Marc Lubner
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Articles by Marc Lubner
Using what we have for others
The Lubner Family Foundation is proud to sponsor the Bertie Lubner Humanitarian Award in honour of Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris. This award recognises an individual or organisation whose sustained commitment to uplifting others has achieved lasting impact. It celebrates service rooted in compassion, guided by purpose and demonstrated through action. At the heart of all our family charities is responsible kindness.
MARC LUBNER | Youth unemployment crisis starts in the cradle
Todaymarks International Children’s Day, which in South Africa aptly kicks off Youth Month. Here a celebration of our children cannot happen without deep reflection on what their futures hold. We can’t ignore our youth unemployment rate of more than 60% weighs heavily on their chance at a future in which they are financially and socially autonomous. If our youth are not working the burden of providing for them falls to their families and government.
Serving the mantra: “To give, to love, to live”
The Bertie Lubner Humanitarian Award celebrates individuals or organisations committed to community, inclusion, and making a sustainable impact. Through their sponsorship of this award, and in keeping with their ethos of “to give, to love, to live”, the Lubner Family Foundation honours those who go beyond the conventional and act courageously in the service of others; those who not only identify need, but actively engage, uplift, and empower communities.
Rooted in justice, bound by humanity
Judaism and ubuntu aren’t distant ideals. They meet in principle and practice, two ancient traditions, each rooted in justice, dignity, and the interconnectedness of people. One frames it as an obligation to give; the other as a responsibility to one another. For me, they came together not in theory, but in the everyday work of building something that matters.
Freedom Day - a lesson in the power of inclusion
As South Africa marks another Freedom Day, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: liberation remains incomplete for millions of South African citizens, especially our youth. While we celebrate the dismantling of apartheid and our democratic journey, we have yet to extend freedom’s promise fully to those living with disabilities. Three decades into democracy, too many South Africans with disabilities remain invisible, marginalised in education, employment, and public life.
True freedom remains elusive until every South African can access it
Marc Lubner is executive deputy chairperson of Afrika Tikkun. As South Africa marks another Freedom Day, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: liberation remains incomplete for millions of South African citizens, especially our young people. While we celebrate the dismantling of apartheid and our democratic journey, we have yet to fully extend freedom's promise to those living with disabilities.
True freedom remains elusive unless all can access it
Three decades into democracy, too many South Africans with disabilities remain invisible, marginalised in education, employment, and public life. In classrooms across our nation, children with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, and other disabilities are still largely segregated—a profound form of discrimination that contradicts everything our constitution stands for. Marc Lubner|Published 22 minutes ago 2min Freedom Day is a public holiday in South Africa celebrated on 27 April.
MARC LUBNER | Disability rights are the unfinished business of South Africa’s freedom
MARC LUBNER | Disability rights are the unfinished business of South Africa’s freedom Where access is determined by ability, there can be no true freedom 25 April 2025 - 04:30 By Marc Lubner As South Africa marks another Freedom Day, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: liberation remains incomplete for millions of South African citizens, especially our youth.
Access to Social Justice Is Not a Privilege, It Is a Basic Human Right
By Marc Lubner, Group CEO Afrika Tikkun Thirty-one years into our constitutional democracy, terms such as social justice, social activists, social entrepreneurs and socio-economic rights have become ubiquitous in our social discourse. However, their true meanings warrant deeper reflection.
Access to Social Justice Is Not a Privilege, It Is a Basic Human Right
Thirty-one years into our constitutional democracy, terms such as social justice, social activists, social entrepreneurs and socio-economic rights have become ubiquitous in our social discourse. However, their true meanings warrant deeper reflection.
Access To Social Justice Is Not A Privilege, It Is A Basic Human Right
Sabrina Grace Geromella 25 Mar 2025 3 By Marc Lubner, Group CEO Afrika Tikkun Thirty-one years into our constitutional democracy, terms such as social justice, social activists, social entrepreneurs and socio-economic rights have become ubiquitous in our social discourse. However, their true meanings warrant deeper reflection. According to the United Nations, Social justice may be broadly understood as the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of economic growth.
MARC LUBNER | Heritage: beyond braais and beads
MARC LUBNER | Heritage: beyond braais and beads The youth of South Africa, who embody the legacy of our heritage, should be empowered to reclaim and redefine it — not merely as a relic of the past but as a means to forge a brighter future 24 September 2024 - 07:00 By Marc Lubner In 1996 President Nelson Mandela said: “When our first democratically elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has...
Corruption is not an excuse to abandon South Africa
“A country never dies. People get sick and die, a country might get sick for a while but lives on forever.” — These are the astute words of my grandfather, Morris Lubner. Such words should ring true for all South Africans as we prepare to witness the 2024 State of the Nation Address (Sona) which takes place in arguably the most contentious election year in South Africa to date.
Why bother with Mandela Day?
Instead of thinking about doing something [on Mandela Day], do something. Nelson Mandela was, to many, the “man” we wanted to be, and still want to be. To Barack Obama, he was more than just a man, he was a symbol worldwide of the struggle for justice, equality, and dignity. His sacrifice was so great that it called on people everywhere to do what they could on behalf of human progress, according to Obama.
Why we feel powerless and alone when global issues affect us directly
A common sentiment about complacency is that people who stand by and let evil prevail are as bad as the perpetrators of said evil. Yet it is common to observe a lack of unified active citizenship in times of crisis, when the problem appears too vast for an individual to feel empowered enough to do something about it.
Freedom Day – The Mail & Guardian
Why Steve Biko still matters The founder of Black Consciousness kept evolving; by the time of his terrible death he was moving away from hard-line racial isolationism.
Marc Lubner | Bold leadership must step up in the spirit of Mandela
VOICES Recent years have been hard on South Africans for a multitude of reasons. An impending sense of darkness and heaviness is on the shoulders of people, who’ve been bearing the brunt of a lack of decisive leadership as the country suffers rolling blackouts, inflation, unemployment, an increase in petrol and food prices, and burning taverns. It has been just a year since the July riots of 2021 and we haven’t seen much change since then. People are still desperate for change.
Glimmer of hope on rocky road ahead for SA’s youth
By Marc Lubner Youth Month 2022 falls just as a glimmer of hope begins to illuminate a brutally dark period in South Africa’s present-day reality. Story continues below Advertisement Our country’s history is characterised by the resilience of our people, who rise triumphantly to reshape our future from the ground up time and time again.
MARC LUBNER: Partnership between business, civil society and government is key to unleashing the economy
Corporate sector has billions on its balance sheets and is willing to invest locally, writes Marc Lubner, CEO of Afrika Tikkun 27 February 2022 - 06:53 Marc Lubner While SA's economy has been battered by the pandemic over the past two years, we are not yet down and out. But to move forward, we need fresh ideas, agility, collaboration and greater ambition.
Partnership between business, civil society and government is key to unleashing the economy
Corporate sector has billions on its balance sheets and is willing to invest locally, writes Marc Lubner, CEO of Afrika Tikkun 27 February 2022 - 00:00 By Marc Lubner While SA's economy has been battered by the pandemic over the past two years, we are not yet down and out. But to move forward, we need fresh ideas, agility, collaboration and greater ambition.
One of the world’s great ‘friendraisers’
Norman Levy, a mensch of South Africa’s struggle for liberation, has died. He was 91. Norman and his identical twin brother, Leon, began their political activity as school boys and campaigned for freedom and equality all their lives. The brothers stood in the dock with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Joe Slovo, Helen Joseph, and 150 other leaders of the liberation movement in South Africa’s “trial of the century” – the 1956 Treason Trial.
Let's not let bitterness overshadow this Nelson Mandela Day
International Nelson Mandela Day has been a double-edged sword for me for some time. On the one hand it is always a day of celebration during which we honour a man who was larger than life by stepping into his seven minutes to keep his dream of equality and fairness alive — hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder. On the other hand it has been a day of sadness, anger and disillusion, and this year is no exception.
Africa: On Africa Day, Let's Shine a Light On the 'Dark Continent' and Change the Narrative
As we celebrate Africa Day (25 May), let's take stock: Just because conventional history books seldom speak about Africa's glorious, fascinating, and eclectic past doesn't mean its past is a blank page. This continent's history is much more than slavery and colonisation. It features dozens of great leaders and powerful civilisations that can be compared to the Romans, Greeks and Mayans. Marc Lubner is Group CEO of Afrika Tikkun.
OP-ED: On Africa Day, let’s shine a light on the ‘Dark Continent’ and change the narrative
(Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook) As we celebrate Africa Day (25 May), let’s take stock: Just because conventional history books seldom speak about Africa’s glorious, fascinating, and eclectic past doesn’t mean its past is a blank page. This continent’s history is much more than slavery and colonisation. It features dozens of great leaders and powerful civilisations that can be compared to the Romans, Greeks and Mayans. Marc Lubner is Group CEO of Afrika Tikkun.
Let the lie of Africa being ‘the Dark Continent’ stop here now
One of the many Africa-related stereotypes that annoys me most is the one referring to this region as the Dark Continent. It is one of the biggest misconceptions the West has come up with, allegedly because Africa wouldn’t have a history, culture, civilisation or sophistication. It is a lie that continues to shape people’s opinions about this part of the world, and it needs to stop.
BUSINESS MAVERICK OP-ED: Slaying the multiheaded beast called youth unemployment demands a united front from all stakeholders
Illustrative image | (Sources: EPA / NIC BOTHMA | Flickr) Having 20.6 million economically destitute young people affects everyone, now and in the future. It is the biggest crisis we have faced in recent history, one of cluster-bomb magnitude that will explode if we don’t get our act together and cause more harm than we can comprehend. As expected, unemployment featured high in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address 2021, and rightfully so.
SA must slay the multi-headed beast called youth unemployment
This country has fought and won many seemingly insurmountable battles before by joining hands. It needs to do it again to fight unemployment. Picture: iStock/Gallo Images VOICES As expected, unemployment featured high in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address last week, and rightfully so. Including those who have given up their search for work, our overall joblessness rate hovers around the 50% mark. Young people are in the deepest trouble, and with them, all of us.
OPINION | The spirit of Ubuntu is a tried and tested antidote for Covid-19
We will only get through the Covid-19 pandemic, if we work together, argues the writer Getty In order to overcome the impact of Covid-19, we are going to need to join hands as one, writes Marc Lubner. It may be a cliché, but if you want to get things done more efficiently, one needs to work together instead of in silos. It is how we, as a nation, 26 years ago, managed to overcome some of our most pressing problems.
Ubuntu, the antidote to Covid-19
Subscribers can listen to this article We will only be able to leave the socioeconomic implications of Covid-19 behind when all stakeholders – citizens and residents, politicians, entrepreneurs, innovators, government, academics, and civil society – are prepared to work together on an equal footing. VOICES If you want to go fast, walk alone but if you want to go far, walk together. Whether or not this is an African proverb is irrelevant.
What about NPOs? An open letter to Ramaphosa from SA's forgotten sector
By Marc Lubner, Hedley Lewis, Kelly du Plessis, Lauren Pretorius and Cassey Chambers 17m ago Those that we support and those who support us are on the verge of collapse due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have heeded the call by President Ramaphosa and his government to step up and support the interventions that have been implemented across the country during this unprecedented period.
Open letter: South Africa's forgotten sector
Those that we support and those who support us are on the verge of collapse due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have heeded the call by President Ramaphosa and his government to step up and support the interventions that have been implemented across the country during this unprecedented period. We have put aside our brands and barriers to form coalitions, magnifying our collective support, and like so many other sectors, Covid-19 has united civil society.
Ubuntu - the philosophy we need to follow right now
As a philanthropist rather than a psychologist, I know more about people helping each other than I know about why they do it. What I know at the moment is that we're seeing much more in the way of actual help for those affected by coronavirus than I've seen for any other cause, anywhere in South Africa, ever. Marc Lubner, CEO of Afrika Tikkun I’m not saying that South Africans are not usually a generous bunch.
Learning To Lead In The New World Of Work
The new world of work offers workers flexible hours, flexible spaces and often a flexible pace, all while flexing their potential, doing what they’re good at. But what does it offer the people who lead in this new age of flexibility? A challenge, that’s what. In an era when workers want stability even as they demand flexibility, support yet empowerment, and independence while they work collaboratively, leaders and their management styles have to change, just as workers and places have changed.
OPINION | It always feels impossible until it's done
Elderly people from Denver Hostel collect food parcels donated by the Uwais Qarni Islamic Centre. Picture: Tebogo Letsie Marc Lubner writes that South Africans have misplaced Mandela's spirit of doing good for humanity. It was a beautiful day when Nelson Mandela and I met at his home in the late 1990s to brainstorm the programme of the Smile Foundation. As we fired off ideas at one another, our former president fell quiet for a moment.
Violence is everyone’s problem; we must all act to stop it
Today, October 2, marks the International Day of Nonviolence. The occasion is intended to share the message of nonviolence through education and public awareness, thereby encouraging a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding. Fairly recently, South Africa experienced a harrowing week of events that sent shockwaves around the country, shaking the core of men and women far and wide.
Business and Charity - two sides of the same coin?
Marc Lubner | CEO | Afrika Tikkun | mail me | Both have a role in reducing unemployment and contributing to a sustainable society. Back in May, News24.com columnist Mpumelelo Mkhabela implored President Cyril Ramaphosa to ‘make job creators the most important people in the country’. In his piece, Mkhabela called unemployment a ‘national emergency’, and begs that the entire country – especially those in government departments – cultivate a mindset that focuses on the importance of job creation.
OPINION: How we can fix South Africa's skills development crisis | IOL Business Report
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's various institutions have, for a long time, been grappling with a key question: what are we to do about youth unemployment? I recently attended a conference hosted by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE), where this challenge was debated in significant depth.
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