Welcome
Photos by Nadine Hutton
Heinrich Böll Foundation – Regional Office Southern Africa
The Heinrich Böll Foundation, associated with the German Green Party, is a legally autonomous and intellectually open political foundation.

Our foremost task is civic education in Germany and abroad with the aim of promoting informed democratic opinion, socio-political commitment and mutual understanding. In addition the Heinrich Böll Foundation supports artistic and cultural as well as scholarly projects, and co-operation in the development field. The political values of ecology, democracy, gender democracy, solidarity and non-violence are our chief points of reference. Heinrich Böll’s belief in and promotion of citizen participation in politics is the model for the foundation’s work.

Our programme areas in Southern Africa are:

  • Democracy
  • Sustainable Development
  • Human Rights
  • International Politics
SUBMISSION

March 5, 2010 - This paper deals with the broad basic infrastructural needs and backlogs faced by many South African schools, which include the supply of water; sanitation; electricity; libraries; laboratories and computer centres. There still exists major inequality in access to basic resources in our schools. This is reflected in the disparate results between poor and privileged schools, with the latter performing better across the board. more»

PUBLICATION

We can't afford not to - Costing the provision of functional schoolMarch 5, 2010 - This paper pursues three closely related objectives: to review the field of international and local research which, particularly over the past two decades, has pointed to the positive causal relationship between functional school libraries and improved learner outcomes; to contextualize the current state of affairs in South African schools; and lastly, to provide detailed cost estimates which can be used as the basis for a comprehensive implementation plan. more»

POLICY BRIEF

Women in the executive: Can women's ministries make a difference?February 2, 2010 - This article attempts an analysis of Women’s Ministries (structures on the level of the executive) that are normally tasked with the implementation of policy and legislation. It does so by looking at the experience of Women’s Ministries in the north, as well as in Africa. It also reflects on the more recent histories in the north of the dismantling of gender machineries as a consequence of gender mainstreaming. By Amanda Gouws more»

DOSSIER

From 7 to 18 December the UN climate change conference 2009 took place. With this Dossier the Heinrich Böll Foundation aimed to provide accessible analysis from a South African perspective and a wider range of background information on the road to Copenhagen. more»

REPORT

Training and Strategy Building Workshop for African Negotiators October 23, 2009 - The Heinrich Boll Stiftung Regional Office for Southern Africa hosted a Training and Strategy Building workshop for negotiators from eastern and southern African in Bangkok, Thailand from 21 – 23 September 2009. This report presents the results of that workshop. more»

PUBLICATION

February 5, 2010 - In this publication, the Heinrich Böll Foundation presents some of its experiences, both setbacks and successes. It is just a small sample of HBS' work all over the world.  HBS is very much aware that its political and financial contributions are often only part of a larger network; yet its work does make a difference – for more gender justice. more»

PARTNER ACTIVITY

A simplified guide to your housing and eviction rightsJanuary 26, 2010 - Many women are evicted from their homes by their husbands, partners, family members or the owners of their homes. Often, women are evicted with their children and do not have anywhere else to live. The Women's Legal Centre, therefore, created this simplified guide to assist women in learning about their legal rights to housing and their rights in terms of evictions. more»

PUBLICATION

Perspectives #01/2009: Migration and Human Rights – Perspectives #01/2009 discusses current migration dynamics in Southern Africa from a human rights perspective. more»

CONFERENCE PUBLICATION

February 10, 2010 - This new publication presents the critical themes that informed the debates during the conference ‘Climate Change, Resources, Migration: Old and New Sources of Conflict in Africa?’ hosted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation on the 2nd and 3rd of August 2009 in Cape Town. The conference, while analysing the current state of Africa’s peace and security architecture, focused on the structural root causes of conflict in Africa and on the question of whether the security framework in place offers appropriate answers to deal with these challenges. more»

News

Coming soon:

Gender and Climate Change Regional Report including case studies conducted in Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. 

Perspectives Publication Series
Publications and Invitations

If you would like to receive current publications and invitations for our events please subscribe »

Triple Crisis Blog
Heinrich Böll Foundation Headquarters
Banner Green New Deal 50/50 campaign