Imagine a world where every child is loved, nourished, and protected—where they are read to, and encouraged to be curious. In this world, children don't just learn well, but they thrive, and so does the entire country. Nobel Prize Winner for Ec

The Learning Lunch - When projects don't go according to plan

Mar 24th, 2024 27m 12s

Civil society organisations are a catalyst for innovation and positive social change in communities – filling gaps in service delivery. To be effective, these organisations must be agile and able to adjust their programmes and products to meet

The Learning Lunch - Trust-based funding for NGOs

Mar 24th, 2024 22m 4s

Community-based organisations (CBOs) are non-profits operating at the local level, albeit with limited resources at their disposal. They tend to be reliant on volunteers, responsive to the unique needs of their community and best placed to diag

The Learning Lunch - Fellowships for social change

Aug 4th, 2023 30m 44s

Civil society organisations, in their form and function, are distinct from corporations and the state. But this doesn’t preclude them from using programmes and strategies that are also used by governments and businesses to shape societal outcom

The Learning Lunch - Community ownership is not a means to an end

Aug 4th, 2023 29m 7s

If you work in civil society or the socioeconomic development sector, you have probably heard, or used, the term “community ownership” because it aligns with broader goals of promoting social equity, empowering local communities and sustainable

The Learning Lunch - Communications tools & active citizenry

Aug 3rd, 2023 28m 34s

Many civil society organisations (CSOs) have placed promoting active citizenry at the core of their strategies. Generally speaking, active citizenry refers to individuals participating in the social and political affairs of their communities to

The Learning Lunch - Disrupting harmful gender norms with role models

Apr 17th, 2023 30m 50s

Gender norms are shared beliefs, ideas and expectations about how men and women are supposed to be and act, according to a classification system that categorises people as either male or female, known as a gender binary. These social principles

The Learning Lunch - What does it mean to scale?

Apr 12th, 2023 28m 56s

Civil society organisations and innovators are rightly concerned with scaling their interventions to reach more people. In the socioeconomic development sector, terms like scaling up, out and deep are commonplace. But depending on who you speak

The Learning Lunch - Zero-rating: a bridge across the digital divide

Apr 11th, 2023 24m 15s

Mobile technology has the potential to transcend structural divides and enhance access to services that could accelerate socioeconomic development. However, apps and digital offerings that could link marginalised groups to much-needed resources

The Learning Lunch - Keeping it real with #keready

Jan 16th, 2023 20m 43s

Young people make up a third of South Africa’s population and are a key demographic for social, economic and political change. According to South Africa’s National Youth Policy, as well as its National Youth Commission Act (1996), the demograph

The Learning Lunch - Social Connections

Jan 16th, 2023 27m 20s

Inequality of opportunity means that every child does not start their life with the same chances. Inherited circumstances such as race, gender, socioeconomic status and place of birth affect their likelihood for upward income and social mobilit

The Learning Lunch - Scaling up with social employment

Jan 16th, 2023 31m 9s

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, social employment emerged as one of the levers that could stimulate the country’s economic recovery. As part of a host of publicly funded interventions, the South African government sought to centre and sup

The Learning Lunch - How to keep volunteers motivated and engaged

Aug 23rd, 2022 19m 34s

Doing voluntary work carries several benefits for the volunteers themselves, for the organisation hosting them, and for prospective employers. Volunteer work can help young people to gain work experience and explore their passions and strengths

The Learning Lunch - Is there a sweet spot to working with government?

Aug 23rd, 2022 31m 16s

Civil society is made up of thousands of different actors with varying degrees of formality. These actors play different roles in society; some look long term at broader structural issues, others are focused on short-term goals, such as ensurin

The Learning Lunch - Stronger together: building strategic coalitions in civil society

Aug 23rd, 2022 24m 22s

In South Africa, young people continue to be disadvantaged in a labour market where the youth unemployment rate is higher than the national average. In increasingly tough times, unemployment statistics paint a bleak picture. Unfortunately, and

The Learning Lunch - Leadership lessons from the Arch

Apr 28th, 2022 33m 8s

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, or the Arch as he is fondly referred to, once said on hope: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness” and on being a wise leader: “Wisdom is when you are able to use your exper

The Learning Lunch - Systems thinking for social innovation

Apr 28th, 2022 27m 10s

How can we explore and create new approaches for achieving a more equal society that tackles both social and environmental challenges? How can we reimagine social systems and institutions to bring about positive change? We need to start at the

The Learning Lunch - Exceptional storytelling with Embrace

Apr 28th, 2022 36m 7s

Storytelling can be used in the non-profit sector as a means of listening and sharing, gaining trust within your network and shaping how you move forward with your work. In this podcast, Embrace Movement for Mothers shares their unique best pra

The Learning Lunch - Theory U: Create the future

Nov 26th, 2021 33m 54s

As civil society, we see ourselves as drivers of change. But, sometimes we can get so bogged down in the day-to-day humdrum of our work, that we lose our energy and drive to explore new terrain – to find new ways of doing things. We also someti

The Learning Lunch - Keeping young people afloat

Nov 26th, 2021 33m 25s

Many NGOs work with children and young people – and mostly with children and young people that grow up in exceptionally difficult circumstances. Poverty and inequality often form the backdrop to a difficult and painful childhood marred by toxic

The Learning Lunch - Harnessing Thunder

Nov 26th, 2021 39m 32s

Where lies our hope at the moment? The last two years have been challenging for civil society. The Covid-19 pandemic heightened the inequalities of South Africa and NPOs, as always, stepped in to offer a helping hand on the ground amidst a seri

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