Formation of The Anti-Racism Network South Africa (ARNSA)

At the beginning of August 2015, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Foundation brought together over thirty organizations from around the country to discuss the formation of a national anti-racism network. The Anti-Racism Network South Africa (ARNSA) will be a collaborative body of similarly minded institutions, and will be a broad umbrella for national initiatives and intervention around anti-racism. The network will also engage in research and the GCRO will develop a research work plan in 2016.

Caryn Abrahams, senior researcher at the GCRO, gave a presentation at the workshop, about the institutional make-up of anti-racism networks across the world and their programmes in order to inform the discussion about the nature and structure of such a network. Caryn also facilitated a group discussion on the value of such an organization, and was asked to sit on the interim working committee responsible for developing the national structure and the ongoing strategic planning of the lead organization of the Network. A second paper commissioned by the GCRO was also presented at the workshop by author Dr Kira Erwin (based at the Urban Futures Centre), which focused on anti-racism best practice of civil society organisations in South Africa, with a view to inform a national action plan against racism.

This network is a platform to present the research work of the GCRO on anti-racism, but more importantly strengthens the GCRO’s collaborative efforts in being part of critical debates in contemporary society. This is an important priority of the GCRO so that our research does not happen in isolation from the work of NGOs and civil society organizations, which on a day-to-day basis seek to champion change in communities around the Gauteng City-Region. Often called ‘action-research’, these types of collaborations are increasingly important in developing knowledge and practice that is co-produced by academics and practitioners that goes beyond theory. As a part of the effort, the GCRO will publish its anti-racism report, including the commissioned papers mentioned above, with a photo-essay, to add to a growing body of work in South Africa on anti-racism.