where we work

South Africa

Waging Peace

South Africa's Sisulu family was awarded the 1988 Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize.

+About the Carter-Menil Prize

The Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize was awarded in 1988 to the Sisulu family of South Africa in recognition of their leadership in the fight against apartheid and their profound commitment to the protection of human rights. President Carter said at the presentation, "Perhaps this prize will inspire the recipients to do even more heroic things, and perhaps it will inspire others to reach full greatness, as they have done, even at danger to their own freedom and even existence."

President Carter and the late Dominique de Menil established the $100,000 prize to promote the protection of human rights. It was awarded to individuals or organizations for their outstanding efforts on behalf of human rights, often at great personal sacrifice. The award enabled human rights activists to continue their work and focused global attention on their struggles for justice.

Read more about the Carter Center's Human Rights Program >

Fighting Disease

Through the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, The Carter Center helped South Africans address mental health issues from a place of knowledge and understanding.

+Learn More about Mental Health Journalism Fellowships

From 2004 to 2011, The Carter Center, in partnership with the University of Witwatersrand and later, the South African Depression & Anxiety Group, awarded 14 fellowships to South African journalists through the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. By providing local journalists with the tools to bring important mental health issues to light in their communities, the fellowships helped the South African people defeat myths and stigma surrounding mental illnesses.

The South African fellows explored a variety of issues, including the impact of trauma on the mental health of South African police officers and stigma against mental illnesses.

In 2011, the program was successfully transferred to the South African Depression & Anxiety Group, through support from Pfizer, S.A. The Carter Center's involvement with mental health journalism in South Africa concluded with a workshop in Johannesburg in April 2011 for journalists from across the country.

Meet South African Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellows Tamar Kahn and Marion Scher.

Watch the video slideshow: Rosalynn Carter Fellows Build Hope in South Africa >

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