On 30 May 2022, the University of Pretoria (UP) and the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria hosted the event to launch Pamoja, at the Future Africa campus. This event focused on an intergenerational discussion on the topic of democratic activism.

Pamoja, which originates from the Swahili term meaning ‘come together’, is an interactive web-based platform that explores Sweden’s contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and the independence movements in nine other African nations.

Pamoja was launched in 2021 by the Swedish Institute, Liliesleaf and the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria. This platform is accompanied by a portrait exhibition which features youth activists from both Sweden, South Africa and nine other African nations. This photographic exhibition was commissioned by Swedish Institute and depicts the importance of international unity and solidarity to obtain democracy and human rights.

The next phase of the Pamoja series, as seen at Monday evening’s event, focuses on developing an intergenerational conversation on democratic activism.

The event was hosting by Prof Vasu Reddy, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and included opening remarks from Prof Tawana Kupe and Ambassador Hakan Juholt. Ambassador Juholt discussed how Pamoja is a celebration between the people of Sweden and the people of Southern Africa. The Ambassador also reminded those present that solidarity is built upon mutual respect and shared some personal stories of his own activism, such as his involvement in boycotting the oil company, Shell. In addition to this, Ambassador Juholt also discussed how democracy is not something that is given to us but rather something “we must fight for”.

Prof Thula Simpson of the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies at UP moderated a lively panel discussion on this topic. Prof Simpson is an associate professor and has authored several books on the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, with his latest book winning several awards. The panel included a mix of veteran activists and UP students and alumni and included: David Kabwa, Yanga Malotana, Kwena Moloto, Mavuso Msimang, Edwin Smith and Albie Sachs. David Kabwa is a graduate student at UP and is the former president of UPs Student Representative Council (SRC). Malotana is a MA student at UP and currently works as a communication strategist and political analyst. Edwin Smith is a graduate of the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College in Tanzania and has held positions at UP such as the Director of Marketing and Communications and the Campus Director of the Mamelodi Campus. Msimang was active in Umkhonto WeSizwe during the liberation struggle and also served as the personal assistant to O.R. Tambo. Mr Msimang also worked for a number of various international development organisations such as UNICEF and also served in the Department of Home Affairs. The last panellist was former Constitutional Justice Albie Sachs, an acclaimed lawyer, scholar, author and judge who was an anti-apartheid activist and was formerly a South African Constitutional Court Justice.

The panellists explored in great depth the key question: “How do we define democratic activism?”. Other areas that were touched on included South Africa’s Constitution, the Freedom Charter and whether the Freedom Charter is an asset or obstacle to maintaining democracy in the present and the future.

This Pamoja event brought together a panel of individuals from different generations to discuss the future of democracy in both South Africa, and the rest of the African continent by promoting interconnectedness. We hope that this event has encouraged others to join the conversation.

#TogetherChangeIsPossible #Pamoja #DriveForDemocracy