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IAP2 SA NEWSLETTER
Southern Africa

E-mail: admin@iap2sa.org Fax: 086 585 2881 www.iap2sa.org P. O. Box 31355, BRAAMFONTEIN,2017, South Africa

June 2012

Message from the President

2012 kicked off at a pace that has IAP2 SA Board Members very excited! After going through the steps to get IAP2 SA established as a not-for-profit organisation and establishing its governance procedures, we are proud to say we have a business plan that sets an international example and promises to grow this organisation to be the leader of public participation in Southern Africa! And to grow, we need your ideas and feedback as members. With this in mind, we created our own Facebook page as a fun forum where you can sign up ("Like" us) to hear regular updates about events, activities and discussions. You can also post questions and ideas for IAP2 SA Board members or simply to share with other members. In all this, our goal is to offer our members the service and information they need to ensure better public participation through values and professionalism! In a similar vein, it is my great pleasure to introduce this newly-styled edition of the IAP2 SA newsletter. Among other things, it provides exciting updates on the very successful International IAP2 Board Meeting which took place in South Africa in April at the beautiful Spier Estate near Cape Town; the delivery of several professional certified trainings plus upcoming training dates in South Africa and Ghana; and our presence at the IAIAsa conference in August. You will also read about special workshops we hosted earlier this year with the theme "Uplifting the Standard of Practice of Public Participation". The workshops support a global collaboration among IAP2 affiliates to raise international standards of professionalism. Listen out for more opportunities to have your say. Looking forward, we hope to see you at the forthcoming IAP2 SA Annual General Meeting later this year. We've come a long way since our launch in December 2010. Everything we've achieved was made possible only through your support. We hope you will enjoy this newsletter and that you will distribute it to friends who might be interested in becoming IAP2 SA members. In closing, let us continue to build the practice of public participation to be the vital and dynamic vehicle needed for a truly democratic society.

A lot has happened

IAP2 SA contributes to global discussion on raising standards
IAP2's Executive Director, Moira Deslandes, hosted two workshops in South Africa in recent months on "Uplifting Standards of Practice of Public Participation". In Pretoria at the February workshop and Cape Town in April, local practitioners contributed their views on how to professionalize and ramp up recognition for good practices worldwide. By the end of 2012, IAP2 will be hosting workshops on the IAP2 Standards around the world and helping build capacity amongst practitioners as well as public and private sector agencies. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting process!
Hard at work discussing Standards in Public Participation in Pretoria

"While attending the Gauteng Legislature's Public Participation Conference in February, I was introduced to a new term "malicious compliance". This term captured my imagination, as it is the case worldwide where the public and private sectors do the very minimum to meet the requirements. It's so important to have standards in public participation. Too often projects and organisations just 'tick a box' to comply with a law or regulation, instead of doing the deep and meaningful work of engaging with the community to build sustainable solutions for everyone. By applying the IAP2 standards you can be sure you are on that journey of supporting and strengthening better decision-making as a result of the public being involved. Thank you to South African practitioners and IAP2 SA for helping to kick-off the global consultation on how to raise the profile of the IAP2 standards."
-Moira Deslandes, Executive Director, IAP2

Standards Workshop in Stellenbosch

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Registration of IAP2 SA as a Section 21 company

The Board of Directors is pleased to remind you that in June 2011, IAP2 SA was duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 1973 (Act 61 of 1973) as a Section 21 not-for-profit company. The guiding documents of IAP2 SA, its Memorandum and Articles of Association, have been lodged with the association's appointed auditors, KSE & Associates Incorporated. IAP2 SA, as a Section 21 company, conforms to a two-tiered governance structure consisting of the paying members and directors. The directors have broad executive responsibility but, in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act, have appointed independent auditors and will convene annual general meetings at which various matters, including the presentation of the audited financial statements, are attended to. We are eagerly anticipating holding our first Annual General Meeting (AGM) later this year!

IAP2 SA participated in the Public Participation Conference 2012 hosted by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
IAP2 SA was invited by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to make a presentation at its Public Participation Process Indaba hosted in February earlier this year. IAP2 SA's presentation was well aligned with the theme of the Indaba: "The People Shall Govern: Public Participation Beyond Slogans" and very well received by the somewhat 300 participants that attended. The main aim of the Indaba was to share key insights and knowledge on improving citizens' meaningful participation in governance processes and to build a body of knowledge on public participation and civic education to benefit the legislative sector.

IAP2 SA presents its first international Training Assessment Centre

IAP2 SA presented the first international Training Assessment Centre of IAP2 in Midrand in March 2012. Antonietta Cacciani, Tr a i n i n g D i r e c t o r o f I A P 2 moderated the sections of the certificate course presented by the candidate trainer Elmah Nthebolan from Botswana. Says Toni Pietersen (Trainer): "With its new Train-the-Trainer model, IAP2 makes the process to become a trainer much more accessible. IAP2 changed the old Train-theTrainer model to be more aligned with modern methods of training and assessment and by making it more affordable.

International Board Meeting hosted in Stellenbosch

The fabulous Spier Estate in Stellenbosch, played host locale to our IAP2 International Board Meeting with delegates from as far afield as the USA, Indonesia, Australia, France and Canada converging on these historic vineyards for three intensive days of discussion and debate. A snapshot of the discussion: The key focus areas for action, within the framework of IAP2's Strategic Plan, included nomination of working groups to take forward the Standards and Certification projects. The Innovation Project Team, tasked with the renewal of the five-day Certificate Programme, came under discussion as did the Core Values Working Group, which is looking at reviewing the Core Values Awards at an international level and its integration with Affiliate initiatives. The member-focused consultation work done by the Branding Group around renewing IAP2's brand and visual identity was hotly debated. Finally, the Governance and Business Model of IAP2 was discussed. In taking forward all these endeavours, Board Members reinforced the involvement of affiliates and broader membership through a sound consultative model. This is what IAP2 USA representative, David Hovde, had to say of his recent visit to South Africa: Thank you to IAP2 SA for setting a new and incredibly high standard for completely wonderful hosting!

Right from front: David Hovde (IAP2 USA), Geoff Wilson (IAP2 Canada), Carla Leversedge (IAP2 Australia), Moira Deslandes (IAP2 Executive Director) Left from front: Nomi Muthialu (IAP2 SA), Aldi Alizar (IAP2 Indonesia), Theresa Gunn (IAP2 USA), Tarryn Smith (Scribe) Middle back: Joana Janiw (AIP2 France)

From left to right: Toni Pietersen presented the IAP2 certificate course in public participation, Antonietta Cacciani from Italy assessed the candidate trainer's presentations, Tisha Greyling, the first trainer in Africa, presented the section on risk communication and Elmah Nthebolan from Botswana who is well on her way to becoming Africa's third Public Participation trainer.

IAP2 Certificate Graduate Msimelelo Nyikana (Legislative Sector Support) with Moira Deslandes, Executive Director, IAP2 at a recent meeting between IAP2 SA (also attended by Toni Pietersen and Nomi Muthialu) at the National Legislature in Cape Town

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IAP2 SA presents Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation course

IAP2 SA hosted its second Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation (EOP2) course in Stellenbosch in April 2012. The course was presented by one of the course developers, Mary Hamel from the USA, and attended by participants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Cameroon and South Africa. Toni Pietersen also successfully completed the EOP2 Train-the-Trainer course and is now the first EOP2 trainer in Africa. The course, which was developed jointly by IAP2 and Dr Peter Sandman, a world renowned Outrage Management Specialist, assists in providing strategies to move stakeholders from outrage to reason.

Update on IAP2's BRANDING SURVEY

A big thank you to all IAP2 SA members who completed the online survey on the future of IAP2's brand. Your support and input will help shape the future visual identity of IAP2 and will directly strengthen IAP2's regional strategy. Thirteen Southern Africa members completed the online survey and six contributed more detailed views through telephone interviews. A total of 178 members from around the world completed the global survey. SA respondents included new and longrunning members. Respondents told us that IAP2 adds value to members through: Ability to stay current in the public participation industry Access to training Links to international best practice Supportive network of peers and that the characteristics of the IAP2 brand range from "funky purple" to innovative, inclusive and practical. You also told us that IAP2 is doing better than some professional organisations, but there's room for improvement. You challenged us to be more active and dynamic, and to reflect the highest levels of ethics and professionalism. The survey results support next steps in developing a renewed visual identity. We thank you for your support and will continue to keep you posted.

Clockwise from the top: Justman Suh (Cameroon); Toni Pietersen (South Africa); Sonwabo Marele (South Africa); Frank Snijder (South Africa); Dr Guy Muswil (DRC); Moira Deslandes (Australia); Serge Kayembe (DRC) and Mary Hamel (Trainer, USA).

Core Values Awards 2012

IAP2 International Core Values Awards
The call for nominations to the 2012 International Core Values Awards was recently announced. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2012. This year's winners will be announced at the IAP2 North American Conference. The supporting documents are uploaded to the iap2.org website - see the page on the 2012 Core Values.

Did you know?

Our very own Johannesburg Development Agency scooped last year's prestigious International Award for Organisation of the Year for their submission titled: Public Participation - the Key to Sustainable Development Interventions.

Soon to be launched IAP2 Southern Africa Core Values Awards

IAP2 SA will soon be launching its premier Core Values Awards. Following in the footsteps of the International Core Values Awards, which were created to encourage excellence, quality and innovation in public participation, IAP2 SA will recognise and encourage projects and organisations at the forefront of the practice. A key focus of the Awards will be on organisations and projects that demonstrate leading practice in public participation and how the IAP2 Core Values are entrenched in the work they do, in particular IAP2 SA will offer two award categories:

The Project of the Year award recognises excellence in the tools, techniques and efforts in public participation within a finite project framework. The Organisation of the Year award recognises the application of the core values in all aspects of an organisation and how they are embedded into decision-making that features public participation.

Keep watching this space!

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Dates to diarise & events to take note of

Upcoming IAP2 SA events
Our next event will be a World Caf on the power of social media in public participation processes. You will receive an e-mail with more information soon!

Training schedule
Certificate course in Public Participation, presented by Toni Pietersen:
South Africa: September 2012 Module 1: Module 2: Module 3: Planning for Effective Public Participation - Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 September 2012 Communications for Effective Public Participation - Wednesday 19 September 2012 Techniques for Effective Public Participation - Thursday 20 and Friday 21 September 2012

Ghana: November 2012 Module 1: Module 2: Module 3: Planning for Effective Public Participation - Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 November 2012 Communications for Effective Public Participation - Wednesday 7 November 2012 Techniques for Effective Public Participation - Thursday 8 and Friday 9 November 2012

Upcoming conferences
IAIAsa in Cape Town, 27 - 29 August 2012

IAP2 SA hopes to see its members at the World Caf session that will be presented by Toni Pietersen and Louise Gardiner.

IAP2 North America Conference in Halifax, 30 September - 2 October 2012

Stay in contact
We would love to hear from you! Send your comments, input & suggestions to admin@iap2sa.org

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Join us and be a part of changing the face of Public Participation in Southern Africa.

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