A Brief Feedback: Constitutional Literacy Session

The last visit of the 2014 team Community Engagement project was focused on departing practical skills to the learners taking part in the project. One of the sessions that I was involved in as a lead facilitator, was a session on Constitutional literacy.

As much as one can wish, the Constitution is unfortunately not as accessible and understandable to many young South Africans. This issue was not only identified by a few of the SAWIP 2014 team members but also by the learners participating in the SAWIP team community engagement project. The main aim of the Constitutional literacy session was to illustrate, to the learners, the importance of understanding the rights that they (and all South Africans) possess as well as the responsibilities that arise from these rights. For example, it was highlighted that although the Bill of Rights protects everyone’s right to equality, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that they not only uphold this right in their interactions with others but also ensure that the South African Government puts suitable measures in place to ensure the protection of the right to equality. At the start of the session, the learners were asked to list the five most important things in their lives. After many of the students shared their lists, it was highlighted that the majority of the things, which are important in many people’s lives are rights that are protected in the Constitution. This exercise illustrated that the Constitution is more relatable than many of the learner’s originally thought.

The session also highlighted the historical development that took place in South Africa that led up to the creation of the Constitution. The learners discussed the distinction between Parliamentary Supremacy and Constitutional Supremacy and participated in a case study exercise, which enabled them to identity specific rights applicable to a set of facts. Overall, the session was incredibly informative as well as enjoyable.