On 02 March 2018 the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Adv. Vasu Gounden was invited to be a resource person at the Indlulamithi National Scenarios Research Conference, which is the result of a collaborative initiative by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), Professor Somadoda Fikeni from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and a number of South African sectoral leaders, in order to develop future scenarios for South Africa. The Indlulamithi National Scenarios 2030 seeks to engage the following key question: ‘What would a socially cohesive South Africa look like and to what degree is it attainable by 2030?’
The conference aimed to explore in depth some of the questions that has emerged from the research thus far and brought academic experts, policy practitioners and young thinkers. Some of the topics discussed were mother-tongue education; human trafficking; labour law; the South African family; inter-generational trauma; and the future of work.
The Executive Director’s presentation formed part of a panel discussion on “The State and Social Cohesion”, with his presentation focusing on his experiences with a number of Commissions on which he has sat, and their implications for social cohesion.
Besides sitting on a number of Commissions – the more recent being the Special Reference Group on Migration and Community Integration; the Special Committee on Social Cohesion and Reconciliation, and the Moerane Commission investigating political killings in KwaZulu Natal, in 2014 Adv. Vasu Gounden was appointed by the South African Minister of Arts and Culture as an Advocate for Nation Building and Social Cohesion.
