African Social Movements Baraza 2022

The world’s failure to deal with COVID-19 equitably stands as an ultimate indictment of a global system that prioritises profit over people and ignores the needs of the most vulnerable in society. There is a big contestation underway already to define and shape the future, including strenuous efforts by elites and those who have always held power to reproduce themselves and give a new lease of life to ideas that have failed to work and brought us to a point of global collapse.

This calls for a continuous movement! An event to be attended by participants from Sudan, Senegal, the Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Swaziland and Zimbabwe to name a few;  TrustAfrica, Wallace Global Fund and Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at Wits Business School are pleased to announce the 2nd African Social Movements Baraza themed: People Power: Reimagining the Future – Organising for Transformation scheduled to hold from 12 to 14 October 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This Baraza is an opportunity for the social movements of the continent to come together, share experiences and outline strategies for future aspirations.

The global political moment we face calls for a necessary reimagination of the future and a new commitment to organizing for social transformation. Our task as progressive movements is to reimagine a more just society, away from the neo-liberal prescriptions that have brought havoc to humanity and brought us to the precipice of a climate disaster. We believe it is important to centre the voices and agency of ordinary citizens and communities across Africa by speaking boldly about the future we want for Africa and the world. We believe viable alternatives will emerge from movements engaged in concrete struggles around some of the most pressing questions of our time – including climate justice, economic justice, and political rights.

The African Social Movements Baraza (#ASMBaraza2022) will bring social movement leaders and allies from across sectors and countries as well as funding partners to collectively reimagine and strategize on strengthening movements and solidarity towards a more just society. It will interrogate the current global moment from an African perspective and provide space for movements and funding partners to explore co-creating solutions to some of the most pressing challenges from an African and people-centered perspective including:

• Collectively engaging the global moment and its implications for progressive struggles in Africa looking at trends around democracy and civic space, economic justice, and the energy, climate and just transition agenda.
• Providing an opportunity for critical skills exchange between movement leaders and explore ways to develop sustained frameworks for enhancing skills and political education.
• Collectively strategizing on developing a pan African framework of support to social movements aimed at strengthening organizing, networking, solidarity and joint campaigns.