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Latest news, opportunities, and upcoming activities

Laudato Si Week Week 21-28 May 2023, Africa Day 25 May 2023.

Latest News

Video Launch:

6th Anniversary of the Nuclear Deal Court Case victory

On 26 April 2023, we commemorated the 6th anniversary of civil society’s court victory to stop the government’s R1 trillion nuclear deal at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, with representatives from Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, the Green Connection, Project90, affected and faith communities, as well as regional insights and inputs from a legal expert.

After the presentations and a lively discussion, the event culminated in a peaceful march and vigil at Parliament's gates, calling for an end to the energy crisis, for the South African government to stop pushing nuclear energy, and for the cessation of weaponization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Ukraine.

We are thrilled to share here the video of the event and march that captured the mood on the day.

Assessing the key outcomes of COP 27 and priorities for COP 28

On Tuesday, Safcei hosted a workshop on Assessing the key outcomes of COP 27 and priorities for COP 28 to encourage faith communities to act locally in terms of sharing information and taking action to enable communities to proactively respond to climate crises ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in November. 

The workshop was attended by 58 faith leaders from Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Workshop presenters included an exiting panel of regional speakers.

• Dr Augustine Njamshi from the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) presented on The key outcomes of COP 27 and their implications for Southern Africa

• Dr Isaac Tchuwa from Malawi University of Science and Technology presented on The Status of the Loss and Damage thematic area and its Implication for Southern Africa

• Ngoni Edwards from the Jesuit Centre for Ecology and Development shared What Faith leaders can do to prepare for COP 28

• Francesca de Gasparis, SAFCEI’s Executive Director presented on The Jargon of Climate Negotiations and how to translate it for our purposes.

We concluded the workshop by looking at faith leaders’ responses to the COP discourse.

Click here to view the recording.

RACR Eastern Cape Regional Workshop

This week, we co-hosted our four-day Rural Action for Climate Resilience (RACR) Eastern Cape Regional Workshop in East London. The workshop was attended by fourty participants, who are community leaders, faith leaders, and youth from rural communities in the Eastern Cape.

The purpose of the RACR regional workshop is to engage on climate change issues with people from rural communities to help amplify their knowledge about climate change, build resilience against climate change, and to learn how to cope with climate emergencies.

The next RACR Learning Festival will be held from 29 August  2023 to 1 September 2023 with participants from the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Regional workshops.

#climateresilience #ruralvoices

See more on the latest RACR project news here.

Open Letter to USAID: Fund Sustainable Food Systems in Africa, Not Another Industrial “Green Revolution”

Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ) sent an open letter to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) entitled Fund Sustainable Food Systems in Africa, Not Another Industrial “Green Revolution”, which argues the agency cannot claim to be providing “aid” to Africa while partnering with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

This letter is a call to USAID: it's time to prioritize sustainable #foodsystems in Africa over AGRA's failing 'Green Revolution'.

Click here to read the letter.

Survey: Connections to the Ocean in South Africa

What do you feel when you think about the ocean? When last did you visit the ocean? What do you think are some of the biggest threats facing the ocean?

These are some of the questions which researchers want South Africans to answer as part of the Ocean Connections Survey, a research project through Cardiff University, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, and funded by The British Academy.

We are asking South African people of faith to share their understanding and experience of the ocean by completing the Ocean Connections survey – follow the link here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/OLinSouthAfrica.

Upcoming Events

If you are concerned the ongoing energy crisis and its impact on people living in South Africa, join us at our monthly vigils outside Parliament to demand an affordable, reliable and safe #EnergyPlan4All now!