Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa
| Founder(s) | Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Alex Boraine |
|---|---|
| Established | 1986 |
| Focus | Democracy, Political transparency, Good governance |
| Staff | 80 to 160 |
| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Dissolved | 2013 |
The Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA) later known as the Institute for Democracy in South Africa was a South African-based think-tank organisation that was formed in 1986 by Frederik van Zyl Slabbert and Alex Boraine. Its initial focus from 1987 was creating an environment for white South Africans to talk to the banned liberation movement in-exile, the African National Congress (ANC) prior to its unbanning in 1990 by the President F. W. de Klerk. After the South African election in 1994, its focus would be on ensuing the establishment of democratic institutions in the country, political transparency and good governance. Caught up in a funding crisis after the 2008 global financial crisis, it would close in 2013.
It is best known for the Dakar Conference (also known as the Dakar Dialogue or the Dakar Initiative), a historic conference between members of IDASA and the ANC. It was held in Dakar, Senegal between 9 and 12 July 1987. The conference discussed topics such as strategies for bringing fundamental change in South Africa, national unity, structures of the government and the future of the economy in a free South Africa. The IDASA delegation from South Africa, participated in the conference in their private capacity and would later be condemned by the South African government for meeting a banned organization.
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, a member of the opposition resigned from the Progressive Federal Party and the South African parliament in January 1986, describing it as irrelevant and that he would explore other avenues of negotiations between white and black South African's. Dr. Alex Boraine would also leave with him.
Van Zyl Slabbert and Boraine would the establish The Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA), a non-partisan organization that aimed to promote inclusive democracy in South Africa by talking to people of all races within and outside the country. It second aim was to find a non-racial and democratic alternative to current system of apartheid in South Africa. It would start with very little plans and very little money.
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