Towards an active citizenry:

[Indigogirl]

... bringing the Constitution to the people

This article sets the platform for a six-week Know Your Constitution* campaign for access to constitutions, in which civil society organisations engaged in constitutional literacy will share our experiences on the pages of the Daily Maverick, highlighting the importance of access to constitutions to our work. The campaign will culminate on 10 December, the 17th anniversary of the official adoption of the Constitution. Our message is clear: the people of South Africa have a right to constitutional literacy which includes a right to access to the Constitution itself, a right which, nearly 20 years into our democracy, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is failing to deliver.

By TIM FISH HODGSON.
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*The Know Your Constitution campaign is a coalition of civil society organisations united by our common belief in the importance of access to constitutions and constitutional literacy. It includes the Constitutional Literacy and Service Initiative, The Socio-Economic Rights Institute, SECTION27, Constitution Hill Education Project and Afrika Tikkun. We welcome new members. Follow these organisations on Facebook and Twitter and look out for our articles on the pages of the Daily Maverick in weeks to come.

 

[Deluxxe Legend]

Thanks for the info. I think this is one of the only ways SA can drastically change in future. When it's citizens understand democracy and the constitution as well as their rights and powers in changing what is no longer working for them.

 

[Indigogirl]

Thanks for the info. I think this is one of the only ways SA can drastically change in future. When it's citizens understand democracy and the constitution as well as their rights and powers in changing what is no longer working for them.

Agree - which is why I love initiatives such as this. Wish more groups would demystify and "plain language" law, policies, etc. Many more of us would feel competent to comment on, challenge and/or approve (where appropriate) of these statutes and strategies that affect, guide and sometimes compromise our everyday lives.

The SA Constitution is a remarkable one - held up almost everywhere else in the world as being "ideal" - yet very few citizens really know what it contains - or how it does / or can affect them.

 

[Freshy-ZN]

I've read the Constitution a few times now and in my opinion the only reason it's regarded as one of the best in the world is because it's one of the newest in the world and thus there was ample opportunity for the drafters to fix loopholes that exist in older Constitutions.

In very simple terms I think ours is not that great at all.