Strategic Goal And Priorities

As an organisation, SCI uses a feminist approach that draws on the following three strategic priorities to guide its work for the next three years. The intention is to collaborate on strategic actions that influence and advocate for an end to patriarchal norms and structures that perpetuate inequality, in order to reach the ultimate goal.

Goal

To dismantle patriarchy so that young womxn and girls fully realise their human rights, achieve self-determination and are able to live with dignity in a just society.

Impact

1. Social norms, systems and structures that perpetuate patriarchy are disrupted.
2. There is improved recognition, respect and protection for young women’s rights.

Outcomes

1. Capable young feminist movements and cadres that are supported and resourced to take action to dismantle patriarchy and advance their rights.
2. Young women’s voices are recognised in leading change that names, confronts and challenges social norms, systems and structures that perpetuate inequality.

Strategic Objectives And Activities

Objective 1: Amplifying The Voices Of Young Womxn To Influence Change Advance Health And Wellbeing And Promote Feminist Allies.

Amplifying and building young womxn’s capacities, representation and influence to lead change results in an end to patriarchal norms, and structures that perpetuate inequality.

Action 1.1. Influencing and advocating as an organisation and in collaboration with others.

SCI has built a reputation as an effective voice that drives change through social and behavioural communication and feminist thought leadership that advocates effectively. The organisation will continue to advocate for gender equality and social justice through multiple platforms such as mass media, social media, podcasts, website and other face to face forms of engagement to drive change. Young womxn, including from our RISE Clubs, will be central to the advocacy strategy, their lived experience will inform and determine the narrative and their voices will lead the call.

Action 1.2. Strengthening the RISE and Soul Buddyz Clubs (SBC) movements

Our work to strengthening the RISE and SBC movements is conducted in partnership with the Department of Health and the Department of Education respectively.

RISE clubs bring together adolescent girls and young womxn (AGYW) ages 15 – 35 years old. The clubs are based in marginalised communities within districts in all provinces of South Africa and meet regularly with the aim to:

• Build a feminist movement.
• Increase understanding of their human rights in general and SRHR specifically.
• Support knowledge transfer on SRHR and build skills that enable AGYW to keep themselves safe and healthy.
• Build social cohesion and resilience.

Through the RISE clubs we will continue to strengthen young womxn’s movements to lead and drive activism towards gender equality and to advocate for their SRHRs. We also envisage that some of these young women may join other SCI programmes for young womxn facilitated through the Soul City Feminist Learning and Activist Centre (FLAC).

Soul Buddyz started as an educational television production and was first broadcast in August 2000 on the public broadcaster (SABC). The programme targeted children aged 7 to 14 and deals with issues such as children's rights, HIV/AIDS, youth sexuality, accidents, disability and road safety.  Within this context, the need to protect the rights of children and to encourage them to act responsibly, the Soul Buddyz clubs were initiated to enable children to express themselves, to join in group activities to learn and to take responsibility in establishing and participating in their own organisations and clubs. It was created a vehicle through which children between the ages of 7-14 years can:

• use this vehicle to mobilise children to participate in taking responsible action to shape their lives and that of the community;
• promote gender equality
• create an environment for ongoing learning with peer and intergenerational support;
• create a forum where children's needs and voices can be heard;
• provide a positive alternative for young people;
• encourage young children to have fun and be creative; and
• support young people as agents for change.

The SBCs will continue as a vehicle to raise strong young women as well as gender sensitive young men and feminist allies, who respect the rights of women, and who see themselves as supporters and builders of gender equality.

Objective 2: Building The Capacities Of Young Womxn To Lead Activism

Build the capacities of young women to create a cadre of conscientised feminist activists who are able to collectively disrupt patriarchy and contribute to a gender equitable future.

Action: 2.1. Establishment and implementation of the Soul City Feminist Learning and Activist Centre (FLAC).

The Centre aims to disrupt and transform multiple levels of oppression and continue herstories of womxn’s liberation through feminist theorising and activism that builds on generations of African feminist movement building. 

Objective 3: Resourcing The Activism Of Young Womxn To Lead Change

Resourcing young womxn’s movements to amplify their voice and activism and drive the kind of change needed to dismantle patriarchy and advance a gender equal world.

Action 3.1: Resourcing capacity building and the projects and initiatives led by young womxn through FLAC.

In the pilot phase of the implementation of FLAC, fellowships will be provided to young womxn to fund their participation in Social Action Projects. These young womxn will receive funding to initiate and lead projects that further advance the vision of disrupting patriarchy and leading new ways of doing this in their communities as part of the FLAC model. The establishment of a Feminist Innovation Fund through the FLAC will raise resources to support individuals and organisations engaged in feminist social justice work in South Africa and the region. 

Action 3.2: Resourcing the activism and leadership of young womxn across South Africa in the long term.

Learning from other feminist funds, SCI has a vision to provide long term, sustainable resourcing for young womxn’s projects and actions. This funding will go beyond the FLAC and provide resources that these movements often struggle to access – this includes resources for convening, learning, activism and action at community level. This is a long term vision and learnings from the implementation of the FLAC model will assist SCI to understand how best to resource young womxn’s activism.