South Africa's history of struggle against apartheid, our vibrant civil society and media, and the daily generosity of tens of thousands of individual volunteers, suggest a deep commitment to improving the life of all in this country. There is little doubt that across the board, South Africans are willing and able to contribute towards social upliftment."

Every one of us has the ability to contribute in a constructive and appropriate way to making South Africa safe. We can engage in a variety of actions that harness professional skills, the capacity of corporate initiatives, trade unions, faith based organisations, community based groups and associations and allow each of us to do participate in building a safe South Africa.

BIG IDEA: A mass communication campaign that makes it possible for everyone to understand what is possible, to share the vision of a safe South Africa for all and enable everyone to participate in an appropriate and meaningful way.

Multiplying the Power of One is about connecting everyone in South Africa who is sad, lonely, scared, angry, depressed, pessimistic, marginalised and alienated and make them useful to each other and in so doing make us all safe together.

Crime and violence are not just policy issues - they are key concerns for all South Africans, at the most immediate and personal level. Yet when asked what they have done to improve their safety, most South Africans responded "nothing" (National Victims of Crime Survey 2007). For the few who did take action, this was limited to defensive measures like enlisting the services of private security companies to protect their homes and property. The same survey shows that collective action is as rare as individual action.

South Africans apparently hardly ever participate in organised initiatives to reduce crime, even knowledge and membership of community police forums or sector forums is low. Few people are involved in other types of neighbourhood action -whether about safety or indeed anything else.

However, anecdotal evidence, media reports and personal experience tell a different story. South Africa's history of struggle against apartheid, our vibrant civil society and media, and the daily generosity of tens of thousands of individual volunteers, suggest a deep commitment to improving the life of all in this country. The clearest recent example was the widespread public generosity towards victims of the so-called xenophobic violence in May this year (2008). There is little doubt that across the board, South Africans are willing and able to contribute towards social upliftment.

What is lacking, especially when it comes to preventing crime and violence, is a well informed, broad-based mechanism for encouraging, guiding and supporting public action aimed at creating a safe South Africa. Given this, the goals for this focus groupare:

• To change the language we use when confronting crime and violence. The current discourse concentrates on how we have failed to address these social problems in our society (by focusing on criminals and how to punish them) rather than on how we can succeed (by focusing on what every citizen can do to make the country safe).
• Crime and violence make us feel small and overwhelmed or angry and ready to retaliate - sad, resentful, aggrieved, anxious, fearful and distrustful. These are all legitimate responses, but not necessarily useful in framing our responses. The language used to mobilise people is often warrior-like: the "war against crime", "fighting crime", "striking a blow against criminals".
• The challenge is however not how to better "fight crime". Rather it is about how individuals and collectives can heal and nurture a society in which social deficiencies and deprivations mean we "grow" criminals faster than could ever be handled by the police and courts. The challenge is also about how to make South Africans excited and energised about what they have to offer, rather than expecting government to solve the problem.
• To support and guide those willing to participate in, and create new, safety initiatives.
• To offer criteria and models for "good-enough" practices and interventions
• To share successes and encourage networking
• To develop and apply indicators for measuring progress
• To make everyone useful in the process
• Through a national safety effort, to give hope to South Africans that violence can be overcome in favour of an achievable vision of a safe society for all.