Good Hope Seminary High School hosted its second inclusive summit at the weekend after a successful debut summit in August.
Several schools in the City Bowl including Vista High School, Trafalgar High School, Cape Town High School and Sea Point High School took part on Saturday November 5.
The school’s deputy principal, Leon Linz, said the aim was to expose young people to the importance of an inclusive, diverse and equal society while fostering ethical, values-based leadership.
At the summit on Saturday, Mr Linz said: “It is not acceptable to exclude people for any reason. We can’t remain silent about injustice anymore.”
The school hopes to hold another summit early next year, and Mr Linz hopes it’s the start of something positive.
Guest speaker Dr Rashied Omar, imam of the Claremont Main Road Mosque, spoke about the importance of knowing your neighbour and everyone having access to justice.
“To fight against injustice we must fight against all oppression,” he said.
Class was one of the most problematic forms of exclusion.
“The way in which to get rid of the disease of exclusion is to acknowledge it. It is painful and not easy but is part of the liberation.”
UCT lecturer Khomotso Moshikaro said it was important for pupils to always reinforce selfworth. He said even though he didn’t necessarily agree with the student protests he could understand where they were coming from.
The summit ended with group discussions about the topics discussed during the day and pupils drew up a plan to take these talking points back to their own schools.
