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Navigated Love
In the light of eternity, we’re here for a very short time, really. We’re here for one thing, ultimately: to learn how to love, because God is love. Love is our origin, love is our ground, and love is our destiny.
—James Finley
We have entered the second innings of 2020. Navigating through the Covid-19 storm remains a daily challenge as we adjust to the changing context. This remains a significant time to reflect and evaluate our priorities from our organisations to our personal lives. Vulnerability, uncertainty and hope have been our constant companions on this journey.
I am grateful to report that the IAM team is still working remotely. The 2020 plan of action has been adjusted to accommodate the changed context and risks involved. Online engagements and support to LGBTIQ+ individual and vulnerable groups continue.
Over the last couple of months, we have been posting blog posts with a specific thematic focus on celebrating IAM’s 25th Anniversary. In June we focused on IAM’s partnerships with Academic Institutions. We invited our partners to reflect on questions like the nature and value of the partnership with IAM, sharing possible shifts that have occurred, and the importance/impact of IAM’s continued work. You can read their responses here.
In July our interviews will feature activist partners’ engagement with IAM over the years. We will also introduce you to IAM’s Regional Schools Out Research Project in Collaboration with the Human Science Research Council and other organisations. In this project, IAM seeks to answer the question: How do religion and faith impact the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) at high schools, which includes the referral of learners to appropriate Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services where necessary? We look forward to seeing what this project will reveal.
The 23rd International Aids Conference: Virtual has commenced 6-10 Jul. The importance of this online engagement cannot be stressed more as the fight against HIV/AIDS continues midst the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an opportunity to learn how much progress has been made and how much still remains for us to do; to share resources, information, and learn from one another.
As we mourn the loss of friends and loved ones, we remain hopeful as the pendulum swings to flattening the COVID-19 curve and that the recoveries will continue to rise. We give thanks to all the frontline workers and pray that they will find spaces to rejuvenate. May love navigate our lives to experience renewed hope and meaning to life. May love for yourself, your loved ones and the world at large grow stronger every day.
LOVE WINS.
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Ecclesia de Lange
Director, IAM
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Youth Day 2020 Reflections
IAM invited a variety of youth to contribute their reflections on this Youth Day 2020. We encouraged them to reflect on Pride, the protests (internationally and nationally) and how the LGBTIQ+ and faith communities should be thinking about all of these interrelated issues. It is through joining our voices that we draw strength and meaning.
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IAM at 25: Our university and seminary partnerships
In celebrating our 25th anniversary, the IAM team reflects on the diverse partners and projects that inform and shape our work. IAM’s Michelle Boonzaaier looks back at the start of IAM’s partnerships with tertiary institutions, where they are today, and the spaces for co-creation that they open up today for both partners.
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IAM at 25: Learning institutions reflect on their work with IAM (Professor Julie Claassens)
IAM’s partnerships with tertiary learning institutions form an integral part of the way that IAM works. We reached out to a number of our partners that we’ve worked with over the years and asked them to reflect on our work together and the impact that it has had on their work in the classroom. Professor Julie Claassens speaks with us about her work at the University of Stellenbosch and her collaboration with IAM.
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IAM at 25: Learning institutions reflect on their work with IAM (Revd. Canon Dr. Vicentia Kgabe)
IAM’s partnerships with tertiary learning institutions form an integral part of the way that IAM works. We reached out to a number of our partners that we’ve worked with over the years and asked them to reflect on our work together and the impact that it has had on their work in the classroom. Revd. Canon Dr. Vicentia Kgabe speaks with us about her experience partnering with IAM at the College of the Transfiguration.
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IAM at 25: Learning institutions reflect on their work with IAM (Dr. Miranda Pillay)
IAM’s partnerships with tertiary learning institutions form an integral part of the way that IAM works. We reached out to a number of our partners that we’ve worked with over the years and asked them to reflect on our work together and the impact that it has had on their work in the classroom. Dr. Miranda Pillay speaks with us about her experience partnering with IAM at the University of the Western Cape.
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IAM at 25: Learning institutions reflect on their work with IAM (Professor Sarojini Nadar)
IAM’s partnerships with tertiary learning institutions form an integral part of the way that IAM works. We reached out to a number of our partners that we’ve worked with over the years and asked them to reflect on our work together and the impact that it has had on their work in the classroom and in the research field. Prof. Sarojini Nadar speaks with us about her experience partnering with IAM in her work at UWC’s Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice.
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- AIDS2020 virtual conference | 6-10 July 2020 | learn more
- "Keeping the Faith in the Time of COVID-19" | IAM, in collaboration with ACT Ubumbano and support from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, will host a series of dialogues with faith leaders to discuss sexual and gender rights, focusing on the experiences of the LGBTIQ community and the challenges they face. | 7 and 9 July 2020 | | Download the “Keeping the Faith” publication click here.
- IAM's Thuli Mjwara will speak on the panel convened by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is holding a virtual panel discussion looking at gender issues as they relate to COVID-19 | 4 Aug 2020
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At IAM we are continually striving to create a sense of belonging in a country that has great love and potential but is often characterised by harsh divisions. We are creating safe spaces for dialogue where the marginalised can finally have a voice. But, we can't do it alone.
We ask that you, our IAM friends, consider supporting us financially in our ongoing transformative work throughout Africa. With your help, we can build on the accomplishments of the past 25 years and continue on for many years to come.
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