The Department of Social Work at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) hosted an international workshop on Indigenous Social Security Systems and Government Policies: Perspectives from Southern and West Africa. The two-day workshop took place on the 8th and 9th March 2016 in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
Delegates presented papers which reported on on-going research studies in the two African regions.
The former studies sought to establish whether national governments in Southern and West Africa, incorporated Indigenous Social Security Systems in their public policy-making endeavours.
The International Workshop on Indigenous Social Security Systems, drew participants from Southern and West African countries.
On the first day, most of the deliberations noted that initiatives on the African continent that aimed at emboldening social security systems were mainly couched in Eurocentric paradigms. Participants were of the view that Indigenous Social Security Systems should underpin African countries’ efforts at strengthening social security systems on the African continent.
The key drivers of the project are Professor Ndangwa Noyoo (Associate Professor) who is from the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Social Work; Professor Emmanuel Boon, from the Department of Human Ecology, University of Vrije, Belgium (also based at the University of Ghana); and Ms. Lungile Mabundza from the University of Swaziland’s Department of Sociology and Social Work.
On the second day, more papers examined Indigenous Social Security Systems. The latter part of the workshop focused on the way forward. Key among other things discussed were the following: the workshop was going to be an annual event with the next one taking place next year in Accra, Ghana; publication of the papers as chapters in a book and a motion was also tabled and adopted that the East African bloc should be included after the Accra workshop. Other issues discussed were the dissemination of the research findings to a wider audience through press releases and policy briefs and bringing on board a cross-section of key stakeholders.
