South African Institute of Race Relations

South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) is "one of the oldest liberal institutions in the country." (Hearn, 2000, p.827)

"The South African Institute of Race Relations is the leading independent research and policy organization in South Africa. Established in 1929 the Institute has a proud record of conducting and publishing cutting edge research and policy critiques. The Institute publishes widely on education, the economy, business, employment, crime, demographics, health, welfare, and politics."

Council

Accessed April 2010:

• President :Professor Sipho Seepe
• Immediate Past President :Professor Elwyn Jenkins
• Vice Presidents :Professor Hermann Giliomee, Professor Lawrence Schlemmer, Dr Musa Shezi, Mrs Helen Suzman DBE
• Chairman of the Board of Directors :Professor [[Charles Simkins
• Honorary Treasurer :Mr Brian Hawksworth
• Honorary Legal Adviser :Mr Derek Bostock

Directors

Accessed April 2010:

• Chairman:Professor Charles Simkins
• Vice Chairman:Mr Peter Horwitz
• Honorary Treasurer:Mr Brian Hawksworth
• Honorary Legal Adviser:Mr Derek Bostock
• Representative of Corporate/Company Members:Mr Roger Crawford
• Representative of Institutional Members:Professor Jonathan Jansen
• Representatives of Individual Members:Mr Theo Coggin
• Peter Horwitz
• Judi Hudson
• Colleen McCaul
• Ishmael Mkhabela
• Sam Mosikili
• Desmond Rose
• Charles Simkins
• Jill Wentzel
• Tom Wixley

Co-opted Members:

• Tshepo Gugushe
• Peter Joubert
• Solly Kgopong

Funding

In 1994, the International Republican Institute began a relationship with SAIRR to promote democracy.

"One of SAIRR's primary initiatives is the Free Society Project, which was launched following the 1994 elections to strengthen the new South African democracy. With SAIRR, IRI aims to increase the influence of the Free Society Project's views on individual liberty and economic freedom, informing the national debate of a vision of a free South African society within a free, prosperous, and economically integrated sub-continent." [1]

"Memorial Lecture delivered to the South African Institute of Race Relations by Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, in Johannesburg on 1st October 2002." [2] Gershman noted that:

"Through its Free Society Project, which has received sustained support from the National Endowment for Democracy, the Institute has played a vital role as a nonpartisan government watchdog organization." [3]

"The USA is, by far, the largest overall foreign donor to South Africa. From 1994 to 1999 it provided some $530 million. The EU is the second largest foreign donor, providing an EU Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EUPRD) of nearly $420 million between 1994 and 1999. Between the two of them alone, nearly $1 billion of international aid will have contributed to South Africa’s transition." (Hearn, 2000, p.819)

Contact

URL: http://www.sairr.org.za/

External links

• Julie Hearn, "Aiding democracy? Donors and civil society in South Africa", Third World Quarterly, Volume 21, Number 5 / October 1, 2000.
• "Aiding Democracy around the World: The Challenges after September 11", SAIRR, 1 October 2002.
• "Advancing Democracy in South Africa", IRI, Accessed October 2006.

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch

• Institute for a Democratic South Africa
• Allan Wentzel
• Elizabeth Sidiropoulos - former Research Director
• Anthea Jeffery is special research consultant to the South African Institute of Race Relations
• Vernon McKay