TEKANO is a leadership development for health equity organisation – and one of 7 Atlantic Fellows Programme, funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies.

It is built upon a commitment to the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa. It is rooted within the principles of the Alma-Ata Declaration.

These values will be reflected not only in the content of the fellowship and alumni programs but in TEKANO’s ways of working. In particular, TEKANO is committed to:

• operate in a transparent manner
• run the fellowship and alumni programs in a participatory manner that recognises that everyone has something to teach and something to learn
• foster a culture of respect and dignity and operate with an inclusive ethos
• foster a culture of critical reflection, using critical pedagogy, quality assessment and on-going learning
• recognise leadership among fellows of diverse ages, genders, ethnicities, ‘races’, classes, locations, disciplines and backgrounds
• foster commitment to and expertise in collective leadership and change-making that weaves and facilitates well beyond the individual participating fellows
• ground the content of TEKANO’s programs in a commitment to strengthening the agency of those who are marginalised, and to
• recognise their assets and promote local ownership in the shaping of health equity initiatives.