Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute marks 10th anniversary with Pretoria lunch and fundraising golf day
CMMI, founded in 2016, will mark ten years of programmes for women and young people with a celebratory lunch in Pretoria on 25 November and a fundraising golf day on 9 December.
The Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute (CMMI), founded in 2016, will mark its 10th anniversary with a celebratory lunch in Pretoria on 25 November and a fundraising golf day on 9 December, reflecting a decade of programmes for women and young people.
The anniversary comes as public attention to Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke has grown after the University of the Western Cape conferred a posthumous honorary doctorate on her on 28 August 2026.
Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke was a pioneering educator and campaigner for women's rights. She was the first Black South African woman to earn a university degree, gaining a BSc at Wilberforce University in the United States, and helped found the Bantu Women's League and mobilise women against pass laws.
CMMI will hold a celebratory lunch at Irene Farm, Pretoria, on Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 12:30, and will stage its 10th Mother of All Golf Days at Woodhill Country Club on 9 December 2026 under the theme "Swinging Beyond Boundaries: Celebrating Excellence with CMMI." The golf day is a fundraising event to support the institute's 2027 programmes.
CMMI quotes Dr Maxeke's words: "If you should rise, bring someone with you." The institute says it is committed to preserving and advancing her vision through initiatives that support women, develop young leaders and strengthen communities.
Over the past decade CMMI says it has reached more than 2,000 women through its Bring Her Up programme and more than 2,500 women internationally through Historicising Women's Stories. It has run five agricultural youth programmes and one community agricultural programme, and says its youth development initiatives have reached more than 1,000 young people across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Western Cape.
Its recurring public programmes include Portraits of Power, the Forgotten Graduate Lecture and a range of events that combine commemoration with training and community work. CMMI describes its work as operating at the intersection of leadership, education, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods.
The 25 November lunch falls on the opening day of the international 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, which runs to 10 December and is often used by organisations to link campaigning against gender-based violence to local programmes and fundraising.
Media are invited to attend the 25 November celebration; the institute says it can arrange interviews and provide photographs and background on its programmes. More about CMMI's programmes and events is available on the institute's website: cmmi.org.za. The University of the Western Cape announcement is linked above.
Newzroom dot Africa has reached out to Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute and Sonke Gender Justice for comment and is awaiting a response. This story will be updated when they respond.
