Johannesburg — Two former presidents, the elder from South Africa, the younger from the United States, stood together on the same platform in Johannesburg on Tuesday, to launch a two-day conference on the role of civil society and national cooperation in Johannesburg, and were greeted with warm and enthusiastic applause.
Former presidents Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton, addressing more than 800 delegates, both urged South Africans to continue rebuilding a country which was devastated by apartheid and division.
Clinton, the keynote speaker at the conference organized by the Civil Society Initiative, appealed to the people of South Africa to use their civic organizations, churches, community groups -- and their youth -- to come together and move forward. He said South Africans should reach across racial barriers to help their government build a brighter future.
"No country needs a vibrant and, strong civil society more than South Africa," said Clinton, "and few countries have the resources to build one that you have -- a civil society that works not in opposition to the state, but in partnership with it, one that applies its talents and energies to the next steps of liberation, the liberation of potential, intellect, initiative and spirit."
In his opening speech, former president Mandela had earlier made reference to government and civil society working in tandem to take the nation forward. "We cannot approach the subject of civil society from the point of view that government represents an inherent negative force in society and that civil society is needed to curb government," he said.
Mandela concluded that civic groups must support the government and not simply become an extension of "organized political opposition, especially in a situation like ours where political opposition is comparatively weak" and predominantly white. Clinton said "there always remains work that the state cannot do alone and that work must be done by the civil society. The citizens will always have a role to play".
The coalition of South African civil organizations, SANGOCO, and COSATU, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which represents about 1.7 million workers, announced that they would boycott the conference, which they said failed to involve real civil society or reflect views from the grassroots in South Africa and lacked clarity and transparency'.
The Civil Society Initiative (CSI) was set up by Roelf Meyer, a former politician and cabinet minister in the apartheid era, who helped to negotiate the end of white minority rule in South Africa and became a minister in the transitional government under Mandela. He left to co-found a multiracial opposition party, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in 1997, which he left after the 1999 elections in South Africa.
Meyer, the conference chairman, said in his opening remarks that the gathering was not meant to be a competition, but a forum to encourage South Africans to become actively involved in national causes. He said he hoped a new initiative, called Project Hope, would work alongside the government and help to heal the wounds that are the lingering legacy of apartheid, including poor education, poverty and pessimism about the future of South Africa.
The conference is sponsored mainly by the European Union and jointly organized with IDASA, the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa.
Commending the organizers, Mandela criticized those who had refused to support the initiative and encouraged the opposing sides to come together. He called on his own party, the governing African National Congress (ANC) as well as other liberation organizations to enter a partnership with civic groups, such as Meyer's CSI.
"As we advance the process of fundamentally transforming our society away from its divided past, we need to tap into the energies of all sections of our society," said Mandela.
The former South African leader said that he was representing himself and not his party when he spoke at the conference, but his message was clear to any hesitant boycotters. "One has no doubt that the views and debates (during the conference) will explore underlying principles and points of view and go above and beyond personalities and sectarian interests".
Mandela said that while he understood that "from some quarters in the liberation movement, there were reservations about attending this conference,"he felt that his party, the ANC, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party, which he called "a great (tripartite) alliance" had "every reason to approach events like this with self-confidence," and should not fear discussing issues on any platform.
Mandela expressed the hope that the conference would "cement the foundations of our democracy", continue the culture of peaceful negotiation in South Africa and help strengthen the country.
Wearing one of his trademark, casually elegant 'Madiba' shirts in a dull gold and black 'Kashmir' design, Mandela thanked Bill Clinton for visiting South Africa again and for continuing to support the continent. In 1998, Clinton became the first sitting United States' president to visit South Africa, where he was warmly welcomed.
His popularity has not waned. The former US president was greeted with a standing ovation when he was introduced by Mandela on the podium and received loud applause long after his speech had ended. Clinton then began an impromptu 'meet and greet' session, which started inside the conference room and continued outside it, where dozens of well wishers converged to shake hands with both former presidents and take photographs.
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Clinton, who was accompanied by a group of young Americans volunteers, said he wished to help South Africa set up a national youth service organization similar to the one established in the United States (AmeriCorps), but designed specifically for the needs of South Africa. He said the volunteers were an example to the world of how to harness the energy and verve of young people to help fight the social and economic woes of a nation.
AmeriCorps takes young people, who are paid a basic salary, to help with community work, such as building houses, firefighting, delivering services to people living with HIV/AIDS and assisting in national disasters. "I believe this could work all over the world," said Clinton, "but would like to see it begin in South Africa".
Clinton said that he would help raise funds and resources for such a project, adding "It is obvious that having a unified vision, embodied in a viable civil society, is critical to achieving what you want for the children of South Africa, what I want for the children of America and all of the world," said Clinton.
The civil society conference in Johannesburg ends on Wednesday, after which Clinton is scheduled to fly to Nigeria for a conference on AIDS.
