Thuli Madonsela is calling on all South Africans to connect over meals and around tables across the country – as strangers, friends and like-minded citizens, to engage in intentional and meaningful conversation.
South Africa (02 October 2022) – This year, Prof. Thuli Madonsela celebrates her 60th birthday, and her wish is to utilise the celebration of this milestone as a catalyst to connect, collaborate and conceptualise the Deepening of Democracy in our country.
In light of her wish, the Thuli Madonsela Foundation is partnering with OpenSeat, which is designed to create community in spaces and around tables across the country, to launch 28 Days of Deepening Democracy, starting on Prof’s birthday, September 28th, which, notably is also the 28th Anniversary of South Africa’s democracy.
This campaign is a call to connect over meals and around tables across the country – as strangers, friends and like-minded citizens, to engage in intentional and meaningful conversation.
“As occasions created for discussion, reflection and collaboration around the meaning of democracy, and how we, as citizens can, individually and collectively participate. We also hope to use these four weeks as a time to acknowledge and celebrate those who are already actively contributing towards our communities and country’s sense of democracy.”
The Thuli Madonsela Foundation is encouraging and challenging South Africans to host and attend 28 Days of Deepening Democracy events on OpenSeat.
How to participate:
Sign up to OpenSeat, and decide whether you would like to start by hosting or attending an event.
Host an event:
- Decide on an event theme or topic based on what you think contributes to Deepening Democracy.
- Choose an event date during the campaign period (28 Sep – 26 Oct).
- Make sure your event title mentions your theme.
- In your event description, include an outline of how you plan to host your guests, structure the conversation, the meal and refreshments that will be provided, and a brief introduction to your theme or topic.
Attend an event:
- Browse through the campaign events on OpenSeat and find a theme or topic that resonates with you.
- Request a seat for yourself (and friends if you would like!)
- Once the host has accepted your request, share the meal you are attending and encourage your friends and community to participate in the campaign.
- Snap some pictures at your event and share them on your social media.
This campaign has been created to facilitate collaboration, via shared meals and conversations, between citizens across the country to co-create a patchwork of ideas to construct a blueprint for democracy – one that represents all and leaves no one behind.
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The organisers will collate videos, reports and letters from events to publish a report on citizens’ sentiments on the meaning of democracy and their ideas on the deepening of it. Certain individuals who are revealed in this campaign to be pioneers of democracy will receive special recognition by the campaign and its organisers.
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