Charmaine Smith is a freelance journalist, writer, editor and communication strategist who has been applying her skills in the academic, civil society and development sectors since the early 2000s. She provides strategic communication support to projects aimed at law and policy development and reform and often works in partnership with government departments, research units and development agencies concerned with poverty, inequality, social justice and human rights. The SALDRU programmes that Charmaine has been supporting to date are the Mandela Initiative, the Poverty & Inequality Initiative, the Youth projects (Basic Package of Support for South Africa’s Youth and the Youth Explorer), and the African Centre for Excellence in Inequality Research (ACEIR).
She has a Master in Arts: Journalism degree (cum laude) from Stellenbosch University and is a fellow of the Synergos Institute’s Leadership and Innovation Network for Collaboration in the Children’s Sector (LINC).