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R. Pretorius and M. Nicolau
This approach provides rural communities with the opportunity to raise themselves
out of poverty and improve their own quality of lives and in this way take ownership
of developing their communities towards the objectives set by the SDGs. By advocating community-driven change, each community member has the responsibility to
work with government and civil society to ensure that they introduce initiatives to
reduce poverty and inequality in their own communities. The authors of this chapter
suggest that if change is initiated and driven from inside the community, sustainable
development is possible as the process would inculcate community ownership, a
sense of pride, and a sense of belonging within one’s own community.
2.2 The Role of HEIs in South Africa
The Higher Education Act of 1997 transformed higher education in South Africa
from a highly segregated system to a single national system that had to serve both
the individual and collective needs of society. Staff at HEIs in South Africa now
had to focus their pursuit in three ways, namely teaching and learning, research and
community engagement. The Act describes community engagement as any initiative
of academics in HEIs to apply their teaching and research skills in the communities
they serve. By introducing the community engagement component as a responsibility
of all academics in South Africa, the 1997 Act call upon all HEIs to demonstrate
their social responsibility by making available its expertise and infrastructure that
would address the specific needs and wants of the South African community (South
African Council of Higher Education 2010).
2.3 Community-Based Asset Programme of the Department
of Geography (Unisa)
With the HEI’s mandate of community engagement a group of geographers from
Unisa partnered with a non-profit organisation (NPO) to share their expertise, skills
and knowledge in communities that wished to drive their own sustainable development. This partnership and interaction with a number of rural communities across
South Africa, led to the development of the Community Asset Mapping Programme
(CAMP)—an empowerment tool to facilitate community-driven sustainable development in rural communities. CAMP consists of a number of processes designed to
assist communities to make a mind shift from a traditionally disenfranchised community into a community of empowerment and control (Fig. 1).
The workshop format allows a creative and participatory way to engage all participants while working in smaller teams. The participants are taken through a practical
sixteen-step process (Fig. 1) of exercises that are designed to make them aware of the
skills and talents they possess, as well as the physical and economic assets that the
R. Pretorius and M. Nicolau
This approach provides rural communities with the opportunity to raise themselves
out of poverty and improve their own quality of lives and in this way take ownership
of developing their communities towards the objectives set by the SDGs. By advocating community-driven change, each community member has the responsibility to
work with government and civil society to ensure that they introduce initiatives to
reduce poverty and inequality in their own communities. The authors of this chapter
suggest that if change is initiated and driven from inside the community, sustainable
development is possible as the process would inculcate community ownership, a
sense of pride, and a sense of belonging within one’s own community.
2.2 The Role of HEIs in South Africa
The Higher Education Act of 1997 transformed higher education in South Africa
from a highly segregated system to a single national system that had to serve both
the individual and collective needs of society. Staff at HEIs in South Africa now
had to focus their pursuit in three ways, namely teaching and learning, research and
community engagement. The Act describes community engagement as any initiative
of academics in HEIs to apply their teaching and research skills in the communities
they serve. By introducing the community engagement component as a responsibility
of all academics in South Africa, the 1997 Act call upon all HEIs to demonstrate
their social responsibility by making available its expertise and infrastructure that
would address the specific needs and wants of the South African community (South
African Council of Higher Education 2010).
2.3 Community-Based Asset Programme of the Department
of Geography (Unisa)
With the HEI’s mandate of community engagement a group of geographers from
Unisa partnered with a non-profit organisation (NPO) to share their expertise, skills
and knowledge in communities that wished to drive their own sustainable development. This partnership and interaction with a number of rural communities across
South Africa, led to the development of the Community Asset Mapping Programme
(CAMP)—an empowerment tool to facilitate community-driven sustainable development in rural communities. CAMP consists of a number of processes designed to
assist communities to make a mind shift from a traditionally disenfranchised community into a community of empowerment and control (Fig. 1).
The workshop format allows a creative and participatory way to engage all participants while working in smaller teams. The participants are taken through a practical
sixteen-step process (Fig. 1) of exercises that are designed to make them aware of the
skills and talents they possess, as well as the physical and economic assets that the