1. Strive to be a mouthpiece for South Africans in Germany.

Co-founded by a diverse group of South Africans living, working, and studying in Germany, Mayibuye aims to build a strong, reliable and lasting organisation at the forefront of bridging South Africa and Germany. This will require bringing South Africans based in Germany together under an umbrella organisation based in Berlin.

2. To serve as a platform for South Africans and encourage activities of relevance pertaining to South Africa.

South Africa’s role within Africa and the rest of the world ensure a high level of interest in what South Africans are involved in at home and abroad. However, despite the high level of interest, no single organisation has managed to organise and act as a focal point around which South Africans can go to in improving their stay in Germany while showcasing the skills they have brought with them to Germany.

3. To strengthen the relationship between South Africa and Germany.

With the Binational Commission (BNC) being the main institutional framework guiding relations between South Africa and Germany, it is important that individuals and non governmental organisations such as Mayibuye explore ways to continue to strengthen relations between the two countries, especially in the realm of people to people relations. Working on exchange programmes at all levels is an important aspect thereof.

4. Strive to empower South Africans

While primarily focused on supporting young South Africans based in Germany, the activities of Mayibuye are focused on harnessing the vast talent of South Africans in the diaspora and creating innovative platforms that allow them to showcase their myriad skills to an international audience in the historical capital of Berlin.

5. Strive to project South Africa and Africa-at-large, in their diversity, in a positive manner to themselves and to the outside world.

In the year 2000 the front cover of the Economist read The hopeless continent; however, in 2013 the same publication had a completely contrasting headline which read Africa Rising: A hopeful continent. This was a significant break from the dominant narrative of the African continent as a whole. South Africa is an integral part of the that changing narrative, and it is essential that South Africans in the diaspora contribute to ongoing discussions about the present day realities facing South Africa and Africa at large.

The creation of platforms in Germany which involve critical engagement on topical issues will assist in building a better understanding of the key challenges faced, but also in communicating many of the important achievements that continue to be underreported. Given that the African diaspora officially constitutes the sixth region of the African continent according to the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), it is imperative that Mayibuye creates and maintains a relationship with Africans in the diaspora who share the vision of an African Renaissance expressed continually from one generation to the next.