New year, fresh take?

The notion of a New Year has roots in many ancient cultures and rituals. In the Abrahamic traditions, it often aligns with the spring equinox where seeds were planted, it has now come to symbolise renewal and fresh starts. At Southern Hemisphere we like to think of it in those terms, as an opportunity to have a fresh start. 

But as we stand in early 2026, the question for the development and social justice sector is: Is this a true reset, or just “more of the same” under more difficult conditions? Will 2026 bring the breathing room we need for necessary work, or will we continue to battle the headwinds of a disrupted global order?

2025, the year of the chainsaw

2025 is probably forever going to be remembered as a year of major disruption to the social justice and development sector. It is unlikely that anyone reading this has forgotten but a reminder that it was in January 2025 that the Trump administration terminated the US Aid funding leaving many projects in South Africa and Africa without funding.  For many of us in South Africa and across the continent, it wasn’t just a policy change, it was a crisis.

We remember the “work stop” letters that arrived overnight. We remember the layoffs, the suspended HIV and TB programs, and the shuttered clinics. The fallout brought an unprecedented level of anxiety, leaving those doing the world’s most critical work wondering if the era of international solidarity had come to an abrupt, unceremonious end.

But in the spirit of the equinox and with the belief that change is often good, we would like to focus on some of the metamorphosis that is happening and the forced “reset” and to look at what is positive in this.

  1. Local sovereignty

We recently had a conversation with Enrique Mendizabal (OnThinkTanks) and he has always been surprised at social justice organisations as no matter where in the world they operate from, they have historically been tethered to the countries of their donors rather than the communities they serve. 

The 2025 crisis has loosened that tether. Organisations are now being forced to do what they perhaps should have done long ago and that is, embed themselves in local ecosystems. We are seeing a shift toward relationships with local business sectors and domestic philanthropies. By necessity, our work is becoming more responsive to local concerns rather than donor-driven checkboxes. 

  1. Radical Resourcefulness

These times require deep reflection on what works, they also require organisations to take ownership of their own data and adaptation. This presents an opportunity to move away from monitoring and evaluation for the donor’s sake and to really centre themselves and their partners in learning about what works best, and to focus on improving outcomes and creating meaningful change. 

  1. Innovation rising

Change often brings innovation and new ways of doing things. Carrie Ndoka,a trusted consultant in our network, recently shared a profound example of this. She learned from an introduction to an Indian team by Southern Hemisphere, about an innovation in methodology that she applied to a local project. Her team pivoted by training community members to conduct their own research. By moving away from high-cost, external consultancy models and toward community-led data collection, they didn’t just reduce costs and time, they increased the accuracy and ownership of the findings. “We have seen the light…I think that this is the way, when you put the community at the centre of research, it means as a mainstream researcher, you have to really recalibrate how you look at traditional research for you to get it right.” Carrie Ndoka, Consultant

Finding an antidote to anxiety in collaboration

We cannot ignore that 2026 begins with a lingering cloud of uncertainty. The anxiety about the future of social justice work is real, and the “headwinds” show no sign of dying down. 

But, if 2025 was the year of disruption, let 2026 be our sector’s year of connection and collaboration. We have been thinking as a team about the one thing that needs to change in 2026 and for us it is this: collaboration. We have to abandon silos and strengthen our movements for change by collaborating across borders and across sectors and across businesses. We are more resilient when we share resources, data, and emotional support. (Read our blog https://southernhemisphere.co.za/blog/facing-down-the-polycrisis-the-necessity-of-a-connected-response/ )

At Southern Hemisphere, we believe that while we cannot control the global funding taps, we can control how we show up for one another. The “reset” is here. It’s time to stop waiting for the old world to return and start building the new one together.

What steps are you taking in your organisation to collaborate? Ready to step onto the bridge, let’s talk about synthesising solutions today.