The project contributes to the promotion and protection of human and labour rights by strengthening the organising capacity and building media platforms of poor communities and vulnerable workers in South Africa to take up their own interests and enjoy freedom of expression.

The project ensures the raising of the target groups’ political awareness and increased commitment to building strong democratic organizations within 20 local communities and the groups of precarious workers in which women play a central role based on principles of unity, independence, democracy and non-discrimination through mass education, training, organisational support and media development.

We have a positive track record of developing and co-ordinating innovative and ground-breaking projects in South Africa and on the continent, including multiple partnerships.

At the heart of our strategy to meet our objectives are two pillars, namely, Labour Community Media Forums (LCMFs) and the Labour Community Media Consortium (LCMC).

READ OUR 2008 AUDIENCE RESEARCH.

Labour Community Media Forums (LCMFs)

Together with partners and project participants we initiated the development of LCMFs in 2011. They are located in poor working-class communities and consist of unemployed youth, vulnerable/informal workers, shop-stewards and community activists. Currently there are 15 well established LCMFs that meet fortnightly to discuss socio-economic and political issues that affect them. They are essentially democratic organizing, mass education and media platforms and consist of 20 – 30 participants with provincial and national co-ordinating structures. Covid-19 has disrupted their activities but most of them were exemplary in organizing to spread COVID-19 information and assist with food security in their communities. Women make up the majority of the participants but not the leadership yet.

The Labour Community Media Consortium (LCMC)

We initiated the LCMC in 2019 and it now consist of 11 NGO partners with trade unions to be approached in the near future. Its purpose is to ensure closer co-operation between the partners in movement building and mass media development. The consortium partners all have a positive track record of social justice campaigns. They bring in expertise such as research, popular education, new innovative ways of organising, especially new groups of vulnerable workers and mass media production focused on various spheres of life including collective bargaining with employers and government, environmental issues, HIV & Aids, labour rights, gender oppression, education rights, community development and addressing the social and environmental degradation caused by industries and government such as in mining.