Shikaya » Conversations With Our Past

Letters to Mandela

Amanda — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:12:01 +0000

ARNO REUVERS is a South African Afrikaans fruit farmer who runs his family’s apple and pear farm just outside of Cape Town. The movie Invictus, about Nelson Mandela’s role in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, had a profound impact on Arno. For the first time, contrary to his prejudices and upbringing, he understood that Mandela used that World Cup to build a nation and to help white and black South Africans begin the slow process of reconciliation. As a response to the film, he wrote a letter to Mandela in which he committed to becoming a nation builder as well.

The letter was published in the letters page of a local Afrikaans newspaper which was where we discovered it. With much coercion, we eventually convinced Arno to allow us to make a short film of his letter so that others, in various ways, would be inspired to action as well. At the end of 2010, Nelson Mandela sat down after lunch with his daughter Zinziwe and his close friend, Ahmed Kathrada, and watched the film of Arno`s letter. We are told that he was moved and wanted to keep a copy of it to watch it again.

Many other South Africans have now joined the movement, writing letters to Madiba that show their commitment to nation-building. View these letters, or write your own, at letterstomandela.org.

Live Our Constitution

Amanda — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:58:11 +0000

In the Spirit of Human Rights month, Shikaya would like to present an exciting opportunity for you and your learners to engage in discussion about our country’s teenager, its Constitution.
Celebrating its 15th birthday this year, our Constitution is considered to be one of the most progressive in the world. It is something that we discuss each day in various ways. We talk about our rights, our access to basic services, yet we need to ask ourselves exactly how we make our Constitution work for us? Are we exercising our right to Freedom of Association? Are we ensuring that our right to a healthy environment is acknowledged? What are WE doing about these things?

Engage with your students and share with us. We are keen to hear the thoughts of our teachers and our future leaders.

Post your comments on our facebook page, telling us how you have chosen to LIVE OUR CONSTITUTION in your classroom, school, and/or community. We would like to use these discussions and comments as the foundation for a movement of UPstanders to emerge within your schools and communities. More importantly, we feel it would encourage broader thinking of our human rights, tolerance and acceptance of our differences, and an embracing of a diverse human culture, society, and future.
Follow the #LiveOurConstitution trend on Twitter by posting comments to @ShikayaOrg. Engage the masses in discussion and create a platform for all voices to be heard.

Conversations With Our Past

Amanda — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:57:49 +0000

In 2009, Shikaya launched Conversations with Our Past – a video series of intimate discussions between leading South African historical personalities and History teachers talking about the past they experienced and the past they teach. Anti-apartheid stalwart, Ahmed Kathrada, began the first conversation. The talks are filmed so that they can be distributed to History teachers in the Western Cape and in other Provinces across South Africa.