Joe Slovo's daughter to deliver lecture in honour of her father

Gillian Slovo, the daughter of the late Joe Slovo, will deliver the 5^th Annual Joe Slovo Lecture, hosted by the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements in Despatch Town Hall, on 6 October 2014.

Slovo will reflect on the life and times of her father, Joe Slovo in celebration of his vision for human settlements in the Eastern Cape and entire country. The lecture is a platform for the department to reflect on the state of human settlements in the province, to critique and deliberate on the current challenges and propose alternatives in line with the late Minister of Housing, Joe Slovo’s vision for providing housing in the country. The lecture is also meant to celebrate the life and vision of Joe Slovo as the founding father of pro poor housing policies in South Africa.

Annually in the calendar of the department, the first week of October is set aside as Human Settlements week in the country to commemorate the world UN Habitat Day held on the first Monday of October. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

The department annually commemorates the UN Habitat Day with the annual Joe Slovo Memorial Lecture. In previous years, the lecture was delivered by political analyst, Dr Somadoda Fikeni, Former Minister of Water Affairs and Intelligence, Mr Ronnie Kasrils, Member of Parliament, Prof Ben Turok and MEC for Planning Commission and Treasury, Hon Phumulo Masualle who now serves as Premier of the Eastern Cape.

Each year, World Habitat Day takes on a new theme chosen by the United Nations (UN) based on current issues relevant to the Habitat Agenda. This year’s World Habitat Day theme is ‘Voices from the slums’. The campaign will focus on giving voice to people who have lived or live in slums or other vulnerable urban contexts.

A number of buildup campaigns to the lecture are planned for Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. The MEC of Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August and Gillian Slovo will lead a cleaning campaign in one of Uitenhage’s informal settlements, Daleview on 05 October 2014. There will be a stakeholder engagement on the de-densification of Helenvale in Port Elizabeth.

The media is invited to capture the Joe Slovo campaigns to be held as follows:

Enquiries:

Lwandile Sicwetsha
Spokesperson
Cell: 071 6711770
Tel: 043 711 9679