BACKGROUND
Fruits of Democracy (FOD), established in 2015, aspires to be a credible intellectual and democratic platform for the people of Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB). This initiative has two main components, the Democracy-Centered Dialogues and the Youth Excellence Awards. The dialogues focus on broad topics such as Heritage, Culture and Democracy in South Africa and we have used book launches and conversations to enrich these discussions in the past. The awards are where young movers and shakers of the region and the Eastern Cape converge to be recognized for the excellence, they display in the work that they do in different sectors. In this regard, we have long standing partnerships with the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy (CANRAD, Nelson Mandela University) and Mandela Bay Development Agency.
We have dedicated ourselves as a team to flagging and celebrating the best youth talent in Nelson Mandela Bay and we would like the whole province and the country to know about us. We do this with the help of some partners and we are encouraged by the commitment of the supporters of the brand who are keeping us accountable. Their support is the reason why we are now approaching the next phase of our existence that will focus on the intellectual agenda of our organization.
Young people of Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape continue to inspire us whenever they focused on their crafts and talents, even against all the challenges they face. Our disposition is to celebrate and flag out these efforts and hope that others will be inspired to do even better. However, social cohesion and nurturing democracy should always remain part of any youth endeavor, more acutely for FOD. This is how we see our socio-economic and cultural contribution to be in Nelson Mandela Bay, but most importantly, we are creating a hub of intellectuals and youth excellence in our own City.