New comic-format playbook shows ordinary South Africans exactly how to engage with local government on issues that matter
Key points
- Kagiso Trust launches the #StartWhereYouAre Playbook today, 30 September 2026, as the anchor tool of its nationwide #StartWhereYouAre active citizenship and voter education campaign leading up to the 2026 local government elections.
- Active citizenship is everyday work, before, during and after elections. The practical guide shows South Africans how to move from wanting to participate to knowing exactly what they can do.
- The playbook uses a comic-strip format with relatable characters and everyday scenarios to demonstrate the citizen action cycle: Notice → Understand → Report → Organise → Follow up.
- The playbook release is part of a multi-channel #StartWhereYouAre rollout featuring a national radio campaign and community voter education.
- Distribution of printed copies of the playbook will be led by Kagiso Trust’s Civil Society Support Programme teams across the country.
Civic organisations continually tell South Africans that participation matters. Voting is important. Communities should be engaged. Local government works better when citizens are organised.
But there has been a missing piece: a practical answer to the question that arises. “I want to get involved. But where do I start?”
Kagiso Trust is answering that question with the launch today of the #StartWhereYouAre Playbook, a practical, accessible guide that transforms active citizenship into everyday actions.
The release forms part of Kagiso Trust’s wider #StartWhereYouAre campaign, an extensive civic and voter education drive designed to energise and mobilise communities ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
“We have put a lot of effort into telling people that they should participate in democracy,” says Dean Zwoitwaho Nevhutalu, Chairperson of the Kagiso Trust Board of Trustees. “The playbook answers the next question, and the answer is simple: Start where you are.”
Making active citizenship visible and accessible
The playbook is presented in comic-strip format, using relatable characters and real community scenarios to show how active citizenship works in practice. It demonstrates the citizen action cycle that applies to everyday issues like a pothole that needs fixing, water supply problems, waste management, electricity failures, housing concerns and road safety.
Readers are guided through five practical steps:
- Notice: Identify an issue in your community that needs to change.
- Understand: Research what’s happening and who is responsible for fixing it.
- Report: Document the problem and report it to the right people.
- Organise: Work with neighbours to amplify the message and create collective pressure.
- Follow up: Keep monitoring until the issue is resolved and hold officials accountable.
“The playbook is not about voting logistics or electoral procedures,” says Nevhutalu. “It is about showing citizens how to engage with local government on practical issues that affect their daily lives, and how to do that whether it is before, during or after an election.”
Multi-platform campaign activation
To ensure the guide reaches communities across all nine provinces, the playbook is backed by a dynamic multi-channel rollout under the broader #StartWhereYouAre campaign banner.
This includes a planned national radio programme encouraging South Africans to vote and showing them how to take practical action where they live, alongside face-to-face community mobilisation. As part of the voter education drive, Kagiso Trust’s Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP) team will engage communities across the country and distribute printed copies of the #StartWhereYouAre Playbook.
“The team will hold interactive workshops with residents, youth formations, faith-based groups and local civic forums,” says Nevhutalu. “We want to ensure that citizens who lack regular digital access are equipped with tangible, reusable tools to organise and hold local government to account.”
A guide for every stage of the election cycle
The playbook structures active citizenship around the election cycle, recognising that citizen engagement looks different at different moments:
- Before election day: Check your voter registration is current. Understand how local government works and what it is responsible for. Research candidates and their track records. Identify a local issue that matters to you.
- Around election day: Ask candidates tough questions about their plans. Understand what they are promising. Make an informed choice based on evidence, not emotion or party loyalty.
- On election day: Vote with information and purpose, knowing exactly why you are making the choice you are making.
- After election day: This is where real active citizenship happens. Attend council meetings. Monitor whether elected representatives are keeping their promises. Document progress. Follow up on issues you reported. Hold leaders accountable.
“Voting is important, but it’s just one moment. Active citizenship is everyday work,” says Nevhutalu. “The playbook shows that the real power lies in what happens before and after election day. That’s when communities need to be organised, engaged, and holding their representatives accountable.”
No permission required
A central principle running through the playbook is that you do not need permission to participate in democracy. You do not need to be an expert or wait for an invitation. Ordinary people can act on issues affecting their communities.
“One person noticing a problem and talking to their neighbour is how change starts,” says Nevhutalu. “The playbook shows that you do not need to be a politician or an activist to make a difference. You just need to start where you are.”
The #StartWhereYouAre playbook is available here on the Kagiso Trust website, and printed copies will be distributed nationwide through CSSP community voter education activations and regional civil society networks.
Q&A: #StartWhereYouAre playbook
What makes this playbook different from other civic education materials?
Most civic education materials explain how government is supposed to work in theory. The playbook shows how citizens can engage with government in practice. It uses a comic-strip format with relatable characters and real scenarios to demonstrate the citizen action cycle. It is designed to be practical and accessible rather than academic or abstract.
How does the playbook fit into Kagiso Trust’s wider voter education and #StartWhereYouAre campaign?
The playbook is the practical hands-on guide anchoring the broader #StartWhereYouAre campaign. While traditional voter education often stops at the ballot box, this campaign combines mass-media conversations with intensive ground-level mobilisation. Through a national radio campaign, Kagiso Trust will bring active citizenship debates into millions of homes. Simultaneously, Civil Society Support Programme teams will take the campaign directly to community halls, high schools and informal settlements, conducting voter education workshops and putting physical copies of the playbook directly into citizens’ hands.
Who is the playbook designed for?
Every South African who wants to make local government work better. That includes young voters, parents, business owners, community leaders, pensioners, informal traders, teachers … people of every age and background. The playbook makes clear that active citizenship is not the domain of experts or activists. Ordinary people can create change in their communities.
The local elections are only five weeks away. Why is Kagiso Trust launching this now?
The playbook is designed to be useful before, during and after elections, and its value extends far beyond election day on 4 November. It is a tool for sustained citizen engagement in local government. The timing allows it to influence voter engagement in November, but its impact should be measured over years, not weeks.
The playbook focuses on everyday issues like potholes. Doesn’t that trivialise more serious political challenges?
Everyday issues are the entry point. They are where most citizens have direct experience and an immediate stake in the way they are dealt with. And they are where citizens learn about organised action: noticing a problem, researching who is responsible, reporting it, organising with neighbours, following up. Once citizens master that cycle on a pothole, they can apply it to any issue.
The playbook is presented in comic-strip format. Why choose that approach?
Comic format is accessible, engaging and memorable. It uses visual storytelling to show active citizenship in action, with relatable characters in real scenarios. Rather than explaining concepts abstractly, the comic demonstrates how people notice problems, gather information, report issues, and organise with neighbours. Comics also have lower barriers to entry because people of different literacy levels, languages and backgrounds can engage with the content. And the format makes the playbook feel empowering rather than preachy or political.
Does the playbook tell people how to vote or which candidates to support?
No. The playbook’s role is to show citizens how to gather information, ask tough questions of candidates, and make informed decisions. It encourages research and critical thinking, but does not prescribe how people should vote. That choice remains with voters. Kagiso Trust’s role is to strengthen the capacity for informed decision-making, not to determine the outcome.
Some might say this is political. How do you respond?
Active citizenship is inherently political in the sense that it is about power, participation and accountability. But it is not partisan. The playbook is designed to work across political traditions and party affiliations. It does not tell people which party to support. It shows people how to engage with elected representatives, regardless of party, and how to hold them accountable. That is non-partisan even though it is political.
What does Kagiso Trust hope the playbook will change?
Three things. First, more South Africans understanding that they have agency, that they do not need permission to participate, and that their actions matter. Second, more organised communities engaging with local government on practical issues before, during and after elections. Third, elected representatives understanding that they will be held accountable by informed, organised communities. The playbook is a tool for shifting the relationship between citizens and their government from passive acceptance to active engagement.
When will the playbook be available, and how can people access it?
The playbook is available from today, 30 September 2026, on the Kagiso Trust website. Printed copies will be distributed directly to communities by the Civil Society Support Programme team during nationwide voter education activations, high school programmes and community dialogues. And insights from the playbook will be shared in a national radio campaign.
