Capacity Building

Promoting democracy through increased community participation in democratic processes: a multi-media approach

Co-funded by the EU and KAS, DDP is working with civil society organisations and community radio stations to promote participation in democractic processes. This report is from the first workshop, held in KZN on 7-9 September.

Understanding the Consumer Protection Act and its implications for non-profit organisations

30 August 2011 - The Consumer Protection Act No 68 of 2008 came into effect during April 2011. The Act has implications for the non-profit sector.

Child Justice Act

26 August 2011 - In partnership with Childline, DDP offered a training session on the Child Justice Act.

Human Rights Day March

21 March 2011, Durban - The Right2Know campaign was invited to be part of a mass march that was being planned for 21 March 2011, Human Rights Day. Various organizations were invited to participate in this event which for the sake of organizing was under the banner of the Durban Social Forum.

Freedom of Expression – Right2Know Campaign - Access to Information Workshop

15 March 2011, Diakonia Conference Centre - The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) partnered with a number of organizations and created material to inform people about their Right to Access Information. They then took it a step further and through their networks and partners set up workshops in various parts of South Africa to disseminate this information and to hear what challenges communities and organizations faced accessing information.

KZN Adoption Coalition

11 March 2011, Diakonia Centre - DDP was honored to host the inaugural meeting of the KZN Adoption Coalition which was held at Diakonia Centre on 11 March 2011. Participants included representatives from Childline, Durban Child Welfare, various children’s homes and adoption agencies and private social workers. With the number of orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa estimated to be in the region of 2 million, DDP applauds the work that these dedicated individuals and organizations are doing to protect the rights of children.

KZN Civil Society Workshop

8 March 2011, Diakonia Centre - As the funding environment becomes increasingly difficult there is a need for those organizations who work within the broad arena of active citizenship (good governance, accountability, and citizen mobilization, service delivery) to get together and discuss in earnest, Province wide programmes that we could jointly fundraise for and implement effectively. The DDP recently hosted a workshop with local selected partners to share information about the work being done and to brainstorm ideas on how we could work collaboratively.

Strategic planning workshop with COMBOCO ( Provincial network of CBO’s )

24 February 2011, DDP Seminar room - COMBOCO has been in existence for the past seven years and has in recent times suffered a leadership crisis that seriously damaged the credibility of the organisation. In our past dealing with the organisation we saw the potential of a partnership that would take our programmes into the heart of communities in deep rural areas. This is the constituency of most of the network partners. This workshop served to re-engineer the organisation in order to meet the new challenges and to be quite specific about their purpose and identity.

International Human Rights Day

9 December 2010, Southern Sun, Elangeni - This year’s IHRD seminar, Justice Mohini Murugasen, who is a judge in the KZN Provincial Division was invited as a speaker. She was allowed to give a talk in line with the theme for IHRD. The United Nations has themed this year’s celebrations “speak up... stop discrimination” thus we saw it befitting that we do the same. In this regard, the Honourable Judge in her address covered the history of South Africa and the new dispensation and the new Constitution.

DDP/HRC Legislative Series: Children's Act

29 November 2010, Diakonia - The South African Human Rights Commission together with the Democracy Development Programme hosted a seminar on the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, as Amended. Due to the various debates emanating in public forums and in the media about the Act it was decided that it would be beneficial to host a seminar on the Act. Mrs. Joan van Niekerk, the national advocacy Director for Child-Line South Africa, and an expert within the children’s sector, who has worked very closely with Act, was invited to present and facilitate the session.

Right2Know Campaign KZN

The Right2Know campaign was formulated in response to the Governments proposed Protection of Information Bill and the ANC’s proposed Media Appeals Tribunal Bill. The campaign was initiated in the Western Cape by the Alternative Information Development Centre (AIDC) in August 2010. A call was made for civil society groups to support this initiative.

DDP/ HRC Legislative Series: Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act

18 November 2010, Diakonia - This seminar formed part of the legislative series, whereby we would identify pieces of legislations that have recently been passed or Bills that were before the national legislature and debate on pressing issues that emanated from these legislations.

DDP/HRC Seminar: Consumer Protection Act

21 October 2010, Diakonia - The Commission together with DDP held a seminar on the new legislation that is meant to protect consumers. The Black Sash was very instrumental in assisting to plan and organise this seminar as part of the legislative series.

Democracy Development Programme (DDP) Social Outreach Programme

1 October 2010, Southern Sun, Elangeni - As part of the Democracy Development Programme (DDP) Social Outreach Programme and Women’s Month the DDP has decided to collaborate with The Highway Hospice to salute the 35 hard working caregivers who voluntarily dedicate their time and love to those that are less fortunate than themselves whom require more care and love than anyone else during their time of grave illnesses.

IMATU-Leadership and Strategic Teambuilding workshop

21-23 September 2010, DDP Seminar Room, Durban - IMATU is one of the best organised Unions in KZN and is located to the centre of the spectrum rather than the extreme left. The request from the training officer was to bring the Executive team and the Board together for three days to talk about communication protocols and conflict management. The team acquired a deeper insight into the nature of their organisational structure and built greater team trust. Conflict resolution models were explained and modified for organisational use.

Courageous Conversations: Debating the proposed information bill and the possibility of a media tribunal

28 August, Koinonia Conference Centre- The group was addressed by Prof Ruth Tomaselli from the Univeristy for KwaZulu Natal. She has researched extensively on the topic and is a recognized expert on the state of the media in South Africa. Since this was a slightly different format from previous conversations we took advantage of having a media resource person in the group and decided to have a single circle of community rather than a number of smaller group discussions.

Courageous Conversations: “Early Christian communities were known to be small, egalitarian, caring and sharing”

30 July 2010, Koinonia Conference Centre - This third conversation took place with around 50 people braving the cold and gathering around a roaring fire to hear the inspiring and challenging words of Albert Nolan – renowned theologian and author, and recipient of the Order of Luthuli in silver, in recognition of his life-long struggle and dedication to the struggle for democracy, human rights and justice and for challenging the religious dogma including theological justification of apartheid.

Social Justice Workshop

3-4 June 2010, DDP Seminar Room -- This workshop was as a result of the new focus the Local government desk has taken which involves roping in Civil society organizations for greater efficacy in citizen’s involvement in advocacy matters. The idea was largely borne out of the organisation’s involvement in the structure called Civil Society Budget Watch.

Personal Leadership and Mastery Workshop

29 June -1 July 2010, Umdloti Conference Centre - 20 participants from a range of organisations participated in this 3-day workshop facilitated by Rama Naidu and Anita Simon. The workshop focused to a greater degree on the leaders’ personal development as a leader within the organisation. The methodology used was process oriented and thus the issues that were raised by the participants themselves. Experienced-based learning is a fundamental approach and conversation a key tool used by the facilitators.

Seminar on the proposed bill on human trafficking in SA

04 June 2010, Diakonia Conference Centre - The Human Rights Commission in collaboration with the DDP hosted a seminar on the human trafficking with a target audience of both government departments as well as civil society in general. The seminar coincided with the Soccer World Cup which was about to commence in South Africa which has on its own brought attention to this organised crime of human trafficking.

Courageous Conversations

Friday, April 30, 2010, Koinonia, Durban - On the 30th of May Vuleka Trust and the DDP hosted an event called “ Courageous Conversations” at the Koinonia Centre in Hillcrest. The event was the brainchild of Roland Vernon, the Director of Koinonia and was meant to bring people together to share their uniquely South African stories. This was a ‘fruit salad’ gathering in that it brought people together across a spectrum of race, age, gender and culture.

NPO Training for Operational Planning using the Log Frame Aproach

12-14 April 2010, DDP Seminar room, Durban - The DDP held this workshop to assist the non profit sector achieve their greatest possible project impact through the best organisational practice.

Community Building - a key leadership task brought to you by Symphonia for South Africa

Wednesday & Thursday, March 11-12, 2010, St Phils Hospitality Centre, Durban - This workshop, a collaborative effort of the DDP and Symphonia in active response to the Dinokeng Scenarios, published in May 2009. The Scenarios urge all South Africans to walk together on the issues that face this country in order to put South Africa on the road to success. The workshop was facilitated by Peter Block, an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Workshop Active Citizens Walking Together for South Africa

4 February 2010, Southern Sun, Elangeni,Durban - ACT4SA in collaboration with the Democracy Development Programme (DDP) held this workshop discussing the Dinokeng Scenarios, the 3 possible futures for our Country. As a nation we can choose to Walk Behind, Walk Apart or Walk Together. Which road will you take?

Capacity Development of the Equality Legislation for Service Providers

Monday, September 21, 2009, Diakonia, Durban - The Human Rights Commission, in partnership with the Democracy Development Programme, the CLRDC, Diakonia Council of Churches and the Black Sash, co-hosted a Legislative Seminar facilitated by Professor Karthy Govender, ex-Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission.

Workshop: Understanding Local Government

Following several requests from associate members and up-coming organisations in the field of Local Government, the DDP local government desk organised a workshop for participants who ranged from NGOs to the private sector.

Greenbury Secondary School Teachers Leadership Workshop

15-16 August 2009, La Mercy Beach Hotel, Durban - The Educators at Greenbury Secondary School requested a development workshop to help them understand this programme and process of the students leadership prgramme. As part of the DDP’s commitment and support to the leadership programme at Greenbury Secondary School students we believe all stakeholders need to have a common understanding of the programme and process to make it a success.

Personal Mastery and Leadership Workshop

28-30 July 2009, Umdloti Conference Centre - Twenty two leaders of civil society organizations in KwaZulu Natal attended this Leadership and Personal Mastery workshop in Durban. The workshop focused on deep questions of value based leadership and what this meant in the current turbulent times both for individuals and organizations.

Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop

21-23 July 2009, Glenmore Pastoral Centre - The workshop, facilitated by Dr Rama Naidu (DDP) aimed at demystifying the whole concept of monitoring and evaluation to create a greater awareness that it had to become an accepted practice in all organisations.

Dialogues in Diversity.doc

24-25 June 2009, Southern Sun, Elangeni - “The gulf widens and the situation is so desperate in our country that there needs to be an urgent national convention to implement a program to undo the deleterious effects of racism, which go hand in glove with the economic crisis.” These were the words of Professor Noël Peters as he initiated Dialogues in Diversity hosted by the Democracy Development Program, Diakonia Council of Churches, South African Human Rights Commission, and the Black Sash.

Dialogue on Racism and Diversity

16 March 2009, Riverside Hotel, Durban North - There has been a reluctance to deal openly and truthfully about the complexity of Race and Diversity issues in South Africa. The recent xenophobic attacks and the ongoing racial divide have deeper roots that, if not dealt with in an appropriate manner, may well result in a worsening crisis.

Workshop: Domestic Violence Act

21 June 2008 - The Chatsworth Community Care Centre (CCCC) works with the court and the SAPS as well as the community. Most of the work by the CCCC focuses on domestic violence and the application of protection orders. One of the main concerns from the CCCC, SAPS and court was the abuse and misinterpretation of certain aspects of the Domestic Violence Act.

Practical Financial Skills Workshop

19-21 May 2008 ( Diakonia, Durban) - In response to many requests from smaller NGOs and CBOs in the Province of KwaZulu Natal the Democracy Development Programme has managed to contract a financial expert that has worked extensively within the sector to design a workshop that addresses the unique accounting operations of an organization.

We Help Our Children (WHOC)

17-18 May 2008 (Tropicana Hotel, Durban) - WHOC has been a partner for the DDP schools programme that is aimed at working with youth in the Durban South Basin in order to promote a positive lifestyle. The organization requested a strategic planning workshop in order to revisit the purpose and effectiveness of their work in order to re-position themselves for the next five years. The participants included student leaders, members of the Board , volunteers and staff.

Chatsworth Community Care Centre (CCCC)

10 May 2008 - The DDP was invited to facilitate a strategic planning session for the members of the Board of this centre with the intention of revisiting its purpose vision in the context of the Chatsworth Community. This Centre assists community members who are in a crisis situation and acts as a conduit to other organizations and institutions that can provide longer term support.

Theatre for the Oppressed

The Democracy Development Programme (DDP) in partnership with the Mandala Center for Change (Washington, United States) hosted a 10 day Train the Trainers workshop in Durban from 05-14 November 2007. The workshop, facilitated by Marc Weinblatt is known as Theater of the oppressed since it is a form of popular community based education that uses theater as a tool for transformation.

Kensington Youth Forum

From the 19 - 21 October 2007, the DDP hosted a strategic planning workshop for the Kensington Youth Forum (Cape Town). The workshop was facilitated by CDRA and allowed members of the Forum to draw a leading image that will assist them with planning for the next years.

IDP Review Process and Community Engagement.pdf

Durban (11th September 2007) - The DDP, in collaboration with CPP and Fairshare, held this GGLN-sponsored IDP Workshop, which was aimed at identifying and addressing crucial capacity issues within municipalities that would effectively facilitate community input. Best practices, challenges of IDP implementation as well as ways in which communities can interact with municipalities with regards to the review process were discussed. The following speakers addressed the audience: Ms Hyacinthia Naidoo (Senior Researcher, City Managers Office: eThekwini Municipality), Dr Pearl Sithole (Research Specialist, Democracy and Governance Unit: HSRC) and Mr Thabo Manyathi (Team Leader, Social Movements and Traning: AFRA).

COMBOCO Provincial Policy Conference

With the support of DDP, COMBOCO (the KwaZulu-Natal CBO Coalition) has held a national policy conference from the 17 - 19 August in Durban. Aim of the conference was to define COMBOCO's role in the 2nd decade of democracy.

Team building and leadership workshop - Rippon Road Primary School (KZN)

From the 31 August until 2 September, DDP conducted a team building and leadership workshop for the teachers of Rippon Road Primary School. The teachers of this school have made their school into a model of self-help and creative initiative, to help the learners cope in a difficult environment. The teacher wished to instill in the children a sense of responsible citizenship and the possibility of using the children to have an impact on parents in the community.

Women's Day in Greenbury (KZN)

On 3 August 2007, a local NGO Phoenix JARP (with support of DDP) hosted their first Women’s Day event at Redfern Community Hall. The area in Phoenix that was targeted mainly was Rinkgreen Place, Greenbury. The area was selected because of the high poverty rate as well as the rife crime and drug related matters taking place.

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