IN CONVERSATION WITH MPHO MAKHUBELA

Over the past four years, the Centre for Faith and Community, in partnership with Lawyers for Human Rights and the Tshwane Leadership Foundation, has trained nearly one hundred community activists through the Tshwane Urban Activist School (TUAS). This initiative has equipped community activists with the tools to defend the rights of impoverished and historically marginalized communities to land and housing. In continuation and expansion of this work, the Urban Think Tank has been established as a dedicated space to consolidate the progress made through TUAS. The Think Tank aims to deepen strategy, sharpen advocacy, and refine community led campaigns centred on Land and Housing Justice in our communities. This year’s Urban Think Tank takes place during the Feast of the Clowns, a month-long series of activities that amplify justice and community solidarity. The 2025 theme, “Just Tables,” calls us to envision spaces of equity, dignity, and inclusion—spaces where everyone has a seat and a voice. We have invited the Mayor of Tshwane and MMC for Human Settlement to this afternoon session. We invite members of the media to engage with and hear first-hand the pressing issues facing our communities, and to amplify the voices and priorities of those on the frontlines of this struggle.