On the 20th of June 2011, 100 schools across South Africa showed solidarity with refugees, by showing Where Do I Stand? to their students.

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Having worked through the Up2Us Xperience the delegates began to create their own campaigns.They were asked to address the following: “How do you create a campaign which will inspire young people in racially and economically diverse communities to take a stand?”

The campaigns were created around issues close to them and included among others:

Σ-fi-Education for infinity (Education)

Life (make the powerful choice for prevention of alcohol and drug abuse)

Be a child Day (for child abuse)

I am Blue (for abuse against boys and men)

Hungry for Education ( for Education)

Shikaya has partnered with filmmaker Molly Blank to produce the documentary Where Do I Stand?

When xenophobic attacks broke out across South Africa in 2008, many were caught off guard, shocked by violence that felt like a violation of the principles of their newly democratic nation. Over two months, 62 people were killed, hundreds injured and many more left homeless. In the midst of the violence, many young people picked up pangas.  Other youth, clad in the bright greens and maroons of their school uniforms, looted neighborhood shops while some of their classmates, refugees themselves, fled to safer ground. Some young people tried to find a way to help, but still more stood by, watching from their windows or on television.

Called “brilliant” and “compelling”, Where Do I Stand? uses the attacks as a window into the lives of seven young people who are thinking deeply about their actions during this violence and the choices they made. They include a Rwandan refugee, a girl wrestling with the reality of foreigners in her township, a boy facing calls of cowardice, and a suburban girl whose family sheltered their Malawian gardener.

Where Do I Stand? captures the optimistic voices of youth grappling with what they experienced and seeking to carve out their own places in this complex and divided nation.

Where Do I Stand? Has Received Great Press in South Africa and Internationally…

“We see young people who are thinking through their humanity with great insight… we see an incredible sense of awakening and understanding of their own moral horizons and an awareness of how much they need to be more than simply driftwood in history. It is this possibility, of South Africans taking responsibility for their own actions, that this documentary will hopefully add impetus to.”

- Crain Soudien, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town

“Thought-provoking, deeply moving and thoroughly professional, Where Do I Stand? sets a new standard for education of youth and adults about complex and troubling issues in South African society. This is not only a story about hurt and trauma, but one of reconciliation and hope, crucial ingredients for rebuilding a broken country.

- Jonathan Jansen, Rector, University of the Free State
“I have a new favorite film about education. This one is NOT about school but rather about the moral dilemmas we all face, in this case a matter of life and death.”

- taking note, thoughts on education from John Merrow, November 17, 2010.

“A brilliant movie maker, Molly Blank, renders a powerful account about xenophobia in her new documentary, Where Do I Stand?”

– Jonathan Jansen, The Times (July 14 2010)

Hear director Molly Blank’s interview on the national radio show Dispatches. Listen to the interview.

For more information on the film visit  www.wheredoistandfilm.com

Where Do I Stand? is generously funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and Wallace Global Fund.

UP2US aims to create communities of young UPstanders across South Africa who stand up for good, begin to DO things that make a difference in their schools, communities and country and actively spread the message of UP2US by encouraging others to take part in .

Up2Us features voices and inspiration from young people as well as from celebrities like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Connie Ferguson, Ahmed Kathrada, Bobby Skinstad, Elana Afrika, HHP and The Parlotones.

One of the founders of Freshlyground has produced a theme song for Up2Us bringing together three diverse musicians. Participants will engage with their story of what it meant to come together to create a song of unity, hope and inspiration.

By examining case studies from  Nazi Germany  and Apartheid South Africa , students are exposed to questions of identity ,diversity versus exclusion ,apathy versus activism and are empowered to contribute towards building a more compassionate South Africa . As its content may be adapted for the specific teaching material, the approach  is relevant for History , English, and Life Orientation classes.

for the latest information on  Facing the Past workshops visit the Facing the Past website at  www2.shikaya.org/

At the end of September 2009, Shikaya hosted the “Dialogue for Hope – The Young African Leaders Conference” in partnership with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. This three-day conference provided the opportunity for dynamic young leaders from a diverse group of schools to explore what it means to be a democratic leader, and to assess the governance of South Africa, as well as a number of other African countries, from the perspective of the youth.

View a clip from the conference

The conference aimed to broaden the learners’ understanding of democracy as a dynamic project, which was achieved with reference to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, a comprehensive ranking of sub-Saharan African nations according to governance quality. This index is the main product of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an initiative which aims to stimulate debate on good governance across sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world by providing objective criteria to which the citizens may hold their governments to account. 42 learners were chosen from Facing the Past classrooms to attend the conference, on the basis of leadership experience and their application essay on democracy. To read some of the essays click here.

The young leaders were addressed by a number of illustrious speakers, including Ahmed Kathrada, Denis Goldberg, Premier Zille, Mail and Guardian editor, Nic Dawes, Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor of UCT, Professor Crain Soudien and ex-IFP MP, Gavin Woods. Throughout the three days, the young delegates used History as a tool to understand more about South Africa’s democracy and the choices and responsibilities we have as citizens.

A Gala Dinner was held at Old Mutual House for the young leaders, their teachers and principals. Premier Zille was due to speak at the event but due to family commitments she asked DA MP Ryan Coetzee to speak on her behalf. She did, however, come to the dinner to personally apologise to the delegates and introduce MP Coetzee.

After the conference, the young leaders had the opportunity to meet with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Board during their visit to Cape Town. The members of the Board who attended were Nicholas Ulanov, Nathalie DelaPalme, Lord Cairns, Mo Ibrahim, Mamphela Ramphele, Salim Ahmed Salim, Lalla Ben Barka and Sir Ketumile Masire. Former Botswana President Festus Gontebanye Mogae also took part in the discussion which was held at Rondebosch Boys High School. For two hours the leaders, both young and old, discussed the state of South Africa’s democracy in light of the Ibrahim Index of Good Governance.

The conference was a great success. Besides the overwhelming support we received from the guests who spoke at the conference, we received great encouragement from various other leading South Africans including the Deputy President (who tried to change his diary to attend), Graca Machel, Adam Habib, Vincent Mphai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.