(1) The list of the like-minded civil society and interest groups that are part of the Social Inclusion in Education Working Group is enclosed.
(2) (a) Although the intention of the working group is to address all social inclusion matters, when it was established, it sought to address in the meantime the burning issue of socio-educational inclusion of diverse sexual orientation, gender identitiy, expression and sex characteristics. Due to limited capacity internally at the Department of Basic Education (DBE), it was important to reach out to civil society organisations that work daily at the coalface of similar issues at school and community level, to ensure an efficient, effective, relevant and appropriate education sector response. Establishing a working group is recommended to maintain stakeholder relations.
(b) Yes
(3) The DBE has previously attempted to incorporate civil society organisations representing family values in the working group. However, this approach to group composition proved to be a challenge due to extreme differences in opinion. As such, the DBE has opted to openly engage with civil society organisations representing family values separately, as their voice is valuable and essential in addressing discrimination and oppression of children from a family values perspective. These engagements have already begun.