Past webinars
WEBINAR | Orientation and Mobility Webinar
WEBINAR | SECTION27 Climate Justice Publication Launch
WEBINAR | Climate Change as a Human Rights Risk A Resource for Health and Education Rights Activists
Health Reform: Perspectives and Proposals
Stakeholders from across the healthcare sector convened virtually to engage with the findings of a new research report produced by Concentric Alliance and SECTION27 entitled ‘Health Reform: Perspectives and Proposals’. Participants from the National Department of Health, private healthcare sector, academia and civil society discussed the research findings in a webinar to explore paths for moving health reform efforts past the current impasse.
Mental Health Matters
To commemorate Mental Health Month, SECTION27 hosted a webinar to discuss the impact on COVID-19 on mental health, mental health rights and how people can access mental health services with lessons learnt from the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
Our panel included: Gasant Abarder, former Editor of the Cape Argus and published author, who moderated the panel. SECTION27 legal researcher, Mbalenhle Baduza, Clinical Psychologist, Charity Mkone, and Dr Samke Ngcobo, is a general practitioner living with bipolar disorder. Watch below.
Fix The Patent Laws Campaign – Mobilising support for patent law reform locally and internationally
29 April 2021
In this webinar, we discuss overcoming barriers to medicines, vaccines, and medical tools for cancer, diabetes, HIV and TB, as well as COVID-19 ahead of the World Trade Organisation’s TRIPS council meeting on 30 April to discuss the proposal by South Africa and India, supported by over 100 countries, to waive patents on COVID-19 technologies and medicines. Speakers included:
- Achal Prabhala (Access IBSA/Shuttleworth Foundation) (moderator)
- Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng (Un Special Rapporteur on the right to health)
- Leena Menghaney (Director of MSF Access campaign in India and South Asia)
- Umunyana Rugege (SECTION27 Executive Director)
World Book Day and the need to #EndTheBookFamine for people who are blind or visually impaired.
23 April 2021
In this webinar, we explored the advocacy surrounding copyright reform that has led us to this court case. Why are South Africa’s Copyright laws barriers to the fulfilment of human rights, and what needs to be done to improve access to accessibly formatted reading materials? • What are comparative international experiences from other countries in terms of the ratification of Marrakesh and law reform to remove copyright barriers? Speakers:
- Sanya Samtani (University of Oxford) (Moderator)
- Ntshavheni Netshituni (BlindSA)
- Marcus Low (Spotlight)
- Dr Praveena Sukhraj-Ely (South African Department of Justice & Constitutional Development)
- Florence Ndagire (Ugandan human rights lawyer)
People over Profit
15 April 2021
SECTION27 Executive Director, Umunyana Rugege in a sesion called: People over profit: The fight for affordable medicine at Global Justice Now’s youth national gathering, We Rise 2021.
People’ Vaccine Campaign – Vaccine Literacy Train the Trainer manual launch
7 April 2021
Vaccine Literacy Media Training
23 March 2021
SECTION27 hosted a vaccine literacy training for local media houses. Moderated by: Nontsikelelo Mpulo – Head of Communications at SECTION27. Presentations by: Dr Lydia Cairncross – People’s Health Movement and Marcus Low – Spotlight Editor.
Fix the Patent Laws Activist Workshop
10 March 2021
The Fix the Patent Laws campaign convened activists across civil society in preparation for a picket at the Department of Trade Industry and Competition in which we demanded that the Minister urgently publish for public comments draft amendments to the Patent Act of 1978, an outdated piece of legislation which is out of sync with the South African constitution
Vaccine Literacy Workshop
26 January 2021
We hosted a very well attended vaccine literacy workshop for SECTION27 and TAC staff and members and invited partners. Sasha Stevenson moderated the workshop with presentations from Dr Isabella Panunzi, vaccine expert from MSF Brussels, and Dr Andy Gray, medicines policy expert in South Africa.
Privacy in the pandemic: the (mostly) untold story of digital contact tracing in South Africa
4 December 2020
The race to develop digital tools to fight the spread of Covid-19 has sparked privacy concerns across the world. Many feared that the global pandemic would result in emergency measures that would outlast the emergency, and digital contact tracing would become a tool for mass surveillance.
This panel discussion brought together privacy advocates and leading public health officials to have a much needed debate about the role of digital contact tracing in South Africa’s Covid-19 response, and what lessons we can learn for the next crisis.
Hosted by SECTION27 and Maverick Citizen, and moderated by Maverick Citizen Editor Mark Heywood, speakers included:
- Murray Hunter, Media Policy & Democracy Project (researcher)
- Gaurang Tanna, National Department of Health (Head: Policy co-ordination and Integrated Planning)
- Avani Singh, ALT Advisory (Director and co-founder)
Watch the replay here:
Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum Webinar series
15 November 2020
During the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses, individuals and politicians cynically exploited a public health crisis for personal gain. In this webinar Sasha Stevenson discussed civil society’s concerns about the vulnerability of the National Health Insurance scheme to corruption and Nicholas Crisp outlined the measures the national health department would put in place to limit the opportunities for corruption. Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood moderated the discussion.
All Rise. A Judicial Memoir by Dikgang Moseneke.
15 October 2020
Reflecting on former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s constitutionalism and the role of civil society: a webinar presented by SECTION27, Maverick Citizen and Pan MacMillan.
Mark Heywood (Maverick Citizen Editor) moderated a discussion with Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke about his latest book, All Rise. Together with Advocate Adila Hassim and SECTION27 Legal Researcher, Tendai Mafuma, they explored some of the key issues emanating from the memoir, in particular how civil society uses the Constitution, socio-economic rights and Life Esidimeni.
All Rise offers a unique, insider’s view of how the judicial system operates at its best and how it responds when it is under fire. From the Constitutional Court of Arthur Chaskalson to the Mogoeng Mogoeng era, Moseneke’s understated but astute commentary is a reflection on the country’s ongoing but not altogether comfortable journey to a better life for all.
Activist Dialogue on Abortion in Eastern and Southern Africa
28 September 2020
SECTION27 hosted an activist dialogue webinar on access to termination of pregnancy and abortion in the Eastern and Southern Africa region for International #safeabortionday.
- Date: 28 September 2020
- Time: 15:00 -16:30
- Register for the discussion at: https://tinyurl.com/y5bx7cpc
- The discussion explored findings from our recent publication on Abortion in Eastern and Southern Africa, which you can read here:
Addressing child hunger and food insecurity: The National School Nutrition Programme and beyond
3 September 2020
SECTION27 and Spotlight hosted a discussion about child hunger and food security in South Africa on 3 September 2020. Journalist Kathryn Cleary will moderate a discussion between:
- Sasha Stevenson (Head of Health Rights programme at SECTION27),
- Kath Hall (Children’s Institute, UCT),
- Prof Haroon Saloojee (Division of Community Paediatrics, Wits),
- Sibongile Teffo (Community Leader for Equal Education in Limpopo) and
- Tevin Mahlangu (Community Leader for Equal Education in Gauteng).
Recent findings from the nationally representative NIDS-CRAM Survey show alarmingly high rates of hunger across South African society. Hunger has been felt acutely by children, in part because of the closure of the National School Nutrition Programme – a state school feeding scheme that feeds over 9 million learners nutritious meals daily. Thanks to recent litigation by SECTION27 and the Equal Education Law Centre (representing Equal Education and the school governing bodies of two Limpopo Schools), the NSNP is now – theoretically – being delivered to all eligible learners.
The parlous state of poverty eradication: human rights and austerity
12 August 2020
SECTION27 and Maverick Citizen hosted a discussion between Prof Philip Alston and Prof Sandy Liebenberg. It reflected on the implications of the latest report from the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights entitled ‘The Parlous State of Poverty Eradication‘ for South Africa. SECTION27’s Dr Faranaaz Veriava introduced the discussion and launched SECTION27’s Austerity Report. The report discusses the effects of austerity on socio-economic rights in the new context of COVID-19. Maverick Citizen’s Mark Heywood moderated the discussion.
The role of civil society in ensuring the right to basic education
15 June 2020
Education activist Mary Metcalfe spoke with Faranaaz Veriava, Nurina Ally, and Tracey Malawana about what civil society can do to ensure that the right to basic education is realised during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social justice in a time of crisis
14 May 2020
SECTION27 commemorated its 10 year anniversary by looking at the history of social justice in times of crisis. Speakers included:
- Ferial Haffajee – prolific journalist and news editor (moderator),
- Francois Venter – Deputy Executive Director at Wits Reproductive Health Institute,
- Advocate Thabang Pooe – in-house counsel at SECTION27,
- Umunyana Rugege – Executive director of SECTION27 and
- Sha’ista Goga – economist specialised in competition economics and healthcare.