women’s research and documentation: lessons and suggestions 35

GENDER TRANSFORMATION SYMPOSIUM REPORT

4 Gender and social cohesion 4

This is the summary of the presentation by Yaa Ashentewa Archer-Ngidi: Social Cohesion Advocate and Director: Afrikology Unit: Durban University of Technology (DUT)

long-term efforts are required to produce genuine social cohesion and inclusion, which are unlikely to be achieved by this generation. The work entails redressing the inferiority complex with which black people have been burdened and reinstating their place in history – enabling them to feel comfortable in their own skins. such work entails addressing the past and rewriting history so that the lies promoted by the proponents of systems such as colonialism and apartheid are corrected. in looking at issues such as creating more equitable workplaces, transforming the education system and promoting decolonization, Outcome 14 of the national government’s Medium-Term strategic framework (MTsf) 2016-2019 entitled Transforming Society and Uniting the Country5 produced 29 recommended outputs in five categories: • Fostering constitutional values • Promote the Bill of Responsibility, constitutional values and national symbols among children in schools; • Policy interventions to make families better able to foster values such as tolerance, diversity, non-racialism, nonsexism and equity; • Establish Constitutional Monday; • Popularize the Moral Regeneration

Movement and the charter of good values; Develop and implement constitutional rights awareness campaigns and programmes targeting the public with a focus on vulnerable and marginalized groups; including by • Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the

Constitution; • Distributing slim line Constitutions to schoolchildren and Constitution booklets to citizens during national events; • Use national days as a platform for promoting constitutional values; • Equal opportunities, inclusion and redress; • Improve enforcement of the employment equity act; • Change attitudes and behaviour in relation to gender issues and xenophobia; • Build non-racialism through community dialogues and the hosting of a national summit on action to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; • Increase multilingualism in the school environment; • Advise and support municipalities in mainstreaming of women, child-headed households and people living with disabilities in planning and budgeting processes;

4 This section is based on a presentation made by yaa ashantewa archer-Ngidi, social Cohesion advocate, Durban university of Technology (DuT), at the Gender Transformation symposium held by CPuT on 26-27 august 2019. 5 accessed on 31 October 2019 at https://www.poa.gov.za/socialcohesion/Delivery%20agreement/Outcome%20 14%20refined%20Nation%20Building%20MTsf%20Chapter.pdf