“During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation

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dc.contributor.advisorGittings, Lesley
dc.contributor.advisorNilsson, Warren
dc.contributor.authorOcholla, Diana Atieno
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-16T13:22:15Z
dc.date.available2026-01-16T13:22:15Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.updated2026-01-15T07:29:43Z
dc.description.abstractThe COVID-19 pandemic will forever be etched into the world's collective memory as a defining event of our generation as the ramifications will be felt and experienced long into the future. To understand the effects and learn from the experiences of a community organization in a pandemic, the research question for this study was ‘What are the experiences and perceived effects of a community organisation engaging in a commemorative arts-based process for social innovation during a pandemic?'. The research methodology of this study was qualitative participatory research and it was conducted in Cape Town, South Africa, with members of the Woodstock Community Action Network. Data were collected virtually from seven participants through an online meeting (n=1), one-to-one interviews (n=7), online workshops (n=5), and a focus group (n=1) from April 2021-October 2021. Although there is significant literature on collective memory, commemoration, and community mobilisation, there is limited literature on these aspects in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, South African Community Action Networks (CANs), as well as arts-based methods for commemoration and remote participatory research. The findings that emerged were presented under the following themes: 1) Addressing mental health and wellbeing challenges, 2) Empowerment within place, 3) Commemoration of the COVID-19 pandemic, 4) Heightened awareness of social inequity, and 5) Agency development through collaborative video. The significance of this research study was that it provided a means to understand what motivated community mobilisation to occur through focusing on documenting the experiences of Woodstock CAN members. In addition, the study demonstrated how the CAN as a social innovation, was already engaged in its own form of commemoration practice. Lastly, the video became a way to commemorate more tangibly and as a result, acted as social innovation tool in practicing agency and collaboration.
dc.identifier.apacitationOcholla, D. A. (2025). <i>“During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42592en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationOcholla, Diana Atieno. <i>"“During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB), 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42592en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationOcholla, D.A. 2025. “During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB). http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42592en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ocholla, Diana Atieno AB - The COVID-19 pandemic will forever be etched into the world's collective memory as a defining event of our generation as the ramifications will be felt and experienced long into the future. To understand the effects and learn from the experiences of a community organization in a pandemic, the research question for this study was ‘What are the experiences and perceived effects of a community organisation engaging in a commemorative arts-based process for social innovation during a pandemic?'. The research methodology of this study was qualitative participatory research and it was conducted in Cape Town, South Africa, with members of the Woodstock Community Action Network. Data were collected virtually from seven participants through an online meeting (n=1), one-to-one interviews (n=7), online workshops (n=5), and a focus group (n=1) from April 2021-October 2021. Although there is significant literature on collective memory, commemoration, and community mobilisation, there is limited literature on these aspects in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, South African Community Action Networks (CANs), as well as arts-based methods for commemoration and remote participatory research. The findings that emerged were presented under the following themes: 1) Addressing mental health and wellbeing challenges, 2) Empowerment within place, 3) Commemoration of the COVID-19 pandemic, 4) Heightened awareness of social inequity, and 5) Agency development through collaborative video. The significance of this research study was that it provided a means to understand what motivated community mobilisation to occur through focusing on documenting the experiences of Woodstock CAN members. In addition, the study demonstrated how the CAN as a social innovation, was already engaged in its own form of commemoration practice. Lastly, the video became a way to commemorate more tangibly and as a result, acted as social innovation tool in practicing agency and collaboration. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Commemoration KW - community mobilisation KW - COVID-19 pandemic KW - participatory research KW - arts-based methods KW - Woodstock, Cape Town KW - Community Action Network KW - collective memory LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - “During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation TI - “During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42592 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/42592
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationOcholla DA. “During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB), 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42592en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentGraduate School of Business (GSB)
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerce
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectCommemoration
dc.subjectcommunity mobilisation
dc.subjectCOVID-19 pandemic
dc.subjectparticipatory research
dc.subjectarts-based methods
dc.subjectWoodstock, Cape Town
dc.subjectCommunity Action Network
dc.subjectcollective memory
dc.title“During the pandemic, the sense of Ubuntu was fantastic”: a participatory research study commemorating community mobilisation
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMPhil
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