IVOR Ichikowitz is a man of Africa, inspired and enthused by the continent but most especially South Africa his birthplace. He is a firm believer in the African ethos of ubuntu; he exists because of others and it is this philosophy which underpins the billionaire’s philanthropy through the multiple award winning Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which was established in 2010.
The foundation’s ethos is to develop the next generation and the ones that come after, primarily through education to empower them to ultimately do it for themselves but also to ensure the preservation of the country’s natural treasures and the stories and histories of those who helped South Africa transition from the world’s pariah to an international beacon.
It is this which explains the investment in the African Oral History Archive documenting the untold stories behind the key events that shaped Africa’s trajectory to liberation. The critically important Plot for Peace, the untold story behind the Brazzaville Accord and the story of South Africa’s transition and the role front line heads of state, master spies and freedom fighters helped end apartheid, flowed directly from this process. Plot for Peace provides direct personal testimony – captured on video – of the key proponents, some of whom have since died, involved in the behind the scenes process.
In turn, #IAMCONSTITUTION was a multi-media celebration of the 20th anniversary of the much-lauded South African constitution getting young and old to rediscover the document, to embrace it and to live its precepts. The intention was to create a new generation of constitution guardians; understanding their own rights through the honouring of the rights of others and acknowledging the constitution’s fundamental role as the young nation’s roadmap for future sustainability and its over-arching emphasis on nation building, dignity and humanity.
