New and Ideas (28)
The rapid response of Africa to COVID-19 has been lauded as an effective campaign to combat the spread of COVID-19. Africa had approximately 106,000 deaths as of the 16th of July 2021, compared to over 1,950,000 in the Americas and over 1,200,000 in Europe. Between February 2020 and May 2021, 51 African countries introduced 238 social protection measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis, including health and food security measures, unemployment protection, income protection, housing, and special allowances. However, the region also faces daunting challenges, with the rapid population growth, high levels of poverty and hunger, and armed conflicts, all of which make implementing the broad and ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region particularly difficult.
TrustAfrica and WINGS, with the support of Philanthropy Circuit and in partnership with the African Philanthropy Forum (APF), the African Philanthropy Network (APN), the Center for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School, the Global Fund for Community Foundation (GFCF), and the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), have the distinct pleasure to invite you to a Research Feedback Workshop on Thursday, July 28 from 9. 30 am to 12. 30pm GMT.
The African Philanthropy Conference is an annual gathering of the continent’s leading philanthropic institutions. It is a platform for sharing of experiences, collective reflection, as well as the curation and development of philanthropic and social investment practices of the continent’s people and partners.
The 3rd African Philanthropy Conference will be hosted with the objective of addressing system changes that are required in philanthropy in the new normal especially, as these changes relate to the continent's institutions, policies and practices. Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, Portuguese and French.
On behalf of fellow partners, we invite you to join us as we nurture networks and support research to accelerate the understanding of the complexities of practices that aid the maturity of the field of African philanthropy and social investment.
Date: Wednesday, 3rd and Thursday, 4th of August 2022
Registration fee: USD$100
Register to attend the conference
Written by Halima Mahomed, Senior Fellow for African Philanthropy, Trust Africa & Ndanatsei Bofu-Tawamba, CEO, Urgent Action Fund – Africa
There is no question that we are living in unprecedented times. The past three years, marked by the onset of Covid-19, were an era on their own. While a global challenge, the notion of the pandemic as the “great equaliser” was a complete myth; indeed, it reinforced and deepened the existing systemic structures of violence and injustice, with disproportionate impacts on women, gender diverse persons, persons with disabilities, informal workers and people of colour.
Strengthen the Recognition, Practice and Strategic Impact of Giving in Africa
Written by Fatou Published in New and IdeasOur African philanthropy program seeks to strengthen the recognition, practice and strategic impact of giving in Africa. We recognize that solidarity and the culture of giving to help others is embedded in many African cultures and traditions as reflected in notions such as Ubuntu (I am because you are). We believe in philanthropy that “shifts the power”, endowing communities with voice and agency. Through our African philanthropy program, we work to build knowledge on African giving and contribute towards building a movement to nurture African giving and African resources towards addressing strategic challenges confronting the continent.
Impulsradio, AmaniTv, and their media partners will be having a repeat broadcast of the second African Philanthropy Conference’s Panel on Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Akwasi Aidoo.
The broadcast will aired on September 7th, 2021 @18:00GMT (21:00 CAT)
Kindly click the link below to follow the broadcast:
TrustAfrica and its partner organizations will host the second African Philanthropy Conference (virtual) from 3rd to 5th August. The theme of the conference is "Surviving COVID19 – The Role of African Philanthropy". As part of the Conference program, TrustAfrica would host two sessions and give special recognition to our Senior Brother, Colleague, and friend, Dr. Akwasi Aidoo, and celebrate his remarkable contribution to advancing African philanthropy and his contribution to the continent's development.
Kindly find the link to the conference website to download the updated program.
Video Testimonials
You can submit your testimonial here.
Short Documentary
Performance Music: Baba Maal
3-5 August 2021
TrustAfrica, in partnership with the African Philanthropy Forum (APF), the Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investments (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School, the Southern Africa Trust (SAT), the African Philanthropy Network and the Harvard University's Centre for African Studies, will be hosting the African Philanthropy Conference to be held under the theme "Surviving COVID19 – The Role of African Philanthropy" from the 3rd to 5th of August 2021. The Conference will focus on:
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit countries across the world, we witnessed the withdrawal of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) from Africa, removing expatriate staff and closing down offices, including a restriction of funding if it was not directly related to health services or in some way directed to Covid-19 responses. This meant that local actors and organizations like TrustAfrica had to step in and fill the gap left by INGOs and other bilateral aid institutions, raising local resources and mobilizing efforts, and in many cases increasing the profile of regional champions and philanthropists.
COVID-19 has not disappeared, and in Africa the third wave is wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable communities. The health and economic impact of COVID-19 has plunged millions of Africans deeper into poverty. On the 1st of July 2021, the Africa CDC director said "The African continent has had 5.5 million confirmed COVID-19 infections and has seen a “remarkable” 23% increase in deaths over the past week." Community Immunity is a collaborative initiative between African Philanthropy Network (APN), Southern Africa Trust (SAT) TrustAfrica to provide quick impact support to bring immediate relief to people living at the margins of society while supporting policy initiatives to provide long term solutions. Some examples of groups this initiative will serve include daily wage earners, micro-business owners and entrepreneurs, miners, farmers, migrant workers, women, youth. Applications to receive these small grants can be channeled by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you want to donate to this initiative, check out the donation portal on the Community Immunity webpage here.
Written by Florence Kayemba (SDN), Ese Emerhi (TrustAfrica), and Charles Kojo Vandyck (WACSI)
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In March 2021, the World Communities Forum brought together organizations working with local communities to reflect on the past year and how Covid-19 has impacted the work that they do. TrustAfrica hosted a breakout session on “Community as a Response: Communities Organizing for their Development” on Day 1 of the virtual conference to tease out what are the enablers in supporting local communities in self-organizing for their development. The breakout session was facilitated by development practitioners and community leaders Ese Emerhi (TrustAfrica - Nigeria), Florence Kayemba (Stakeholders Democracy Network - Nigeria), and Charles Kojo Vandyck (West Africa Civil Society Institute – Ghana).
This follow-up article elevates key recommendations offered during the breakout session, by first giving some context on the challenges faced by local communities (often in conflict) and centering the article on factors that have enabled communities to respond to development challenges, including what priority interventions donors should invest in to support community actors to build resilience when responding to power dynamics within the broken aid system in the Global South.[...]
The State of African Philanthropy: Setting the Agenda
The African Centre on Philanthropy and Social Investment (ACPSI), TrustAfrica, African Philanthropy Forum and Harvard Center for African studies are organizing a two-day African Philanthropy Conference at Wits Business School, Donald Gordon auditorium, on 16 and 17 May 2019.
The aim of this conference is to bring together philanthropists (African and non-African), Non-Governmental organizations that work in this area, policy-makers, private sector organisations, and academic researchers to explore how to formulate a coherent framework for African philanthropy.
Download the programme here.
