ABOUT

The Activist Support & Training programme at the Centre for Environmental Rights has, for over a decade, supported and empowered activists, communities and organisations around South Africa who are affected by environmental and climate injustice. They provide practical and empowering tools to support the environmental and climate justice movement, through training, networking, enforcing compliance with environmental laws, and securing environmental activist spaces. Their goal is to provide enabling mechanisms and spaces for activists to advance their constitutional right to an environment not harmful to health and wellbeing.

For years, they have received first-hand reports from communities across South Africa describing in detail how blasting operations from mines violate the basic human rights of neighbouring communities. They saw the impacts of mine blasting with their own eyes, inhaled the fumes following recent blasts, heard the explosions and felt the tremors in mining affected communities when visiting partner organisations to conduct training workshops.

In order to support communities impacted by mine blasting they launched a campaign. We engaged communities, submitted Parliamentary questions, provided training workshops, amplified the voices of impacted activists and raised the profile of mine blasting complaints in the media. They requested information using the Promotion of Access to Information Act and engaged technical and expert specialists to provide more information to better understand the problem and work on possible solutions.

*The concept *
The requirement and concept was to create a condensed report of a much longer report in an engaging format that would resonate with communities affected by mine blasting, members of the public and all stakeholders

*Execution*
The execution included a uniquely designed short-form publication with hand drawn illustrations. In addition, a website was created for a more engaging digital experience that included minor animation.

*Results*
The campaign has just launched and no results are available at present.