The newest Earth Charter podcast episode features two guests, Mamphela Ramphele, author, medical doctor, and co-president of the Club of Rome, and Nolita Mvunelo, speaker, leader, and program manager for the Club of Rome. The two discuss the history and lasting effects of apartheid in South Africa and the need to create new narratives for the country’s future.
In the late 1960s, Mamphela Ramphele co-founded the Black Consciousness Movement to fight apartheid in South Africa. Today, almost thirty years after the end of apartheid, younger generations of Black South Africans, like Nolita Mvunelo, are still working to liberate themselves from the remnants of colonialism. Ramphele and Mvunelo discuss the need for intergenerational dialogue as a way forward for liberation from “isms” like sexism and poverty. Mvunelo sees a wealth of potential in younger generations and emphasizes the need and responsibility for them to take advantage of this to reach their potential.
In addition to the need for social reforms, the two also discuss the need for ecological reforms and ecological civilizations. Ramphele explains the need to relearn African Indigenous wisdom that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life, and Mvunelo looks to redefine the idea of development beyond economic growth. To overcome the effects of western civilization’s misuse of the environment, they discuss the need for social equity and to view freedom as not just for the human race, but for all of the cycle of life.