ALLIANZ ANNOUNCES THE TOP FIVE RISING RISKS WITHIN GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES SECTOR

GOOD HOOD STORIES SEASON 3 SET TO LAUNCH ON WORLD CITIES DAY 2024

The Good Hood Stories shine a spotlight on the transformative, innovative, and collaborative efforts of revitalising neighbourhoods across South Africa. By sharing these inspiring stories, we aim to shift the narrative from the challenges facing our urban areas to the remarkable achievements of everyday South Africans. Through engaging films, the Good Hood Stories celebrate creative projects, cooperative initiatives, and crosssector partnerships that enhance our urban environments. These stories reflect SACN's commitment to an inclusive, all-of-society approach - one that values active listening, collaboration, and the exchange of knowledge, learning, and innovation. By fostering strong partnerships among cities and diverse stakeholders, we come together to create better, more sustainable cities.

The past two seasons have taken viewers on a journey across South Africa, introducing them to local heroes spearheading a diverse range of innovative projects. From a community-driven housing stokvel in Gugulethu and a multipurpose harm reduction centre in Durban to a vibrant bicycle hub in Langa, a network of rooftop food gardens in inner-city Johannesburg, and an urban upgrading initiative in Helenvale, these stories showcase the power of grassroots change. The films have resonated globally, featuring at prestigious events like the 2022 World Urban Forum in Poland and winning Best Web Series and the Better Transportation Award for the Langa Bicycle Hub at the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit in 2021.

The third season of Good Hood Stories which is now ready to be launched, has been created in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and with a thematic focus on the transformation of informal settlements. This theme aligns with a historic and ambitious new global agenda, the “Global Action Plan: Accelerating for Transforming Informal Settlements and Slums by 2030,” which is guiding the sustainable urban development of informal settlements. The Global Action Plan is designed as a contribution towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) through a focus on informal settlements and slums. The Global Action Plan arises from the acknowledgement that despite considerable efforts made to transform informal settlements, the real challenge in addressing this issue lies ahead, and is going to take deliberate efforts, partnership and innovation to tackle.

Two exceptional projects are featured through the Good Hood Stories films, which demonstrate two critical aspects of informal settlement transformation: the delivery of sanitation services and solid waste management. Project Preparations Trust’s partnership with eThekwini Municipality on solid waste management and Asivikelane’s gender-responsive service delivery in Knysna, Western Cape, both feature highly collaborative community-led approaches to informal settlement upgrading, which is championed through partnerships between different urban sectors.

Both projects demonstrate the critical role of data that is community-driven and accurate for effective upgrading. Both projects also demonstrate what an “all-of-society” approach looks like and demonstrate the implementation of the Integrated Urban Development Framework’s (IUDF’s) Lever 7: Empowered active communities, whereby “Cities and towns are home to socially and culturally diverse citizens, who are actively involved in city life and committed to making South Africa work”. Ultimately, these stories align perfectly with the WUF theme, “It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities”.