Over more than ten years, we founded and led prominent organizations, managed global multi-country development programs, and worked directly across a wide range of issues and sectors in Latin America and Africa.
We launched Local South as a socially-driven company to build on this experience, developing a unique approach that supports locally driven approaches, is welcoming of complexity, and is built on connecting comparable contexts in the Global South.
Marcela Guerrero Casas was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and has lived and worked in South Africa since 2006. Marcela is a co-founder and former managing director at Open Streets Cape Town (OSCT). She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Mobility. Marcela holds a Masters in Public Administration and International Affairs from Syracuse University and has worked in policy and advocacy for over a decade.
Dustin Kramer is from Cape Town, South Africa. After leading one of the city’s key social movements for urban equality, he was awarded a research and writing fellowship by the Social Change Initiative in 2017 and then worked as a full-time international advocacy consultant coordinating a 23 country capacity building, research, and advocacy program on public financial management in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, before co-founding Local South. Dustin holds anMPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) from the University of Cape Town.
Profiles
Local South Profile in Remarkable Women in Transport
Local South was profiled in the latest edition of Remarkable Women in Transport, published by GIZ and the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).
Marcela Guerrero Casas: Cycling to open Cape Town’s streets
Profile of Marcela by the Daily Maverick
Joyful streets: with Marcela Guerrero Casas
Interview for Bicycles Transform Cities, Cities Transform the World (BYCS).
Activism and the Pandemic – 10 Global Perspectives
SCI reached out to 10 social change activists around the world to ask them to share their reflections and experience. Interview with Dustin.
La colombiana que llevó la ciclovía a Sudáfrica
Profile of Marcela by Anadolu Agency
El legado de Mandela, olvidado
Dustin was interviewed in Colombian media for this article reflecting on post-Apartheid South Africa.
Social Change Initiative
Profile and interview with Dustin at the Social Change Initiative.
What does Cape Town think about Open Streets?
Short film by Makhulu Media Productions reflecting on five years of Open Streets in Cape Town.
Lessons for Change
Profile and interview for Northern Ireland based movement with Dustin.
History of Social Auditing in South Africa
History of social auditing in South Africa, as started by the Social Justice Coalition and partners while Dustin was leading the SJC.
People’s Power | The Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry
Documentary on the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry, in which Dustin played a leading role as Deputy General Secretary of the Social Justice Coalition.
Wonder woman: Marcela Guerrero Casas
Feature about Marcela by Cape Town’s city improvement district.
We Are Capetonian Series #4: Marcela Guerrero Casas | Scalabrini
Interview with Marcela by Cape Town based NGO Scalibrini.
Dreaming of open streets: Marcela Guerrero Casas
TEDxCapeTown talk by Marcela in 2012.