The third and final conference of the RUC project took place from March, 4th to 8th at the Wits Business School. Hosted by CAPSI, the meeting provided opportunities for lively discussions and networking.
The first day was reserved for the discussion of the state of the project and current research in Soweto, South Africa´s largest township. Participants of the PhD-seminar joined the group in the afternoon for an inspiring trip to two local social enterprises. The first one –a holding of more than 55 co-ops, engaged in gardening and animal farming, is managed by two women, highly engaged in their community. The SE is also a public-private endeavor, since the city of Johannesburg owns the farmland, has provided seed-money to start the enterprise and continues to support the organization. The second organization – Bookibhoni – is located in Soweto’s most famous street, which used to be home to two noble prize laureates – Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. The organization runs a cycling business, offering bike-tours throughout Soweto. Whoever donates a book to Bookibhoni gets a price reduction for booked services. The books are given to local libraries opening access to books and the joy of reading for local kids . The entrepreneur’s dream is to spread the word and establish free access to books throughout the country. The first day of the meeting was rounded up with a dinner at a well-known restaurant in Soweto serving exclusively traditional African food. For sure: It was original, tasty and a little bit heavy.
This time, the RUC PhD-meeting attracted a group of twelve highly engaged students from a variety of African countries, amongst those Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, South Africa, Lesotho, Nigeria, and Kenya. Some participants had already taken part in RUC´s first or second PhD meeting in Nairobi, Kenya and Cairo, Egypt. At least two of them, will finish their dissertation this year. Unanimously, participants stressed that the RUC PhD seminars had massively supported their research. With help of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR), the consortium was able to invite two experts for a workshop on academic writing and publishing. Prof. Susan Appe and Prof. Chris Pallas gave an inspiring talk with many insights into the art and techniques of academia. CAPSI’s brand-new research project on youth employment in Africa served as prime example of current research in the field of nonprofits and social enterprises in Africa. Funded by the MasterCard Foundation, researchers from 17 African countries analyze how nonprofits and social enterprises tackle the issue of youth unemployment. We wish CAPSI good luck for the years to come. A third workshop, provided by Prof. Alan Fowler, addressed career development. Prof. Fowler is a gifted researcher and teacher. He perceives himself as a pracademic, combining knowledge from academia with “real world” experience. The PhD seminar has been a huge success. Participants felt deeply sorry for the RUC seminar series coming to an end. However, CAPSI plans to pick up the concept for future PhD seminars.
RUC Presentation – Publishing Your First Articles
The final two days were devoted to the public conference of the RUC project. More than 75 participants Johannesburg took the opportunity to gain information on social enterprises and resilient urban communities.
Prof. Maurice Radebe, Head of the Business School at Wits, started the conference. Thereafter, Saliem Fakir, Executive Director of the African Climate Foundation, gave a key-note speech on the challenges African countries face due to global climate change. The following two panels focused on the key-topics of the conference: social enterprises and social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurs from South Africa talked about their experiences and the risks they encountered, trying to turn new and innovative ideas into reality. Highly appreciated by the audience was the panel sharing findings of the RUC project. The panel began with a video speech from Svenja Schulze, the German Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development. A panel addressing specific needs of women in times of change rounded up the first day of the conference. How to make things happen by joining forces was the central topic of the second conference day. Frank Aswani, Chief Executive Officer of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance spoke on the mission and vision of his organization and how it brings funders and philanthropists from all Africa together. A field trip to a social enterprise engaged in youth work in a township outside Johannesburg closed the second conference day.
Herewith, the RUC team from the University of Münster would like to thank all African partners for their support, advice, and the great work atmosphere throughout the project. Special thanks for organizing the final conference and the exiting field trips in Johannesburg goes out to the CAPSI team members – Melody Mandevere, Tsele Moloi, and particularly to the head of CAPSI Prof. Bhekinkosi Moyo.
