What started as a 16-year-old innocently writing letters to Robben Island political prisoners many years ago has evolved into a paper set to be presented at the World Literacy Summit 2027 in Oxford!
Cape Town, South Africa (22 October 2026) – Sometimes, actions taken with the best intentions only reveal their true impact many years later. This was certainly true for Sidley du Preez, who, as a 16-year-old teenager, wrote letters to political prisoners on Robben Island during apartheid.
“I had no position, influence or idea whether those letters mattered. More than three decades later, one of the former prisoners returned every letter I had written and told me what they had meant during some of his darkest moments,” she tells Good Things Guy.
The man had kept the letters throughout his imprisonment. When they met, that moment changed the way Sidley understood what one person’s choices can mean to another.
Today, those letters form the foundation of Leadership Before Power, the work she takes into Cape Town high schools to help young people think about agency, responsibility and the choices they make long before they have titles or authority.
“I speak with young people about the choices they make when nobody is watching, the pressure to follow others, the courage to speak up and the responsibility we carry long before we are given a leadership title.”
And even more inspiring, drawing on those personal experiences, her research paper, titled ‘Letters Under Censorship: How Historical Literacy Can Build Moral Agency, Civic Responsibility and Ethical Leadership’, has been accepted for presentation at the World Literacy Summit 2027 in Oxford, England.
A story that began with a teenage girl from Heideveld is set to become part of an international conversation about literacy, history, moral agency and leadership.
But to get to Oxford, she needs support. Sidley has launched a verified crowdfunding campaign to help raise the R100,000 she needs to cover the £525 (R11 549,50) conference registration, economy return airfare from Cape Town, accommodation, visa, local transport, meals and a modest travel and currency contingency.
The conference registration is due by 31 October 2026, and Sidley is hoping the support of South Africans can help her get to the room where a South African story can be heard among people from all nations.
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To help her step into this opportunity, donate to her campaign here.
Sources: Sidley du Preez
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