Gugulethu 

Mid-way through Congress participants will spend a morning in the nearby township of Gugulethu where they will have the opportunity to talk with members of the local community at the Gugulethu Presbyterian Church.  Discussion will focus on the impact of apartheid on the district and how people are working together to meet today’s challenges.

Robben Island 

In the afternoon participants will visit Robben Island which, from the end of the 17th century, was used to isolate designated groups of people. Among its first permanent residents were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia. From 1836 to 1931 the island was used as a leper colony. Robben Island became a maximum security prison in 1959. Between 1961 and 1991, over three thousand men were incarcerated there as political prisoners, and it was the scene of the 26-year-long incarceration of South Africa’s former president, Nelson Mandela.