[SN-ANNOUNCE] The Forum: Welfare Forum's 2005 - 2007 Report Published

[The Forum]

TO ALL SANGONeT USERS

Welfare Forum’s 2005 - 2007 Report Published

A report on the activities of The National Welfare, Social Service &
Development Forum (The Forum) in 2005-2007 is now available on the
organisation’s website (www.forum.org.za).

Since its inception in 1994, The Forum has been working for a just and
accessible developmental social welfare system for all. With a membership
base of organisations and individuals now approaching 3,500 the organisation
has emerged as a voice of and for civil society in the policy-making process
and as a space for meaningful dialogue on social service, welfare and
development policy.

The Biennial Report 2005-2007 documents The Forum’s work in the following
programmatic areas: policy engagement; capacity building, human rights
advocacy; wellness, and membership.

The period has seen increased recognition of The Forum’s role as a link
between government and civil society in social welfare policy and
programming. This is exemplified by the co-hosting by The Forum and the
Gauteng Minister for Social Development of the Gauteng Welfare Summit in
2006.

Another key feature of the period is an increased emphasis on the crucial
role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in addressing structural
inequalities in South Africa. This is reflected in particular in The Forum’s
capacity building work, which aims to improve welfare service delivery at
grassroots level by strengthening and supporting CBOs.

The process of mainstreaming human rights into its policy engagement and
other work was started during the review period and is being intensified
during the current period. Work also began on a fully verifiable membership
database and is set to be completed in the present year.

As well as reporting on activities, the Biennial Report launches an
examination of the theme “The post-apartheid policy environment for social
welfare – are we winning?”

This topic was further addressed at The Forum’s 2008 General Assembly by
such eminent speakers as Professor Fikile Mazibuko, Deputy Vice Chancellor &
Head of the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and
Professor Leila Patel, from the Centre of Social Development in Africa
(CSDA). See www.forum.org.za for the full text of each address.