Reflecting on the launch of the International Review of Philanthropy and Social Investment Journal
The Centre of African Philanthropy and Social Investment launched the International Review of Philanthropy and Social Investment Journal on the 1 September 2020. This is a first-of-its-kind publication which is aimed at academic and research communities, exploring the emergent and developing field of philanthropy and social investment in Africa and beyond. While the journal is based in Africa and written primarily by Africans, it offers a global remit responding to the growing demand for both academic and practice-related articles on the varieties and scales of philanthropy and social investment. The editorial team and advisory board of the journal consist of a world-class academics from institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australasia and North America, who poured their decades of knowledge into pioneering this body of work.
To commemorate the launch, CAPSI hosted an engaging conversation with academics and practitioners in the field of philanthropy, including a keynote address by Tsitsi Masiyiwa and addresses by Imhotep Aladigede, Jacob Mati, Gill Bates and Masego Madzwamuse. Since the launch, we received numerous requests for discussions into the articles and field notes which allowed for deep-dive style discussions between authors and a wider audience. Thus, the International Review of Philanthropy and Social Investment Journal Webinar Series came to life, facilitated with a registered audience while being streamed lived to our Facebook page. The webinar series launched on the 26 October 2020 and is set to continue into the new year.
Series editions
The first edition of the series hosted 3 of the journal authors with Carol Paton, discussing her field note titled “Corona, the butterfly that flapped its wings”, Wycliffe Ouma on unpacking the journal article titled “Corporate philanthropy and firm value in Africa” and Chengete Chakamera sharing his findings from his article “Analysis of corporate social responsibility of the African ‘internationalises’ versus non-African founded MNCs”.
Click the following link to watch the full session – https://youtu.be/fLeTSnDG70w
The second edition of the series took place on 9 November with an in-depth look at Jacob Mati’s article titled “Gifting and philanthropy environment in contemporary Kenya”. Also hosted on the edition was OSISA Executive Director Siphosami Malunga who discussed his field note titled “Defending open societies in the context of COVID-19”.
Click the following link to watch the full session – https://youtu.be/EKM79T5mGQQ
The final edition for 2020 took place on 23 November hosting two co-authored articles. Marlene Ogawa and Jamie Webb discussed their field note titled “Synergos: philanthropy’s bridging role in the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa“; while Muazu Ibrahim unpacked the findings of his research article co-authored with Imphotep Alagidede, titled “NGOs activities and local government spending in Upper West region of Ghana“.
Click the following link to watch the full session – https://youtu.be/RmJxzVDOCns
Reception
Since the launch of the journal, we have been overwhelmed by the positive responses received. To date, the journal has been viewed and downloaded over 3 500 times with both research articles and field notes being accessed since September. As the first publication with a niche global population demand, this is a very positive encouragement that shows that there can only be greater research and insights to come with the pursuit of future editions.
Click the following link to read all articles in the Journal – https://journals.co.za/content/journal/irpsi_v1_n1
