Some of our strategic planning includes:
AI Principles to guide action
Here are some ideas of what AI principles may guide our new national policy. It is edited and includes:
Webinar on AI Policy for South Africa
15 May 2026, Johannesburg (hybrid meeting)
Whilst the South African White Paper called, DRAFT SOUTH AFRICA NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) POLICY has been withdrawn and we believe its central arguments will remain and strongly recommend that participants read this as well as other relevant articles. We are thrilled to have Joan Kinyua is a Kenyan digital rights activist and the founding President of the Data Labelers Association of Kenya (DLA) to address us.
Webinar: Making Sense of the DWS Tailings Report
8 May 2026 (Zoom)
After months of advocacy and demanding transparency, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has finally released its much-anticipated report on tailings. While the release is a win for civil society, the document itself is dense, technical, and high-stakes for the communities living near these sites.
The Dangers of Mine Waste: CTEA and Partners Host Alternative Mining Indaba Side Event
Building Community Awareness and Power Around Tailings Facilities
This workshop marks the finalization of our pilot project aimed at building community awareness and power regarding tailings and mine waste. It excludes for instance our work around advocacy for timeous and inclusive inquiries when disasters take place and general advocacy with chapter 9 organisations in particular the SAHRC to advance knowledge about safety and security for communities living near mine waste and tailings dams facilities in particular. We commit never to become exhausted in pointing out the devastation of human and animal life and the wider ecology including livelihoods when these dams fail. They fail not only the business but us all.
BLOG: Day 2 in Jagersfontein town
9 September 2025, By Hassen Lorgat
Tuesday was a quiet by our standards, made more listless by an electricity cut for most of the day. It went on until the first half of Bafana Bafana vs Nigeria which I will tell you about later. Since we are concerned about the impact of mining and in particular tailings storage dams and the waste, this must be one of the main focus areas of their work. In poor, marginalised communities, hope and belief in others is often in short supply and it comes about by just getting the group together, slowly and being with the activists. Creating an infrastructure for communication and sharing information is important.
2nd Annual CSO Tailings Conference – Workshop 2025
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Over the months we have worked well together emphasising the importance of building a strong local community organisation. This 2nd Annual Tailings Workshop – Conference organised under the theme, Reform and resistance in the shadow of a disaster is in part a conclusion of one aspect of our work. It also marks the beginning of a new and improved programme of action. The legal process around the Mining Bill and the policy around Strategic Minerals Strategy is part of a process and not an event that ends after we leave for our homes and townships.
2024 TAILINGS Programme Of Action
The following are priorities as derived from discussions with activists during the two-day consultative workshop on tailings convened by Earthworks and Bench Marks Foundation on 26/7 June 2024. It was supported by the Federation for Sustainable Environment, GroundWork, the National Union of Mineworkers and numerous other participants from mining affected organisations whose names are attached below. These may not be exhaustive but it is sufficient to get us started.
CSOs 4 Tailings Justice 