Social and economic justice

The South African apartheid regime systematically excluded the black majority from accessing the country’s resources and basic services as well as from participating in the economy. Today South Africa, committed to leaving behind its painful past of discrimination and injustice on the basis of race, is moving forward in the new democratic dispensation, doing its best to overcome social and economic inequalities, injustices and underdevelopment, among its people. In order to restore the social and economic balance between whites and blacks the South African Government has implemented various policies and strategies aimed at promoting economic and social conditions of the black majority. Among the strategies put in place for social and economic transformation are the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action. However, both white and black South Africans complain that these policies do not address the injustices; whites consider these policies to be discriminatory against them and many black people argue that these policies, especially BEE, only benefit a small elite class. The interns have the opportunity to conduct research among South Africans and contribute to this debate. Click here to read more about the projects we are currently involved in.