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Jozi Book Fair My Class Newsletter, Current Issue
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Reading Circles
In South Africa there is a steadily
growing network Reading circles in the
form of study groups, study circles
and book clubs. These groups are
said to number in the thousands and
there is a growing number of them
in the townships. Jozi Book Fair will
target these circles for its education
and development programme, and will
undertake a programme of setting up
reading circles
.
Jozi Book Fair Reading Circles programme
aims to:Encourage the culture of reading and writing by linking with organised reading groups in the form of Reading Circles, Book Clubs and Study Groups
Provide a platform for the organised readers to link-up with each other and share knowledge and ideas
Use information technology tools like websites, blogs and other online discussion forums to profile reading circles in different communities to enable them to network with each other
Introduce readers, especially children and their parents, from disadvantaged areas to the world of books and stories
Provide reading skills workshops to develop good reading habits and skills amongst the members of the Reading Circles
Provide writing skills to Reading Circles with the aim at providing the first steps towards publishing of reviews of new books and new writings of short stories, poetry, etc
Encourage the Reading Circles to publish their writing.
Profile of Khanya Study Groups:
- Bolshevik Study Group
- Flame Study Group
- Merafong Demarcation Forum Study Group
- Soweto Concerned Residents (SCR) Study Group
- Alternative Media Productions Study Group
- Spartucus Study Group
- Kathorus Concerned Residents (KCR) Study Group
Bolshevik Study Group
The Bolsheviks Study Group was formed around February 2003 in Rustenburg in North-West province. It consists of 10 members: 8 unemployed youth and 2 adults. The group meets at least once a week for four hours.
The aims of the study group are to:
Train political activists from different political formations such trade unions, social movements, youth organisations and political parties in revolutionary theory and the history of working class struggles;
Develop a layer of cadres and activists who read and write;
- Develop a culture of critical thinking and debate among activists.
Books read and discussed include:
An Introduction to Marxism, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels; What is to be done; ‘Left-Wing’ Communism; State and Revolution; Letters from Afar; Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution by V.I. Lenin; The Mass Strike by Rosa Luxemburg; Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution; The Permanent Revolution and Results and Prospects; The Intelligenstia and Socialism; Lessons of October; The Transitional program for Socialist Revolution by Leon Trotsky; Theses, Resolutions and Manifestos of the First Four Congresses of the Third International; Ufil’Umuntu, Ufil’Usadikiza: Trade Unions and the Struggles for Democracy and Freedom in South Africa, 1973-2003 by Khanya College; Man’s Wordly Goods by Leo Huberman; and Katrina’s Legacy by Eric Mann.
The Study Group was established in 2005, and is composed of the General Industrial Workers
Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) shopstewards and organisers. GIWUSA is an independent
union organising in different industries, and has been at the forefront of struggles against
neoliberalism, casualisation and labour brokers. Giwusa is also one of the first unions to
organise unemployed people. The group meets over weekends at the Giwusa offices.
The aims of the Study group are to:
Develop a layer of worker activists who are committed to organising workers against neoliberal policies that result in increased exploitation of workers
Develop a layer of union organisers who understand the importance of linking struggles at the point of production (eg. Factories) with community struggles
Books read and discussed include:
Man’s Worldly Goods by Leo Hubermann; Poisoned Spaces by groundWork, which the group reviewed.
Merafong Demarcation Forum Study Group
The study group is a product of the struggle of the people of Merafong against the undemocratic move by the government to transfer their area of Merafong from Gauteng to North-West province in 2000. The study group consists of mainly the unemployed youth, some of whom were part of the struggle in 2000. The group consists of seven (7) members who attend the reading sessions consistently, and meets twice a week. The aims of the Study Group are to:
-
Preserve a layer of activists who emerged as a result of the struggle in Khutsong, with the intention of ensuring that they continue to take up other struggles in the community such as service delivery, unemployment, etc
Build a culture of reading and debates amongst a layer of activists in order to broaden their understanding of the struggle against neoliberalism
Books read and discussed:
Man’s Worldly Goods by Leo Hubermann; Introduction to Marxism by Ernest Mendel. The group also has linked up with Earthlife which is organising around enviromental issues like global warming, pollution, energy and climate change, and have been reading literature on those environmental issues.
Soweto Concerned Residents (SCR) Study Group
The Study group was established in 2008. There are eight members of the study group, all youth between the ages of 18 - 30 years. Five of the members are unemployed and one is employed. All members of the group are active members of the Soweto Concerned Residents (SCR), which is a social movement affiliated to the Anti - Privatization Forum (APF), organising communities in and around Soweto struggling against privatization of basic municipal services, and organising communities to demand provision of water, electricity and RDP houses, etc. The organisation also runs a community advice centre in Orlando East which assists community members with services ranging from labour issues, accessing social grants and identity documents and personal debt. The unemployed members of the Study group also volunteer their time in helping in the running of the advice centre.
Aims of the Soweto Concerned Residents (SCR) Study Group:
To help build a culture of reading and of critical debate amongst the activists in the SCR
To sharpen skills of critical social analysis amongst the members so as to better understand the world around them and to become better leaders and organisers of their communities
The Study group meets on Saturdays or Sundays. The group have read a book
by Leo Hubermann titled Man's Worldy Goods.
Alternative Media Productions Study Group
The study group was started in 2008 by a group of six young activists in Sebokeng in the Vaal who were interested in forms of alternative media in organising and organisational building in general. The group has explored the use of alternative radio, print media and internet. The group also started a mobile and 'pirate' radio station called RASA FM on low power sound frequency, in partnership with Indymedia which was broadcasting in Sebokeng and other areas in the Vaal.
Aims of Alternative Media Production Study Group:
To explore the use of Alternative media as a tool in organising and disseminating information in working class communities and counter ideas from established and commercial media.
To research and investigate how alternative media can be used by social movements in organising and movement-building.
Books read and discussed:
- Man's Worldy Goods by Leo Hubermann
- Financialisation and Gender ( Workshop packs) by Jubilee South Africa
Spartucus Study Group
The Study group is one of the oldest groups, formed in 2003 by a mixture of experienced revolutionary marxists and a group of township youth in Potchefstroom, North-West. The group was started by activists who were active in community organisations like Ikageng Crisis committee and Mohadeen Civic Association. The group also produced its own newsletter called Opinion from 2003 – 2005. Currently the group has seven members and has recruited a group of about eight young women calling themselves Women in Media & Journalism. The group holds weekly reading session in Potchefstroom and Rustenburg with the Bolshevik Study Circles, and also run Marxist classes. They are also participating in the Conference of the Democratic Left (CDL) and Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) initiatives.
Aims of Spartacus Study Group:
To build a layer of activist cadre that is dedicated to studying theory of Marxism and use it to build and strengthen organisations of the working class
To build a Leninist - Vanguard Party in the long-term
Kathorus Concerned Residents (KCR) Study Group
The study group was established in 2008 by ten youth members of the Kathorus Concerned Residents(KCR). They are active members of the old social movement that deals with social justice issues in Kathorus. Only two of the members of this study group are employed.
Aims the Kathorus Concerned Residents (KCR) Study Group:
-
To enhance the capacity of the study group members to theorise their struggle and
put that theory into practice - To build critical reading skills
- Man's Worldly Goods by Leo Hubberman
- Khanya College Journal for Activists
- KCR Pamphlets for Organising
- National and local Newspapers
- Some read different Magazines