Climate finance & the power of youth-led innovation in Africa
When:
Wednesday, 25 January 2023 - Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Where:
Hybrid Event
Edinburgh Climate Change Institute - High School Yards Edinburgh EH1 1LZ, United Kingdom
Online link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/online-climate-finance-the-power-of-youth-led-innovation-in-africa
Join a hybrid discussion on the topic 'Climate finance and the power of youth-led innovation in Africa'.
Join the hybrid panel discussion hosted in partnership between the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program (MCF) and the Edinburgh Earth Initiative. The event is organised and hosted by MCF Scholars and will explore the impact of financing young people on climate innovations across Africa.
Panelists at the event include:
Forget Shareka, MCF UoE Alumni and Graduate Environmental Officer
Phenny Omondi, MCF UoE Scholar and Agricultural Support Program specialist at One Acre Fund-Kenya
Prof Dambala Gelo Kutela, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand
Johanna Holtan, Director of Operations, Edinburgh Earth Initiative, University of Edinburgh
(MC) Julian Mashingaidze, MCF UoE Scholar
About the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the University of Edinburgh will provide over 200 full scholarships to students from Africa with great academic and leadership potential but few educational opportunities. On top of the scholarship, the Scholars Program facilitates transformative leadership programming to inspire and support Scholars in making change in their communities and countries on their return home.
About the Edinburgh Earth Initiative
The Edinburgh Earth Initiative is accelerating the University of Edinburgh’s response to the climate crisis. Working with our academics, students, staff, and partners, we help ensure the University of Edinburgh is at the leading edge of climate research, innovation, and action.
South African National Energy Association NPC and Wits invite you to the official launch of the energy skills roadmap for South Africa
Following a few months of research, stakeholder engagement workshops and the synthetization of feedback and gap analysis, we look forward to sharing our findings, recommendations and no-regret options regarding the energy skills landscape in South Africa.
As important stakeholders in the process, we would value your attendance and invite you to mark the date in your calendar and reserve your seat for the launch event.
Sunday, 05 February 2023 - Sunday, 05 February 2023
Where:
Braamfontein Campus West DIG Fields
Start time:
10:00
Enquiries:
Check Wits email for details and to RSVP.
Congratulations! You are now a Witsie and part of the Wits family.
First Years Only!
Wits University cordially invites you to attend Welcome Day, at which first-year students will be addressed by the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, and others.
There will be entertainment available and food stalls at which refreshments can be purchased.
There will also be a few support departments available to answer any questions you may have.
Please arrive early to secure parking and avoid traffic congestion at the gates. You are welcome to use e-hailing services to be dropped off.
All first-year students are invited to attend the Welcome Day, along with their parents/guardians. Limited seating capacity is available.
Series on Breastfeeding”, examining how the marketing of commercial milk formulae for infants and young children undermines breastfeeding.
Professor Linda Richter, Wits University, is co-author of the Series. Dr Chantell Witten, University of the Western Cape, is co-author on the Commentary.
Agenda
Moderator: Dr Chantell Witten – Lead for the Infant and Young Child Feeding Advocacy Project, CoE-FS
Welcome
Professor Jose Frantz, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, UWC
SACSoWACH word of support
First Lady of South Africa Dr Tshepo Motsepe
World Health Organization global launch video
CoE-FS and CoE-HUMAN introduction
Professor Julian May (CoE-FS Director), and Justin du Toit (CoE-HUMAN Centre Manager)
Panel discussion, and Q&As
Associate Professor Tracey Naledi – Deputy Dean: Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Professor Tanya Doherty – South African Medical Research Council, and School of Public Health, UWC
Professor Linda Richter – CoE-HUMAN, and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa
Nzama Mbalati – Head: Healthy Living Alliance
Nicolette Henney – Assistant Director, Western Cape Department of Health
The Family Larsson Rosenquist Foundation (FLRF)
Dr Katharina Lichtner – Managing Director, FLRF
Presentation from the Ambassador of Switzerland to South Africa
Generating the Future: The Power of AI Language Models, presented by Professor Benjamin Rosman
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been developing for many years, but the release of ChatGPT, a powerful natural language chatbot, in November 2022 has created a global stir. Responses from educators are varied, some excited, some curious, others fearful. At Wits we recognise the need to stay informed about new technologies that could affect us as an institution and be imaginative about how we capitalise on them. This is the first of a series of webinars on AI and how we engage with it productively to enhance teaching, learning and research.
Benjamin Rosman is a Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he runs the Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence and Learning (RAIL) Laboratory and is the Director of the National E-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform (NEPTTP). He received his Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Edinburgh in the UK in 2014, and previously obtained his M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh. He also has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Applied Mathematics, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.
His research interests focus primarily on reinforcement learning and decision making in autonomous systems, specifically on how learning can be accelerated through abstracting and generalising knowledge gained from solving related problems. He is a founder and organiser of the Deep Learning Indaba machine learning summer school, with a focus on strengthening African machine learning. He was made a 2022 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, was a 2017 recipient of a Google Faculty Research Award in machine learning, and a 2021 recipient of a Google Africa Research Award. In 2020, he was made a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Generating the Future: The Power of AI Language Models by Professor Benjamin Rosman
Over the last few months, artificial intelligence has suddenly exploded into the popular consciousness at an unprecedented scale through various text and image generation models, most notably ChatGPT. These models provide users with no technical background the ability to enter a simple prompt and generate a wide range of complex outputs, from photo-realistic pictures to song lyrics, essays or computer code. The combination of being both general purpose and easy to use means that this new technology is already having an impact globally, and is expected to transform multiple industries. In this talk, I will explore the underlying ideas behind these models, discuss what they can (and can't) do, and then look at the transformative effects that they are already having, and will continue to have, on society.
Benjamin Rosman is a Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he runs the Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence and Learning (RAIL) Laboratory and is the Director of the National E-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform (NEPTTP). He received his Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Edinburgh in the UK in 2014, and previously obtained his M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh. He also has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Applied Mathematics, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.
His research interests focus primarily on reinforcement learning and decision making in autonomous systems, specifically on how learning can be accelerated through abstracting and generalising knowledge gained from solving related problems. He is a founder and organiser of the Deep Learning Indaba machine learning summer school, with a focus on strengthening African machine learning. He was made a 2022 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, was a 2017 recipient of a Google Faculty Research Award in machine learning, and a 2021 recipient of a Google Africa Research Award. In 2020, he was made a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Professor Mike Bruton will review inventions and innovations made in Africa and will make the point that this is Africa's century.
Bruton will argue that the 'stepladder of innovation', from low- to medium- to high-tech, is in good shape on the 'bright continent' and that the spirit of innovation in Africa is characterised by resilient young people who are not afraid to fail and start again.
From mompreneurs to moguls, waste pickers to fintech wizards, locust whisperers to rocket scientists, robocops to internet-enabled balloons, surfing therapy to gin flavoured with elephant dung, shweshwe cloth to microsatellites, you will be astounded by the creativity of the continent’s techpreneurs.
Part of the seminar series on Science, Society and Innovation
Join Peter Maher, Director of Alumni Relations, for a tour of campus and highlights of the University’s centenary celebrations.
Peter Maher hails from Irene, Pretoria and obtained his undergraduate degree in Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University and postgraduate degree at Wits University. He was appointed Director of Alumni Relations at Wits University in 2007 after a career spent in corporate communications and public relations including managing public relations and communications at the University of the North (now University of Limpopo) and Vista University’s Soweto Campus. He also served as Head of Publications at the Department of Education as well as Media Liaison Officer and acting spokesman for the Minister of Education prior to joining Wits. He has received numerous awards for excellence in journalism and the Wits Alumni Office has won prestigious national and international awards under his leadership. Representing Wits University to alumni around the world is a dream job for him. In 2022 he played an instrumental role in the University’s centenary celebrations and homecoming weekend and if alumni aren’t able to visit campus, he is happy to bring the campus to you through presentations and audio-visuals.
Presented by Professor Adam Tooze, Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University in New York, and Director of the European Institute.
About Prof. Adam Tooze
Prof. Adam Tooze holds the Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University in New York and serves as Director of the European Institute. He is a renowned scholar and author of several books, including Crashed, on the financial crisis of 2008, and Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy. In 2019, Foreign Policy Magazine named him one of the top global thinkers of the decade.
He has written and reviewed for the Financial Times, the Guardian, the Sunday Telegraph, the TLS, the London Review of Books, the New Left Review, the New Statesman, the Wall Streer Journal, the New York Times, the New York Review of books, Dissent, Die Zeit, Spiegel, TAZ and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Professor Tooze sees climate change as the next big threat to global stability and believes that “It is not the development aspirations of the global poor that are driving the climate crisis, but the relentless increase in the already excessive consumption of the more affluent half of the world's population and particularly that of the top 10 and top 1 percent.”
Heroes and horror stories: hands-on advice for dealing with ChatGPT and its soon-to-be-unleashed cousins presented by Martin Bekker.
There are several myths about ChatGPT, the large language model-based machine learning tool that has upended our world. The first myth is that it can be outwitted, detected or stopped; however, it will keep improving and is likely to be exponentially better by the end of 2023. The second myth is that it can "do anything," but it is simply a pattern-matching exercise and does not comprehend or understand, with several limitations-by-design. The third myth is that it spells the end of the essay or coding problem set, but it shouldn't, as it remains important to teach skills that computers cannot do. This talk will explore and explode these myths, but also discuss ways in which the use of ChatGPT has already revolutionised learning and teaching, but also reflect on where (and how) its use can go horribly wrong (practically, but also ethically).
Martin Bekker is a computational social scientist and AI ethics researcher, and lectures ethics and social science at the School of Electronic and Information Engineering. Bekker holds degrees in values studies and philosophy from Stellenbosch, Peace Studies from Bradford, Development from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from UJ. His PhD thesis was a quantitative analysis of popular protest in South Africa, using machine learning and protest event analysis. Before joining the academy, he was head of strategy and later of research at the Royal Bafokeng Administration, and served on the World Economic Forum’s advisory panel for sustainable mining and minerals. Bekker was also part of the National Lockdown/Democracy survey team, administered by UJ and the HSRC.
The purpose of this presentation is to describe the challenges and rewards of conducting research with and for youth and to discuss unique factors that investigators should consider when designing and implementing studies with young populations, including minor adolescents. Using HIV research as an example, different methods will be illustrated, and strategies for overcoming barriers to conducting research with youth will be explored. This talk may be of interest to faculty, students, researchers, and health professionals, including mental health professionals, interested in conducting youth-focused research.
Wits University is hosting a discussion on developments in the international economic and financial system and the role of central banks with Professor Adam Tooze and Governor Lesetja Kganyago. The event will be opened by the Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi; the conversation facilitated by Professor Imraan Valodia, Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality at Wits University.
The purpose of the presentation is to describe the challenges and rewards of conducting research with and for youth.
Dr Tiffany Chenneville, Marie E. and Leslie Cole Endowed Chair in Ethics and Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida will present the above on 9 March from 13:15 to 14:15 in the Len Miller Lecture Theatre, Department of General Surgery, 9th Floor, Faculty of Health Sciences Her talk will also discuss unique factors that investigators should consider when designing and implementing studies with young populations, including minor adolescents. Using HIV research as an example, different methods will be illustrated, and strategies for overcoming barriers to conducting research with youth will be explored. This talk may be of interest to faculty, students, researchers, and health professionals, including mental health professionals, interested in conducting youth-focused research
Join the SA UK Bilateral Chair in Political Theory at a SA Lunchtime Lecture with Professor Tshepo Madlingozi.
Social Movement Struggles for Decolonisation and (re)Constitution from Below: Abahlali base Mjondolo’s strivings against Pariahdom
Pariahdom
Pariahdom is a constitutive and foundational settler colonial condition that confines indigenous people, historically enslaved people, and other oppressed people to lived experiences of unhomeliness, homelessness, rootlessness, namelessness, and ultimately worldlessness. Professor Madlingozi’s talk is part of the global south contribution to social movement scholarship with the aim of demonstrating that in historically settler colonial settings beyond classic claims for recognition and/or distribution, many movements are engaged in everyday decolonization struggles against pariahdom. Abahlali base Mjondolo (the Shack-dwellers Movement of South Africa) serves as a case study.
BIO: Professor Tshepo Madlingozi is the Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at WITS University, and an Associate Professor at the School of Law of the same University where he teaches Social Justice and Human Rights. He holds Master’s degrees in both Law and Sociology, and he received his PhD degree from Birkbeck, University of London. He is a Research Associate at the Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education at Nelson Mandela University, a Visiting Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a Faculty Member of the Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights.
You can join us for the talk in person at the Humanities Grad Centre’s Seminar Room at 12 noon or you can attend virtually by registering through this link: http://bit.ly/3KW5Noz
This workshop is hosted by theWits Optics Student Chapter, Stellenbosch Laser Student Chapter, the Optica Foundation, and Google.
Learn more about submarine and terrestrial fibre communication – the backbone of the internet. Speakers include industry experts from Google, Infinera, and Alcatel Submarine Networks. The workshop is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students, educators, and academics. The aim of the workshop is to learn the basics of submarine and terrestrial fibre communication networks in South Africa, as well as how these fibre networks make cloud computing possible. Two similar workshops will take place: one at Wits University on 18 April 2023, followed by a second in Stellenbosch on 20 April 2023. Registration closes on 1 April 2023. Click here to register. Click here for more information.
Internationally acclaimed Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble presents its first public performance for 2023 at the recently opened Chris Seabrooke Hall at Wits.
The performance is at 15:00 on Sunday 2 April; free parking is available outside the Wits Theatre and on the second floor of the Solomon Mahlangu parking basement. Booking is already open at Quicket and tickets are selling with great speed!
The programme features:
Symphony no 1 - Joseph Boulogne, le Chevalier St Georges (the “Black Mozart”)
Romance & Scherzo - Sergei Rachmaninov (written when he was 17)
Brandenburg Concerto No 3 - Johann Sebastian Bach
Octet in Eb major Opus 20: first movement - Felix Mendelssohn (written when he was 16)
Kwela and Afro-pop, featuring vocalists Cecelia Manyama and Mathapelo Matabane
We respectfully request no children under the age of 7.
Buskaid provides young people from Diepkloof with unparalleled possibilities to uplift themselves from an environment of poverty and unemployment. The transformation of young people who enter the programme is dramatic: many come from difficult home circumstances and are shy and troubled; but they recognise that this environment will enable them to change the course of their lives and futures. These benefits also extend to their general education where, because of improved self-esteem, reading and motor skills, their confidence is boosted; and they begin to show marked improvement not only at school but also in their lives.
Just think of all of these elements when you experience them playing Rachmaninov, Mendelssohn, Bach and Boulogne, as well as, of course Kwela, on Sunday 2 April. The acoustics of this charming new venue, designed by Ivan Lin, are already attracting admiration in the music world, and Buskaid’s unique and beautiful sound resonates magnificently in this delightful space. You deserve to be in the presence of this special gem of a concert!
Seating at R200 is unreserved; tickets are selling fast! Please visit Quicket to secure yours as quick as you can! If you are keen to attend but are unable to do so on the Sunday, Buskaid is hosting the same concert at this venue on Saturday 1 April at 17:00 where limited seats may be available. Please call 011 442 6966 to let us know.
Join the 2023 Wits Concert Series in the newly built Wits Chris Seabrooke Music Hall, a state-of-the-art recital hall with world-class acoustics.
Leading British violinist Rupert Marshall-Luck and South African pianist Peter Cartwright will perform on 4 April at 19:00. This concert, which follows two successful South African tours in 2019 and 2020, features a programme of music from the classical repertoire and the English and South African musical canons. Two major sonatas by Mozart and Brahms are contrasted with works by English composer Frederick Delius and piano works by South African composer Alexander Johnson.
British violinistRupert Marshall-Luckhas appeared at major festivals and venues throughout the UK as well as in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. His extensive discography includes many World Première recordings as well as conspectuses of the complete music for violin and piano of Herbert Howells and C. Hubert H. Parry; and his solo performances have been frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3, ABC Classic FM (Australia), RTÉ (Ireland), SABC (South Africa), Radio Suisse Romande (Switzerland), and in Canada, France, New Zealand and the USA. His recordings have attracted glowing critical acclaim from the international musical press, including BBC Music Magazine, Classica, Fanfare, Gramophone, MusicWeb International and The Strad.
Pianist Peter Cartwright has performed at numerous festivals and concert venues in South Africa, as well as in Zimbabwe, Botswana and the USA. He holds a strong commitment to performing South African music, and has recorded works by Andile Khumalo, Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, Carlo Mombelli, Conrad Asman, Hendrik Hofmeyr, Musa Nkuna, Alexander Johnson, and Merryl Neille. Recent projects include the African Bird album with Flautist Khanyisile Mthetwa which won two 2022 South African Music Awards (SAMAS) for best classical/instrumental album and best newcomer, and an album titled The Dusk of Day – a collection of African art songs from around the continent. In 2021 Peter was the pianist for the world premiere video recording of Carl Czerny’s Nonette.
Peter currently serves on the practical staff of the music department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He holds a PhD from the same university where he studied with Prof Malcolm Nay and Pauline Nossel.
Showcasing the expertise at the University of Dundee and the University of the Witwatersrand
The University of Dundee in Scotland and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa have come together to explore opportunities for collaboration in the areas of drug development and novel drug delivery platforms. Both universities have a strong basic and translational research programs that are highly innovative and complimentary. In 2021, Dundee was the number one university in the UK Research Excellence Framework in life sciences and has particular expertise in growing companies in the life sciences. Wits is a leading University on the African continent with a major focus on solving health challenges through the development of new drugs and vaccines. We invite you to this seminar to learn about new scientific approaches to tackling infectious diseases afflicting Africa.
ChatGPT and other Large Language Models provide both challenges and opportunities for learning and teaching in universities. In this webinar we will look at some differences between human and machine learning and their implications for teaching and assessment. We argue that we can draw on ChatGPT in teaching and assessment to promote student learning and give examples of how we have done so. While ChatGPT can help us to think more carefully about teaching and assessment, and whether our approaches are fit-for-purpose, the expertise of human lecturers remains central in making decisions about what to use ChatGPT for and how to use it.
Karin Brodie is a Professor in the Curriculum Division at the Wits School of Education, and formerly Head of School. She researches the intersections between teaching and learning in schools and Higher Education, focusing on collaborative learning and learners’ identities. She teaches on the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (Higher Education).
Laura Dison is an Associate Professor in the Curriculum Division at the Wits School of Education and Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Humanities. She is the Co-coordinator of the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (Higher Education) and is Academic Coordinator of the School of Education Writing Centre.
Seeing the invisible with quantum ghosts - Conventional imaging is achieved with conventional opticsand has remained more or less unchanged for centuries.
The Wits Theatre and Wits School of Art's Music Department present Motswako the Mix.
The music performance showcases the best of the Wits Music Department’s classical and jazz musicians from the Foundation programme, and first years through to post-graduate students.
Student musicians are selected following a rigorous audition round judged by the music performance staff. This ensures that the best students are part of the concert, with extensive preparation and rehearsals guaranteeing a high standard of performance across two major musical genres.
This concert provides a professional platform for these students to engage with a responsive public audience. It also serves as a showcase for the young talent and high standard of teaching provided at Wits University, encouraging potential young audience members to find out more about possible careers in music.
The Wits Theatre and Wits School of Art's Music Department present Motswako the Mix.
The music performance showcases the best of the Wits Music Department’s classical and jazz musicians from the Foundation programme, and first years through to post-graduate students.
Student musicians are selected following a rigorous audition round judged by the music performance staff. This ensures that the best students are part of the concert, with extensive preparation and rehearsals guaranteeing a high standard of performance across two major musical genres.
This concert provides a professional platform for these students to engage with a responsive public audience. It also serves as a showcase for the young talent and high standard of teaching provided at Wits University, encouraging potential young audience members to find out more about possible careers in music.
The Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth is supported by The Wits School of Arts, National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Amandla Freedom Ensemble led by Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2019 Mandla Mlangeni, will once again bring The Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth to the stage, and reimagine jazz through the lens of poetry, classical musings and the ‘black consciousness’ legacy in South Africa.
The collaborative endeavour will culminate in an album launch and grand performance of Jozi’s strongest forces within the jazz, classical and indigenous music scene. The Oratorio will be performed at The Wits Great Hall in Johannesburg on 27 May, and features The Brother Moves The Vivacious Sounds Choir, acclaimed sand artist Tawanda Mu Afrika, esteemed academic, pianist and scholar Yonela Mnana and a libretto by award winning poet and theatre practitioner, Lesego Rampolokeng.
“Our foray into the classical world is an opportunity to give voice to new expression within the structural confines of Western Art, while also drawing from the deep well of indigenous music by creating cultural avenues that allow for audiences to tap into new and unimagined worlds”, says Mlangeni. The production, commemorating the June 16 and Fees Must Fall events through a musical and theatrical narrative, reflects the turbulence that South Africa finds itself in.
The seemingly disjointed genre of arts is attractive in its audacity to re-imagine a cutting edge jazz ensemble paired with The Resonance Strings - Johannesburg’s premiere string quartet - and the Vivacious Sounds Choir. One is bound to be drawn to the boldness of the project in that it will create new and interesting narratives, juxtaposed with choral renditions of the struggles of our past, while swinging through the perplexities of our present day and cementing the foundations of our future.
The Yebo Gogga Yebo amaBlomo exhibition is a unique annual Johannesburg event that brings animals and plants together under one roof complete with tailor-made talks from experts, making it a fun and educational experience for kids and nature lovers of all ages. Every year the theme of the exhibition changes to reveal interesting information about the inhabitants of our planet. This year the theme is Beat the Heat and speaks to the topic of climate change. Beat the Heat explores how plants and animals cope with heat, and how climate change is impacting science and society. Are you doing your bit to ensure we thrive?
Since its launch Yebo Gogga has proved to be a success with over 8 000 visitors and 26 schools flocking to the show annually. The interactive exhibition provides an educational and social outreach service to the Gauteng community by addressing shortfalls in teaching life sciences at schools by means of the provision of live animals and plants which form an interactive framework round a theme and thus an educational situation for learners that is not encountered in the classroom.
2023 Reflective Conversations: Looking back on the history and impact of the Targeting Talent Programme (TTP)
The Targeting Talent Programme is in its 17th and final year of implementation, and will end in December 2023. During the course of the year, Student Equity and Talent Management Unit (SETMU) will be hosting a series of Reflective Conversations with various stakeholders and role-players, in which they take stock of the successes and accomplishments of the programme, and discuss ways in which the continued impact of the programme could be ensured in the future. The first Reflective Conversation will consider the role of educator development in facilitating access to higher education. In conversation with SETMU Director, Dr Zena Richards, will be Marissa Rollnick - Professor Emeritus in Science Education, Professor Eunice Nyamupangedengu - Director of the Marang Group for Research in Maths and Science Education, Professor Craig Pournara - Director of the Wits Maths Connect Secondary Project – WMCS, Dr Thabisile Nkambule - Assistant Dean: Teaching and Learning – Humanities and Dr Jacques Du Plessis -Mathematics Education.
Join the remarkable storyteller, activist, and poet for a day of creative writing and performances in celebration of Africa Month.
Ferus is a celebrated cultural icon and her work reflects on the social and political, paying particular tribute to her own Khoisan heritage. One of her most revered works is the poem I've Come to Take You Home, which pays tribute to Khoisan woman Sarah Baartman who was taken out of South Africa under false pretences, exploited and paraded at a freak show in Europe in the 1800s.
This Africa Month event is hosted by the Department of Creative Writing, Narrative Enquiry for Social Transformation (NEST) and the School of Literature, Language and Media.
A duo of fearless females, Maria du Toit and Vera Kooper radiate positive energy and absolute joy in music making.
Maria du Toit – clarinet
South African born clarinettist Maria Du Toit is widely regarded as one of her home country’s finest instrumentalists. Having been the solo principal clarinettist of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa) for 13 years, she currently lives in the Netherlands where she is pursuing a solo and chamber music career. Critics have described her playing as ‘sensational’ and ‘astonishing’, and often compliment her flawless intonation, baffling technique, and mellifluous tone.
Du Toit has won numerous competitions, awards, and prizes both in her home country and abroad - among which, first prize in the international clarinet competition ’Jeunesses Musicales’ in Bucharest. Du Toit studied at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in solo clarinet playing cum laude and a performer’s licentiate from the University of South Africa with highest honours. She subsequently studied at the Manhattan School of Music (USA) with David Krakauer, the Utrecht Conservatoire (Netherlands) with Bas de Jong, and at the Sofia Music Academy (Bulgaria) with Petko Radev. She is a respected clarinet teacher herself, having served as clarinet lecturer on the faculty of the University of Stellenbosch for well over a decade. Her expertise is also in demand internationally, as she has given lectures, master classes and workshops in Germany, the USA, Greece, the Netherlands, and South Africa.Du Toit can be heard as soloist and chamber musician on stages across Europe, the USA and South Africa. She has released three albums and received a South African Music Award (SAMA) nomination for her album ‘Luminous Shade’ with acclaimed pianist Nina Schumann. Her double cd of the complete clarinet concerti by Louis Spohr with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Arjan Tien has received numerous rave reviews. Her artistry has inspired composers to dedicate clarinet works to her, including two concerti - by composers David Earl and Roelof Temmingh. In 2023 Maria will give the world première of Roelof Temmingh’s concerto in Johannesburg, as well as perform the concerto by David Earl with the Fort Collins Symphony (USA) during the 50th anniversary of the annual international event ClarinetFest, to which she has been invited to appear as headline artist. Maria du Toit is an official Backun artist as well as a Silverstein Inspiring Pro.
Vera Kooper - Piano
Dutch pianist Vera Kooper has been described as a "sensitive and expressive performer, with impressive instrumental control and all-out dedication, capable of transforming each performance into a poetic, moving artistic experience”.
Vera started playing the piano at the age of six and joined the young talent class of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague (the Netherlands) at the age of thirteen, where she studied in the class of Russian piano pedagogue Kamilla Bystrova. She continued her education with David Kuyken and graduated with honours in 2011. She then moved to Austria to study with George Kern at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, where she received her Soloist Diploma in 2015. Additionally she worked with Konstantin Bogino in the ‘Corso di Alto Perfezionamento’ at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Bergamo (Italy) and received coaching and musical advice from the legendary American pianist Stephen Kovacevich in London, who describes her as “an unusually gifted and interesting artist.”
At the age of sixteen Vera won the second prize at the International Steinway Competition in Amsterdam. In 2007 and 2008 she was awarded top prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours in the Netherlands, both as a soloist and with her duo partner violinist Emmy Storms. These successes resulted in many concert engagements in the Netherlands and abroad.
In 2013 Vera co-founded the Delta Piano Trio, with violinist Gerard Spronk and cellist Irene Enzlin. The trio won numerous awards and prizes, including 1st prizes at the Stasys Vainiunas International Chamber Music Competition in Lithuania, the Salieri-Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Italy, the Orlando International Chamber Music Competition in The Netherlands and the Orpheus Chamber Music Competition in Switzerland.With about 50 concerts each season they have performed extensively in Europe, Russia, China, Korea, Indonesia and the United States. In 2017 they released their debut CD with works by Sergei Taneyev and Alexander Borodin for Naxos Records. Their second CD, The Mirror with Three Faces, with works by Lera Auerbach and Dmitri Shostakovich, produced by Odradek Records, was released in 2018 to great international acclaim. In 2020 they were awarded the “Kersjesprijs”, the most prestigious chamber music award in The Netherlands.
Highlights of the past seasons include a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, residencies at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the Davos Festival, a collaboration with violist Nobuko Imai. In 2020, Vera released her first solo CD, called “Hope”, with works by Beethoven and Corigliano and toured the Netherlands with tv-presenter Floris Kortie and “Het jaar 250 na Beethoven”, a theatre production about the life and piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Sören Hermansson is internationally known as a performer, recording artist and educator. He studied in Stockholm, Amsterdam and West-Berlin( Karajan-Academy) and has held orchestral positions in Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Since 1988, Sören Hermansson has devoted his time to his solo career and teaching. His performances has brought him to North and South America,South Africa and to several countries in Europe.
He has been teaching at Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg,
Ingesund School of Music, Guest professor at University of Wisconsin, Madison, and between 1999-2006 Horn Professor at School of Music, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
He has given Masterclasses all over the US, in Europe, and is a frequent guest in Brazil.
Sören Hermansson has commissioned and premièred a considerable amount of repertoire for horn (around 70 works). In addition, he has record many of these works and for that has received wide critical acclaim. Among the world première recordings, you can find Horn concertos by Anders Eliasson, Folke Rabe, Pehr-Henrik Nordgren and a TV-production of the Bengt Hambreus Horn concerto.
Among his recordings are also two CDs on the BIS label, with original music for Horn and Harp, together with harpist Erica Goodman.
Lately, Sören Hermansson is now focusing on commissioning new works for Horn and Electronics. Composers like Marie Samuelsson, Leilei Tian, Per Mårtensson, Joakim Sandgren, Åke Parmerud, Marcus Fjellström, Fredrik Olofsson, Tommy Zwedberg a o are writing for him.
His latest CD: HORN & SOUND features music for Horn and Electronics.
Ivo Nilsson was educated at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and at IRCAM in Paris. In 1989 he made his debute as a soloist with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and as a composer with an Octet premiered by the Ensemble L’Itinéraire at Radio France.
Ever since his music has been performed by ensembles such as the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Cantus, DuoEgo, Either/Or, Ensemble Reconsil, Ensemble Son, International Ensemble Modern Akademie, KammarensembleN, Kammerensemble Neue Music Berlin, Kwartludium, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Orchestre des Flûtes Français, Orchestrutopica, Slowind and Vertixe Sonora.
And at festivals like the Biennale di Venezia, Chiffren festival (Kiel), Chigiana (Siena), EMUfest (Rome), Enescu festival (Bucarest), Gaudeamus Music Days (Amsterdam), Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival, Ilhom (Tashkent), IRCAM, Musica (Strasbourg), New York City Electroacoustic Music festival, EMUfest (Rom), Roaring Hoofs (Mongolia), 2 Days and 2 Nights (Odessa), Sonorities (Belfast), Spazio Musica (Cagliari), Spectra (Tirana), Time of music (Viitasaari), Ultima (Oslo), Warsaw Automn and the ISCM World Music Days in Hong-Kong, Stockholm and Zagreb.
He is a member of the ensembles Axelsson & Nilsson-duo, MA and KammarensembleN and a frequent guest in ensembles such as Klangforum and Ensemble Modern. And he is a recording artist on the labels Alice, Ariadne, BMG, Caprice, Chamber sound, DBP, Phono Suecia, SFZ & Wergo.
Ivo Nilsson was the artistic director of the Stockholm New Music festival in 2003 & 2005.
In 2007 he was awarded the Interpreters price from the Society of Swedish Composers.
In 2017 he was elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
The Amandla Freedom Ensemble led by Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2019 Mandla Mlangeni, will once again bring The Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth.
The collaborative endeavour will culminate in an album launch and grand performance of Jozi's strongest forces within the jazz, classical and indigenous music scene. The Oratorio features The Brother Moves, The Vivacious Sounds Choir, acclaimed sand artist Tawanda Mu Afrika, esteemed academic, pianist and scholar Yonela Mnana and a libretto by award winning poet and theatre practitioner, Lesego Rampolokeng.
The Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth is supported by The Wits School of Arts, National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. This creative pairing seeks to be the springboard for the production and execution of bold new ideas of reimagining spaces for creative discourse.
Themed Accelerating AfCFTA. Voices of youth, social enterprises and businesses, this event is hosted by the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into effect on 1 January 2021, bringing about the dawn of a new era where goods can move freely across the continent. The event will explore the acceleration of the AfCFTA in the context of Pan Africanism as the foundation to take Africa forward and address our current challenges.
This aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 plans to integrate the continent based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the visions of Africa’s renaissance. This is praiseworthy and warrants rallying the youth to back this movement and fully make use of the opportunities that this free trade agreement brings. Highlighting such initiatives and accomplishments, especially during Africa Month, is essential for the #AfricaWeWant.
The event is hosted by CAPSI in partnership with the Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF-SADC), Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS), Africa Philanthropy Network (APN).
This public lecture will allow the interested academic community and greater public to have an insight into the world of facial comparison and its applications. The lecture will focus on recent studies validating it for use in a
forensic setting and the future directions of the field.
All interested parties are welcome.
About Nicholas Bacci:
Dr Nicholas Bacci is a Lecturer under the Morphological Anatomy Division in the School of Anatomical Sciences, at Wits University.
He is also a part of the Human Variation and Identification Research Unit. He holds a PhD in Anatomy, in the field of craniofacial identification, specialising in facial comparison, and morphological analysis. While trained broadly in anatomy, biological anthropology and bone histology, his primary focus is on forensic applications. He originally conducted research on the effects of high impulse currents to animal and human bone, as well as testing the efficacy of the use of the sternum as a tool for age estimation. He also has been involved in a series of medical and forensic case studies of skeletal and cadaveric nature.
Through his PhD work and current research, he published a series of manuscripts testing and validating forensic facial comparison. As part of this work, he has collaboratively established the Wits Face Database, the first large-scale matched, high-resolution photograph and multimodal CCTV recording database involving male African participants. He is actively involved in further research in craniofacial identification, high energy skeletal diagenesis (including thermal and electrical), as well as anatomical terminology.
He is a member of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA), Charted Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS), International Association of Craniofacial Identification (IACI), and the Anatomical Association of Southern Africa (ASSA) and currently serves on the ASSA terminology committee.
Themed Towards an inclusive higher education system, the programme offers discussions and performances.
This year's Africa Day celebrations by the Faculty of Humanities will focus on ways to foster strategic partnerships that highlight a respectful approach towards cultural diversity as the foundation for sharing ideas that will empower and encourage growth in Africa. View the programme.
A seminar hosted by the Wits Pro Vice-Chancellor for Climate, Sustainability and Inequality, Prof. Imraan Valodia, and the UNRISD, Katja Hujo and Maggie Carter
You are cordially invited to attend the launch of Mokgomana: The Life of John Kgoana Nkadimeng, 1927-2020 by Peter Delius and Daniel Sher.
Nkadimeng was a prominent anti-apartheid activist and trade unionist in South Africa. He joined the African Tobacco Workers' Union and became a shop steward in 1949. He was involved in various political activities, including the Defiance Campaign and the ANC, and was charged with treason in 1956 but acquitted in 1961. Nkadimeng faced imprisonment, detention, and banning orders during his activism. He later served as the general secretary of SACTU and advocated for the formation of COSATU.
Nkadimeng was also a member of the South African Communist Party and served as an ambassador to Cuba. He received numerous awards for his lifelong dedication to the struggle against apartheid. Nkadimeng passed away in Johannesburg in 2020.
A colloquium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of SACOS, which played an important role in establishing non-racial sport in South Africa.
Hosted by the Wits History Workshop and the friends of SACOS, the two-day colloquium aims to highlight new and existing research and publications, and hopefully inspire further work to be undertaken on this neglected history. View the programme.
SACOS was launched in March 1973 at the height of apartheid but also as new liberation movements were beginning to emerge, especially among black students and workers. It became the undisputed sports wing of the liberation movement, mobilizing communities across the country behind its rallying slogan: No Normal Sport in an Abnormal Society!.
With a principled commitment to non-racialism, it actively mobilized for the exclusion of white sport from international sporting bodies, which was a central plank in the international campaign to boycott apartheid. Locally, SACOS was instrumental in exposing the fallacy of multi-racial sport by staunchly opposing the Nationalist Party’s efforts to create the impression of normal sport in the country, even as millions of black people were rising up against the racist system.
Equally important was SACOS’ role in building grassroots sports across the country. At its height in the 1980s, more than a million people participated in numerous sports codes under its banner, from primary and high schools to communities in urban and rural areas. Behind this success was a multitude of volunteers, often women, who ensured the regular organization of sports in poorly-resourced schools and communities. The extent of grassroots sports in this period was unprecedented and remarkable, especially considering the socio-political challenges faced by the black majority.
Despite these achievements, SACOS was rendered marginal at the dawn of democracy. The speed at which the unification of sport was undertaken during the negotiations process and as constitutive of the rainbow nation project, as well as the growing emphasis on elite and professional sport left little room for the ethos and practices that defined SACOS. Three decades later sports in poor schools and communities are almost non-existent.
Although SACOS played a prominent role in the liberation struggle, there remains a dearth of research and publications on the non-racial sports movement. Fortunately, over the past few years some former SACOS members have published books on aspects of non-racial sport, adding to a small but impressive collection of critical histories of sport by academics. Clearly, much more needs to be done to do justice to the rich history of SACOS.
Shell Structures: Theory and Application by Professor Mitchell Gohnert book launch
You are invited to attend the launch of Shell Structures: Theory and Application by Professor Mitchell Gohnert on 31 July 2023. Gohnert is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Africa and as a Chartered Engineer in the United Kingdom. He is a full professor in Structural Engineering and former Head of School at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wits University. Shell structures are incorporated into some of the most iconic structures around the world, such as cathedrals, mosques, government buildings and sports arenas. Biological forms are never square or angular, but are curved, and composed of shells and tubes. This book provides a complete picture of shell theory and is written in an accessible style ideal for students in civil and mechanical engineering, as well as practicing structural engineers looking for a reference on shells. It takes place at 13:00 in Room H6, Ground Floor, Hillman Building, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Professor Jes Broeng, Director of the DTU entrepreneurship, will deliver the month's Science, Society and Innovation Lecture.
The Open Entrepreneurship programme is a successful entrepreneurship programme running across all Danish universities, where the aim is to spin-out more deep technology firms.
The central element is integration of external entrepreneurs directly at the research labs – and to form a common entrepreneurial corps to be shared across academic institutions.
To date, the project has led to the establishment of over 50 new companies and increased the knowledge surrounding the commercialisation of research amongst hundreds of students and researchers. The programme now forms the backbone of a thriving entrepreneurial community across all Danish universities and has sparked significant political interest at both national and European level.
In this talk, Professor Jes Broeng will share his experience from developing the programme, including important evidence for the open approach to entrepreneurship and (some of) the practical barriers in bringing a new approach to technology transfer, of both psychological and political nature.
Finally, Broeng will give insights to how the programme inspired a new executive educational programme on Startup Boards at the Technical University of Denmark. Within a short period, this has become a flagship programme within life-long learning and a successful means to strengthen deep-tech startups as well as to rethink corporate innovation models.
About Professor Jes Broeng
Broeng is a serial entrepreneur, professor and director of DTU Entrepreneurship, has a PhD from DTU and has co-authored more than 250 scientific publications, one textbook and holds 22 patents.
His expertise is in innovation and translation of technology from universities to society. Broeng has extensive experience in basic and applied research, business development, high-tech sales (US, Europe, and Asia), IPR and licensing, and early-stage investments.
About the Science, Society and Innovation Lecture Series
Hosted by Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, and the new Wits Innovation Centre (WIC), the Lecture Series aims to bring great minds from around the world to share their experiences and expertise to stimulate knowledge creation and enhance innovation in all of its many facets at Wits University. Learn more about the WIC: https://www.wits.ac.za/innovation/wits-innovation-centre/
The Wits DVC for Research and Innovation, Prof. Lynn Morris, invites you to the Science, Society and Innovation lecture series.
SPEAKER: Dr Simon Travers (Co-Founder & CEO: Hyrax Biosciences)
Topic: Spinning out science from academia to business: our journey, lessons learned, and would we do it again?!
Hyrax Biosciences is a software company that started life in an academic laboratory at the University of the Western Cape that was focused on HIV research. Initially, the founders were never focused on commercialisation, preferring to remain in academia. However, a fortuitous encounter with the technology transfer office at UWC in 2013 started a journey which resulted in the establishment of the company in 2015 and it’s complete exodus from academia in 2019. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength scaling its product offerings, team and reach to partnering with a number of multinational biotech companies and being the software of choice for a range of sequencing-based diagnostic assays across a range of applications from infectious diseases (HIV, TB, SARS-CoV-2) and beyond.
In this talk, co-founder and CEO, Simon Travers will describe Hyrax Bioscience’s journey over the last number of years, lessons and pitfalls experienced along the way and provide insight and learnings on what they would have done differently and what the future looks like.
The Centre for Deaf Studies marks its jubilee with a diverse programme for all.
The Centre for Deaf Studies at Wits University is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in September with a month long programme featuring a range of activities including panel discussions and social events. All events are open to people of different abilities. The Centre is the only one of its kind in Africa, and is recognised by the South African Department of Higher Education as a Centre for Excellence.
An integral component the celebration is the Deaf Culture, Performance and Art programme from 25 September to 30 September 2023. The main cultural event on Friday, 29 September features Handspeak, Deaf Korean performers, as well as South African Deaf artists and films by Deaf artists. Tickets are available via Quickets.
The Handspeak Korean Deaf Performers, a remarkable ensemble based in South Korea, defy conventional notions of artistic expression and communication. Comprised of talented individuals living with varying degrees of hearing impairment, this tight-knit troupe utilises sign language, expressive facial gestures, body movement, and music to convey compelling stories and emotions. Their performances span an array of genres, from contemporary dance to theater and multimedia installations, all without uttering a single word. Through their innovative and emotive work, the Handspeak Korean Deaf Performers challenge stereotypes surrounding the deaf community and demonstrate the profound potential for human expression beyond the constraints of traditional language. This extraordinary ensemble has received widespread recognition for their groundbreaking contributions to the arts and their advocacy for inclusivity.
Saturday, 30 September continues with the theme of social interaction.
An afternoon concert with the Wits Trio: leading South African musicians Zanta Hofmeyr – violin, Susan Mouton – cello, and Malcolm Nay – piano.
Founded in 2012 with their inaugural concert at Wits, The Wits Trio has performed for audiences throughout South Africa at major concert series and festivals ever since.
Join us as they return to the newly built Chris Seabrooke Music Hall for a programme featuring three trios: Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Opus 49, Shostakovich’s Piano Trio Opus 67, and Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph’s Wits Trio Tribute, written specifically for this ensemble, and premiered 10 years ago at Wits.
Mendelssohn’s first piano trio was completed in 1839 and was immediately praised by his contemporary Robert Schumann after hearing its premiere. The work has remained popular ever since. It is laid out on a large scale in four movements with virtuosic piano writing matched by lyrical melodies in the cello and violin.
Shostakovich was a hugely important composer of the Soviet Era and one of the few artistic luminaries of the time to survive his political opposition to Stalin. The Piano Trio in E minor was written towards the end of the Second World War with a similar spirit in mind. It was completed shortly after the death of Ivan Sollertinsky, a close friend of Shostakovich, who was a musicologist and scholar.
The Wits Trio Tribute was written in 2013 by Wits Professor Emeritus and leading South African composer Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph. It was performed by the trio for her retirement concert in 2013.
The lecture will revisit the question of oceanic unfreedom in relation to our accelerating climate crisis. Prof Anrith asks how histories of mobility and immobility in the Indian Ocean world can give us new vocabularies, and new insights, to bring to bear on the question of climate justice.
The Concussion Awareness Training Tool: Practical and Ethical Considerations
Experts will present an update on sport related concussion.
Presented by Dr Shelina Babul, University of British Columbia, and Professor Jon Patricios, Sports and Exercise Medicine, Wits Sport and Health (WiSH). click here to register.
THE INAUGURAL WITS VICE-CHANCELLOR’S MUSIC CONCERT
Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, hosts this musical extravaganza entrenched in artistic talent and creative research, as Wits University enters its second century of excellence.
Expect kaleidoscopic sounds from renowned and critically acclaimed artists.
First up isvocal sensation LESEDI MASELA, a bass baritone opera singer, accompanied by ANDREW DUNCAN, an experienced pianist and piano teacher skilled in collaborative and solo piano performance and research.
Gracing the stage next is the duo CARA STACEY and MPHO MOLIKENG. Stacey, PhD, is a musician (piano and southern African musical bows), composer, musicologist and 2021 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music awardee. Lesotho-born Molikeng is a multi-faceted artist – curator, actor, poet, painter, and cultural activist – who plays several African instruments including Lesiba, Mamokhorong, Setolotolo, Mbira, and Thomo.
After that sound scene, it’s time for MOMBELLI’S CHAMBER with Wits’ own Carlo Mombelli, a critically acclaimed and world-renowned bassist, composer, and educator in Wits Music, Wits School of Arts. He’s joined by Kyle Shepherd, an award-winning jazz pianist and film composer. Sisonke Xonti, a celebrated saxophonist and the 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz is on bass clarinet; and on drums is Jonno Sweetman, an eminent drummer for the likes of Karen Zoid and Albert Frost.
Rounding off this aural soundscape is the KHAYA MAHLANGU BAND featuring jazz giant Khaya Mahlangu, a Soweto-born jazz composer and saxophonist; Mandla Mlangeni, a Capetonian jazz musician and trumpeter; KwaZulu-Natal’s Sanele Phakati, a pianist and composer; Durban bassist, Dalisu Ndlazi;and Durban drummer, Sphiwe Shiburi.
This is star-studded special evening in a state-of-the-art music hall is not to be missed! Tickets R250 at Webtickets. Extremely limited!
Expect kaleidoscopic sounds from renowned and critically acclaimed artists.
First up is LESEDI MASELA, a bass baritone opera singer, accompanied by pianist ANDREW DUNCAN.
They’re followed by musicologist CARA STACEY and multi-faceted artist MPHO MOLIKENG.
Then MOMBELLI’S CHAMBER take to the stage with Wits’ own Carlo Mombelli, and Kyle Shepherd, Sisonke Xonti, and Jonno Sweetman.
Rounding off this aural soundscape is the KHAYA MAHLANGU BAND featuring Khaya Mahlangu, Mandla Mlangeni, Sanele Phakati, Dalisu Ndlazi, and Sphiwe Shiburi.
The Holberg Prize and The Innovation Foundation for Democracy present: The South Africa Conversations, 2023.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Holberg Prize, a series of events in Johannesburg from 1 to 3 November are co-hosted by the Holberg Prize and the Innovation Foundation for Democracy.
Summary:
Keynotes by 2022 Holberg Laureate Professor Sheila Jasanoff, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, and Professor Achille Mbembe, Director or the Innovation Foundation for Democracy, University of the Witwatersrand. They will be joined by key academics and research stakeholders in discussion of important technological, political and societal changes of our time.
Livestream: Each event will be livestreamed. Please see the event pages for streaming links.
Organisers:
The Holberg Prize is one of the largest international research prizes awarded to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the arts and humanities, social science, law or theology. The Prize is worth NOK 6 million (EUR 600,000). The Prize was established by the Norwegian Parliament in 2003. It is funded by the Norwegian government and administered by the University of Bergen, Norway.
The recipient of the 2024 Holberg Prize will be announced on March 14. The award ceremony will take place on June 7, 2024 in Bergen, Norway. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 award. To learn more about the Holberg Prize and how to nominate candidates, please visit holbergprize.org.
The Innovation Foundation for Democracy is an initiative that was established in 2022. The Foundation aims to rejuvenate democracy in Africa, particularly amongst young people, through research and training initiatives and innovative democratic projects. The Foundation is hosted by the Wits University, from where it serves the continent.
The Wits School of Arts, Fine Arts Department presents NEWWORK23
The Fine Arts Department at the Wits School of Arts presents NEWWORK23, an exhibition of work by young artists in fulfilment of a BA Fine Art degree. It features 48 artists who work in a diverse range of media: performance, photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, multimedia installation and interactive events. As the culmination of a four-year process of learning, exchange and experimentation, NEWWORK23 is an important indicator of emerging possibilities within the contemporary (South) African arts industries.
The Department of Fine Arts 3rd year students in theWits School of Arts (WSOA)’s Drawing and Contemporary Practice III, in partnership with scholar Kebotlhale Motseothata invite you to a series of a one-day conversations and a publication fair of new work at The Forge and The Commune in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Founded in the 1970s during apartheid in South Africa by Mongane Wally Serote, the Medu Art Ensemble was a cultural collective which was based in Gaborone, Botswana. Medu’s collectivist spirit highlights the ways in which culture was/is a vital weapon in the fight against oppressions of all kinds. More than this, Medu’s focus on the representation of women in its posters showcases the collective’s feminist consciousness and framework. In collaboration with the Wits School of Arts (WSOA)’s Drawing And Contemporary Practice III, this series of conversations and publication fair reflects Medu’s framework in foregrounding the values, shortcomings and gains of collective cultural work in the contemporary moment.
The event will be first come, first served bassoon on capacity.
The nineteenth African Investigative Journalism Conference.
The African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) 2023 is approaching, and we're thrilled to invite you to register for this premier event that promises to be a transformative experience for journalists across the continent. With 140+ speakers, 80+ sessions, and an array of thought-provoking themes, AIJC 2023 is your gateway to: Engage with the brightest minds in investigative journalism, Gain valuable insights into the future of the industry, Equip yourself with the latest tools and techniques, Connect with the best in the business. Secure your spot today by registering for all three days (or for any single day) of the conference. This is your golden opportunity to redefine investigative journalism across the African continent.
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