From political to social change: reflections on SA and Northern Ireland
This seminar explores the progress and obstacles both societies face in overcoming their difficult pasts.
April 2018 marks 24 years since the end of apartheid and the start of South Africa’s constitutional democracy. It also marks the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that ended the long conflict in Northern Ireland and established a power-sharing legislature in Belfast.
Two decades on, how are these societies navigating the political and social transition? What progress has been made? What obstacles prevent genuine reconciliation and how can these be overcome? This seminar will explore the prospects of transformed societies in overcoming their difficult and divisive pasts.
This seminar is hosted in collaboration with the Irish Embassy in Pretoria.
Chair: Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Head, Special Projects, ISS
Welcome: Amb Liam MacGabhann, Irish Embassy in Pretoria
Speakers:
Nompumelelo Runji, political analyst, University of Pretoria
Brian McKee, Founder, Seedlings & Belfast2Blanco Project, Northern Ireland
Sekoetlane Phamodi, activist and independent consultant
