All pages have the same URL, click on the links in the left column, as for exemple: Background/Vision/Mission, Programmes, Articles & Publicity, Image Library, Organisational Info, Bantu Steve Viko, Franktalk, e-shop, Contact.
Background: The Steve Biko Foundation is inspired by the development legacy of the man Bantu Steve Biko. Biko’s approach emphasized the importance of the connection between identity, agency and change. It focused on the inextricable link between the individual and society, between history and biography. Through this link the individual internalizes influences from their society that come to determine his or her role in the community. In turn, the individual plays out their life in a way that contributes to the history of that society.
The Foundation recognizes that since 1994, South Africa has done well in setting policies for development, defining clear targets in relation to the tangible aspects of development such as houses, water and electricity. The next few decades present the challenge of delivery. The delivery phase requires the active participation of not just government but all South Africans. Agency is, however, a function of a peoples’ sense of identity. A people with a sense of who they are, and a sense of common purpose, are better able to imagine who they can become.
The programs undertaken by the Steve Biko Foundation emphasize the intangible aspects of development such as history and heritage in the hope of reconstructing a national memory and aiding the developing our people’s imagination. Through this approach we aim to build a world-class civil society institution that will help those who live on the periphery of our democratic society to affirm their dignity.
Vision:
- Using history and heritage, the foundation seeks to strengthen democracy by promoting a culture where South Africans become architects of change and occupants of her liberated spaces.
Mission:
- At a national level the foundation’s mission is to promote public dialogue on government policy, popular culture and race relations through a series of lectures and seminars.
- At a community level the foundation runs programs that seek to nurture and develop community based leadership, especially amongst the youth, as an avenue for the civic participation in the political, economic and the cultural life of South African society.