What Possibilities Do Truth Commissions Offer for Redress and Reconstruction?

Musician, actor, community organizer, activist, and reconciliation practitioner, Themba Lonzi lives in Gugulethu, a township in Cape Town. He is a musician, actor, community organizer, activist, and a reconciliation practitioner. Themba was a teenager during the years of South African Apartheid, and was present at many protests and marches. He remembers his youth as an angry time where he was forced to grow up very fast and without many options that were not violent. His path towards reconciliation was paved through his work in the arts, where he found a means to channel his anger at first, and later his compassion. Themba has a long relationship with Facing History and Ourselves and has helped facilitate numerous Facing History programs in South Africa for teachers and students.

Dylan Wray is co-founder and director of Shikaya, a South Africa based non-profit that supports teachers and school leaders to ensure young people leave school thinking critically, and acting as compassionate, engaged, democratic citizens. Since 2005, in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, Shikaya has trained over 10,000 teachers and reached over 1 million young people. Dylan works globally as a facilitator, materials developer, and author.

Nomfundo Mogapi is the Executive Director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), the co-founder of the Mental Wellness Initiative for COVID 19. She is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years’ experience in the mental health sector. Her areas of expertise include integrating psychosocial approaches within policy and programming on issues such as transitional justice, human rights, and development. She has used this to contribute in shaping policies and programmes such as the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP), The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACPHR) General Comment on Redress for Victims of torture.

Sihle Nontshokweni is a transformation conversation facilitator, a children’s book author and a multi-sensorial storyteller. In 2021 Sihle was the World Read Aloud Day Ambassador and her book Fly Afrika Fly was read to over 3 million South African children. Her International bestselling Children’s book Wanda explores children’s identity through the topic of black hair in former Model-C schools.

Max du Preez is a South African journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. He was an anti-apartheid journalist who worked to expose government repression. In 1988, he founded Vrye Weekblad, the first Afrikaans-language, anti-apartheid newspaper that offered alternative policy perspectives from mainstream media and was critical of the government. During the transition, Max covered the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission on television. His weekly show, Special Assignment, brought the TRC hearings into homes across South Africa. He has written nine highly acclaimed books on South African history and politics including his memoir, Pale Native – Memories of a Renegade Reporter, and Of Warriors, Lovers and Prophets, Of Tricksters, Tyrants and Turncoats. He has received several awards including the Nat Nakasa Award for Courageous Journalism and has been named the Yale Globalist International Journalist.