Stronger communities start with listening and working together

For a parent seeking support for their child, an older person needing care, or a family facing difficult circumstances, what matters most is getting the right help when they need it. Making this possible requires government and civil society to listen, understand people's experiences, and work together.

This was at the heart of the second annual Civil Society Workshop, held in Cape Town on 29 October 2026, bringing together Western Cape Government departments, civil society organisations, and community partners.

Over the past two years, this partnership, involving 24 partner organisations across different sectors, has grown through regular engagement, community visits, and a shared commitment to recognising the expertise within communities and working together to strengthen existing local initiatives.

Civil society organisations are often closest to the people and communities they serve. They understand local challenges, recognise community strengths, and help ensure that people's voices are heard.

The partnership is built on a simple principle: communities should help shape the solutions that affect their lives. Much of this important work is already happening within communities. Government's role is to recognise, support, and strengthen these efforts, guided by the priorities of the communities themselves.

“Engagements like this make a huge difference because it brings together government and civil society. This is where we can collaborate and design programmes with communities rather than simply for them. It moves us from listening to actual and genuine influence,” said Anke Houtzamer, NACOSA Programme Specialist.

This means consistently showing up, building trust, listening carefully, and respecting the knowledge, skills, and networks that already exist within communities. Dialogue is central to the process, with co-creation as the goal.

“Universities play a critical role in community engagement, and therefore our role as the Community Engagement Unit at the University of the Western Cape is to ensure that government, civil society and universities come together to understand the role and needs of communities. The importance of getting communities involved is to help diffuse the violence we are currently seeing in our communities, through ongoing and sustainable community engagement, and by ensuring that communities are part of the engagement process,” said Damaris Kiewiets, Community Liaison Officer at the University of the Western Cape.

For the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, this reflects a commitment to co-governance, with communities helping shape decisions that affect the wellbeing of the households we serve.

Improving people's wellbeing requires more than healthcare services alone. Stronger relationships between government, communities, and civil society can help identify barriers, improve how services respond, and ensure that people's lived experiences inform decisions.

“We realised that we could not continue to engage in the same way. We needed to change how we engage and recognise civil society as co-partners. For government, this means rethinking how we show up, listening first and understanding what already exists within communities, rather than coming in with solutions. It is about recognising the strengths within communities and working together to support what people are already doing,” said Dr Keith Cloete, Head of the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness.

As the partnership moves forward, the focus remains on turning conversations into practical action, with communities playing a meaningful role in shaping a healthier, more caring Western Cape.

ENDS

Media enquiries:

Dwayne Evans
Communication
Department of Health and Wellness
Western Cape Government
Mobile: 072 236 8658
Email: dwayne.evans@westerncape.gov.za