I AM AFRICA is an initiative created by ordinary Africans in response to the violent attacks on African nationals in South Africa. At its core the current situation in South Africa is not really a result of race or nationality but is a symptom of deeper issues that all South African residents are dealing with on a daily basis. Our approach is therefore to deal with the immediate needs of Xenophobia victims but also to build a long term solution to help individuals, communities and our country to heal.

I AM AFRICA started in Johannesburg in 2015 and is expanding throughout the South Africa and the greater African region

Marcus van Wyk

Marcus has a diverse skill set and 20 years of experience in the following areas;

Facilitation, Training, Waste Management and Environmental Awareness, Event Co-ordination, Project Management, Networking, Community Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Public Participation processes, Relationship Management, Diplomacy, Advocacy, Sports Coaching, Marketing and Public relations, NGO Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategic Planning, Organizational Development and Executive Management

Marcus currently Coordinates and provides Executive support to the following Movements and Coalitions: The We Will Speak Out SA Coalition (Working together to end Gender Based Violence)

The South African Christian Leaders Initiative (SACLI), The Foundation for a Relational Nation SA (FORENSA), The National Dialogue Initiative for Social Change

Lesley Williams

Lesley designs and facilitates dialogue, learning and change processes. She is passionate about sustainable development, promoting social entrepreneurship and cultivating participatory leadership. She is co-founder of The Hub Johannesburg, a co-working space for social innovators and entrepreneurs that forms part of a network of 28 Hubs in major cities around the world. Lesley has also co-foundered Africa++ that supports the engagement of the African Diaspora in the development agenda. Lesley was a director of Pioneers of Change from 2006 to 2010; an international community of practitioners and learners of systemic change. She previously worked at the Gordon Institute of Business Science from 2002 to 2006 under the leadership of Prof. Gill Marcus for a unit called Policy, Leadership and Gender Studies where she created Young Professionals Forum. She served on the national steering committee of Young South African Women in Dialogue in 2005 - founded by the former South African First Lady, Mrs. Zanele Mbeki. Lesley was selected as one of sixty international participants on a BP Antarctica Expedition in March 2009 focusing on Climate Change. She was named on the Mail & Guardian’s 2011 Top 200 list of Young South Africans.

Keli Fernie

A Rhodes University graduate with Honours in Industrial Sociology, Keli’s keen interest in the way groups of people engage and interact fuelled the passion for a career in PR and Communications. More than just communicating the news and corporate messages, Keli has built a 19 year career on understanding and expressing the essence of brands and helping organisations communicate their brand story to employees, consumers and investors. She has worked within large multinationals like Barclays, Liberty and Visa, building the brands across the African continent and has consulted to the likes of Coca-Cola, Eskom, KFC, Frito-Lays and Tiger Brands on brand experiences, sponsorship, employee engagement and digital communications that drive real business value. Keli has won international and South African awards for her work for Barloworld, Liberty, Barclays and Media 24

Roger Dickinson

Roger is a Social Entrepreneur and Process Facilitator with 25 years’ experience in working with-; setting up - and managing civil society organisations. Roger has worked for a diverse group of civil society organisations including HOPE worldwide as international Programme Manager for HIV Prevention, Convene South Africa as a Project Manager, the International Churches of Christ as Christian missionary and the ESOP SHOP as trainer in financial literacy in the mining sector. As a Process Facilitator Roger has worked with numerous organisations including Anglo American Platinum, Vodacom, ABSA, Starfish Foundation, UNHCR, COSATU, the Hungry Cities Initiative, Institute for Security Studies and the South African Department of Social Development.

Roger has also been instrumental in setting up and directing a national literacy initiative with the Department of Basic Education that has an annual reach of over 100,000 Primary school Learners.

Roger is a Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative and the Aspen Global Leader Network.

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We at I AM AFRICA believe, in the spirit of the Freedom Charter, that: "South Africa (and by extension Africa, belongs to all who live in it".

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