Steve Biko Foundation

The vision of SBFa non-profit, community development organization based in South Africais to be the premier independent promoter of the values that Steve Biko lived and died for: restoring people to their true humanity. This vision is pursued through programmatic activity at the grassroots, national and international levels that promotes the intangible aspects of development: identity, culture and values, the issues that speak to the soul. Integral to the work of the Foundation is Public Dialogue. This Series of activities contributes substantively to the goals of SBF by: Promoting leadership; Stimulating critical debate; Creating platforms for intergenerational dialogue Bridging the gap between academia and civil society Linking local issues with the Diaspora and the international community at large; Generating content for publications and informing research.

The FrankTalk Initiative

FrankTalk is based on the recognition that while South Africa has made significant strides in advancing socio-economic development, the nation has fallen short in fulfilling a number of the promises enshrined in its constitution. The gross disparities that continue to exist in South Africa are evident in education, health and housing among other areas. Compounding these developmental challenges are political contestations around the role of the judiciary and freedom of the press; as well as deep concerns over social cohesion. In order to overcome these challenges and for South Africa to achieve its full potential, the Steve Biko Foundation is of the view that the active participation and engagement of all of the nations citizens is required. While there are many disparate views on South Africas past and present, common ground for the majority of the nations people is the Constitution. However, in order for the Constitution to be an effective tool in nation building, South Africans from all walks of life must have a deeper understanding of their rights and responsibilities. FrankTalk aims to advance public education about the Bill of Rights by constructively engaging young professionals ages 25-40 in national discourse. FrankTalk focuses on this generation, because many do not have histories of engagement with struggle organizations or current affiliations with socially relevant institutions, as they attested to through feedback obtained throughout the FrankTalk pilot. Consistently, when canvassed about the program, participants emphasized the importance of dialoguing around socially relevant issues and the need for more interventions of this nature.

This multifaceted program tiled after the pseudonym under which Steve Biko wrote, will engage young people for discussion around salient issues impacting South Africas political, economic and social development. FrankTalk consists of the following elements: A periodic Journal featuring contributions by topical experts and lay people; A dynamic internet platform that enables regular engagement with policy and current events as well as interaction among participants; A radio dialogue session that takes place before a live audience on a monthly basis.