As always, we are not happy that we’ve had to decline a number of applications to attend this year’s Solidarity Hub as space is limited. Most of those selected will be attending for the first time, and most are aged 39 years and younger.
The 2025 Solidarity Hub process will be a bit different from previous iterations, comprising a set of integrated processes framed around a theme that will be carried through three events taking place over three days. The events are:
- The Solidarity Hub itself, taking place over two days, will maintain its traditional focus: providing a space for community-based practitioners to engage with their own practices and allowing participants to share their experiences, learning, and questions with one another to expand their tactical toolkits and build connections.
- Day three is the Solidarity Dialogue, and is open to anyone interested. The morning will be a discussion on the need for more practical solidarity in the region. The intention of the is to examine, from the perspective of organisers/people engaged in local struggles in various countries in Southern Africa, how struggles can be connected across the region, discussing what form(s) solidarity might take, and what transnational solidarity might contribute to resolving them.
- The afternoon session will extend the Critical Conversations series which focuses on the role of funders in supporting community-led struggles. A panel will be asked to reflect on the outcomes of the deliberations that have taken place over the course of the two and a half days guided by the question: What role should the funding community play in supporting local struggles and solidarity actions? What resistance/hurdles would funders need to overcome to provide ‘practical solidarity? An invitation to Day Three will be published separately.
