The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Civil society is considered to be an important stakeholder in any country that seeks to deepen its democracy. Defined as operating outside of the state and of the market, it is often referred to as the third sector.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) are varied in their character and in their purpose. But there is a common thread that holds them together, which is that they exist in public life to promote public good. In fact, the strength of a country’s civil society is often used...
Mary Robinson, former Irish president and U.N. high commissioner for human rights now heads the Mary Robinson Foundation, where her efforts include campaigning for the divestment from fossil fuels. "We can no longer invest in companies that are part of the problem of the climate shocks we’re suffering from," Robinson says. "To me it’s a little bit like the energy behind the anti-apartheid movement when I was a student. We were involved because we saw the injustice...
Richard Pithouse -
When Bruce Springsteen steps on to the stage in Cape Town on the 28th of January next year it will be his first performance in South Africa, but it won’t be his first connection to South Africa. In 1985 he, along with an impressive collection of musicians ranging from Miles Davis to Jimmy Cliff, Bob Dylan, Peter Garrett and the exiled South African band the Malopoets, was part of the project organised by Steven van Zandt, the original guitarist in his E-Street band, to boycott Sun City....
Robin Broad & John Cavanagh -
With the help of Forbes magazine, we and colleagues at the Institute for Policy Studies have been tracking the world’s billionaires and rising inequality the world over for several decades. Just as a drop of water gives us a clue into the chemical composition of the sea, these billionaires offer fascinating clues into the changing face of global power and inequality.
After our initial gawking at the extravagance of this year’s list of 1,426, we looked...
Glenn Greenwald says that his team knew early on when working on the Edward Snowden/NSA exposé that the story was going to be as much about the role of journalism as it was going to be about the role of surveillance. Greenwald made his remarks via an exclusive video message from Brazil to the Frontline Club in London that was celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special awards ceremony. "We knew that there would be a great debate that would take place over the proper...
The American Congress is set have a congressional briefing in March next year on a proposed "Robin Hood Tax", which is essentially a tax of less than one-half of 1% on Wall Street transactions -- the goal being to generate revenue from Wall Street speculation rather than cut spending on social programs. Jessica Desvarieux of the Real News Network discusses the impact of the prospective tax with former employee of Goldman Sachs, Wally Turbeville.
According to Turbeville, the tax...
