimacy and recognition for tracking was made.

Overall, the feedback from the stakeholders was positive, despite one occasion where they mentioned that talking and discussing may start getting monotonous if the solutions are not implemented. In closing, Nathacia Olivier thanked guests and representatives of each organization for their presence and participation, and guided everyone to the dining room for lunch and networking. The date of the next roundtable meeting is still unknown, but communication will be made with stakeholders.

Written by Mpho Matlhabegoane, Activate! Change Drivers