Project Rise: Challenging the Status Quo

News24, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, is proud to announce the launch of Project Rise, a new online platform dedicated to facilitating a nationwide debate on what South Africa should look like post-#FeesMustFall.

For more than a year now, South Africa has been grappling with issues of free, decolonised tertiary education. While News24 continues to cover the day-to-day happenings on our campuses, the time has come for a national discussion that focuses on solutions, rather than problems.

In the coming weeks and months, Project Rise will be the hub of our analysis of the #FeesMustFall movement. It will be an open forum where readers can follow and contribute to the debate beyond the news headlines.

“The media are a key component when a country is in crisis and people need a voice. Project Rise is about moving South Africa forward in a productive manner by giving its citizens that voice,” says Adriaan Basson, News24 editor. “It will be a home for balanced conversations and we will start with a focus on education.”

Ultimately, News24 will look for answers to the question posed by former Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela at the annual Ahmed Kathrada Foundation lecture last year: What must rise?

What will rise after fees have fallen? Is free higher education a possibility and at what cost? What does the university of the future look like?

Says Basson: “Unemployment, inequality and poverty are our trio of enemies. If we don’t solve these problems together, we will fall.

The time has come for a different discourse. We need a discussion that focuses on the future and what we want to become,” he adds.

This is your opportunity to write for us if you have an idea or a solution for the future. No views are too radical – as long as they answer the question: what must rise?

For correspondence and contributions contact Alet Janse van Rensburg at aletjvr@24.com. Contributions should be between 750 and 1 000 words in length and give practical examples of South Africa beyond #FeesMustFall.

Share and engage with the debate on News24’s social media platforms with the hashtag #letsrise.

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