SERP hosts a workshop to empower community leaders

From May till September 2016, the Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute hosted a series of Community Leaders Workshops to empower and raise awareness on human rights and social justice.

Given the important roles community leaders play in facilitating or realising access to justice for vulnerable and marginalised groups in society, the aim of these workshops were to empower community leaders by equipping them to provide pivotal human rights support services to the community.

The community leaders were empowered with skills to engage and to assert their social economic rights with government institutions at the local, municipal levels such as the City of Cape Town, and Chapter 9 institutions such as the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), and Office of the Public Protector.

The workshops also offered a platform for various community leaders and community activists with different backgrounds to discuss, network and share their knowledge on human rights and social justice in South Africa. The Community leaders were drawn from three communities, namely, Blikkiesdorp in Delft, Mandela Park in Khayelitsha, and Overcome Height in SeaWind Muizenberg. Through this program, DOI hopes to empower community members to assert their rights as well as facilitate access to justice for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

This program is made possible through the generous funding from the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA).