The OCL team, with some members of the board and partners at our annual strategy getaway.
4th Row: Dieumerci Kazadi | Ayanda Nene | Phakamani Xulu | Matthew Adendorff | Heiko Heilgendorff | Dev Ninja | Callum Oberholzer | Bryden Neville
3rd Row: Megan Wadge | Jodi Allemeier | Abigail Kemper | Brian O'Leary | Aliasgher Janmohammed | Richard Gevers
2nd Row: Lerato Mosehle | Paul Jones | Joanne Parker | Paul Figueira | Ashleigh Rich | Anele Ngcoya
Front Row: Carla Ziady | Sarah Findlay | Megan Hallett | Thandi Bhengu (alumni) | Ella Alcock
OCL was born out of a desire to implement dynamic, living solutions to problems faced by urban communities in South Africa, and to contribute to developing a vibrant, inclusive society where all residents and stakeholders have an active role in decision-making. The founding committee observed that residents in South African cities have lost trust in public processes, and often do not have access to critical information, and forums or structures to be involved in decision-making.
OCL sought to move plans and interventions out of the static and inefficient long reports that gather digital dust on officials' shelves, and into problem-focused, user-centred interventions that are crafted in such a way that acknowledge vulnerability and build in inclusion and sustainability.
The team has gathered and developed technical capabilities and innovative approaches to build tools for evidence-based decision-making, as well as a desire to learn and adapt to different contexts as we journey on this mission. We like to partner with other awesome communities, CSOs and NGOs, government departments, academic partners, and the like, to strengthen the social fabric of the areas in which we work, towards building a better future.