South Africa
Racism and racial discrimination
Irfaan Mangera (he/him) is an activist, organiser, and community builder. He worked as the Youth Activism Programme Manager at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, organising, mobilising and developing socio-political consciousness of young people across 30+ community based youth activist clubs. Covering focus areas like climate justice, service delivery and democracy building initiatives, menstrual and mental health, debating, history tours, anti-racism and civic and human rights education. Through the Foundation, he has spearheaded the creation of the National Youth Coalition with many other activists, in building a space for youth in South Africa to strengthen their voice in creating systemic change. He served as its interim chairperson.
Irfaan currently serves on the board of SANCA Nishtara, a community drug and rehabilitation centre, and on the advisory board of the Youth Climate Champions project. He is an activist in the Palestinian solidarity movement and also was appointed by the Premier of the Gauteng Provincial Government to the Youth Advisory Panel and has served in a number of committees, community, student and youth organisations. He was awarded the ‘Honey Gluckman Award, ‘for outstanding contribution to community education, with emphasis on a disadvantaged group’, by the faculty of Humanities at Wits, and the Inaugural Human Rights Award from the Artfluence Human Rights Festival hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts at the UKZN.
“Human rights education gives us that framework where we ensure that there’s an active participant in society, that our generation is one that is proactive on a day-to-day basis.”
Discussion questions
Irfaan is concerned by the “triple threats of unemployment, poverty and inequality” in his country. How do you think they relate to the issue of racism?
Are racism and racial discrimination problems faced in your school, community or country? What can be done to overcome them? How can human rights education help?
How can young people fight racism and related forms of discrimination?
Irfaan quotes Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Do you agree, and why?
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This multimedia educational tool is co-published by the United Nations (OHCHR), Amnesty International and Soka Gakkai International.