Dear SAE4D Members and Ambassadors,
South Africa has traversed a transformative journey for well over 20 years and as the SAE4D we continue to drive a steadfast presence of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, which we believe transcends into personal contexts and the community at large.
Heritage Day is one of the acknowledged days that as South African people, we usually celebrate throughout the month of September. The symbolism and context that underpins Heritage Day is closely aligned to inculcating a culture of diversity and inclusion within our country. Despite the fact that we have all been enriched by the same soil, there are characteristics that contribute to our unique nature as people.
This unique nature is born from our socialisation, cultural attributes, beliefs and physical characteristics that distinguish each one of us from another. The concept of Heritage Day is to celebrate who we are as individuals, but too, how far we have come in our journey of transformation as people living in South Africa.
As the SAE4D, we encourage that each one of us makes a concerted effort to appreciate and respect one another, and integrate persons with disabilities, in celebration of our diversity as a nation.
“Collectively we can contribute to positive change”
In August, the SAE4D hosted a virtual Annual General Meeting in conjunction with a breakfast webinar acknowledging National Women’s Month, by engaging on various social constructs in relation to women and youth with disabilities. We are quite proud of the agile adjustment that we have made, by continuing to offer our quarterly breakfast seminars to our member organisations and strategic partners, on a virtual platform.
At the beginning of September, we collaborated with Kgadi Transformer, to provide pre-audit B-BBEE training; a learning intervention with the intention to support member companies in developing strategies to increase the presence of a disabled employee complement in the workplace, and prepare adequately for the B-BBEE verification process.
Keep an eye out for further communications from the SAE4D on upcoming events and initiatives that we have on offer, for your participation.
We wish you a celebratory and reflective Heritage Day!
Stay safe and stay healthy
The SAE4D Executive Team
