Save the date for this public lecture and engagement with renowned Professor.
Professor Hans van Delden has served as the President of the CIOMS (Council of International Organisations of Medical Sciences) and the Chair of the Workgroup for the 2016 CIOMS Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research. He also served as the Chair of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO. van Delden is a Professor of Medical Ethics at the University Medical Centre of Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
We look forward to your participation as we explore the frontiers of safeguarding research participants with the application of research ethics principles from the latest CIOMS Guidelines.
When:Sunday, 28 January 2023 Where:Braamfontein Campus West DIG Fields Start time:09:00am for 10:00am Enquiries:events@wits.ac.za
Congratulations! You are now a Witsie for life...
FIRST YEARS ONLY!
Wits University invites you and your parents/guardians to attend Welcome Day, at which first-year student will be addressed by the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi FRS, and others. Limited seating capacity is available(max 2 guests per student).
Faculties and a few support departments will be available to answer any questions you may have.
There will be entertainment available and food stalls where refreshments can be purchased.
Please arrive early to secure parking and avoid traffic congestion at the gates. You are welcome to use e-hailing services.
The event will be live-streamed via the Wits University YouTube page
The Wits Theatre complex opens its doors to the Pitso Ya Kalaneng (A Call to the Theatre) Festival.
This is a relaunch of its annual Orientation Week Festival, this student-centred festival programme, initiated by Wits Theatre staff, seeks to facilitate collaboration and creative exchange within the Wits School of Arts and with other performing arts institutions in the Gauteng province. Tickets are available on Webtickets.
The event will present Health and Ageing in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa (HAALSA).
The Study highlights the latest research from the HAALSI community study in Agincourt, as well as forthcoming national expansions. The HAALSA groundbreaking initiative takes a ‘whole of society approach’ to address vital issues as populations age in African contexts: cognitive health and dementias; HIV/AIDS and treatment; chronic non-communicable diseases and multimorbidity; public policies; social and environmental determinants of health; and health inequalities. These have profound implications for the productivity and well-being of individuals, their families and society. Findings can inform health and development policies to achieve better outcomes for those ageing in South Africa and beyond. The showcase takes place on Tuesday, 6 February, from 13:30 to 17:30, at the Wits Club, Braamfontein Campus West, Wits University.
The Wits Seabrooke Concerts offer you performances by leading South African and international musicians in a world-class acoustic.
The 2024 season starts with a concert by English violinist Rupert Marshall-Luck with South African pianist Peter Cartwright. These musicians have performed together at numerous venues across South Africa and more recently in England. Their most recent concert was praised as “sincere and accomplished” in Seen and Heard International.
WISER is very pleased to host the Wits Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities.
My grandfather is dead
he was vomiting blood, my mother says
lungs contaminated by history
brimming full with mine dust.
These are the opening lines of the epic poem Mine Mine Mine (2023), a personal narration of my family’s experience of the migrant labour system brought on by the gold mining industry in Johannesburg, South Africa. Using geopoetics to map geopolitics, it maps scales of catastrophic environments, or ecologies of crisis, from my grandfather’s lungs to colonial capitalist sites of Black breathlessness. The epic poem reveals how the extraction of natural resources from the body of earth is contingent upon the extraction of the Black body from the body of humanity. In this session I think through the process of writing Mine Mine Mine, which I view as existing within the black feminist tradition of imagining, ‘making’ and ‘doing’ against the commodification of humans and earth. I work from ‘an elsewhere’ – from Southern African cosmologies which rupture the logics and limits of New Worlding cosmology – from which I refuse the terms of wreckage, detritus, and ruin by experimenting with poetics of aliveness, possibility, communion, and futurity.
Uhuru Phalafala (PhD) is preoccupied with practices and poetics of be-ing together with ancestors, the land, plants and animals, cosmos and waters. This protracted contemplation has thus far produced essays, zines, a sonic documentary, poetry, poetico-mentary, and a turn to deep listening as embodied method. She is the author of Mine Mine Mine (2023) and Keorapetse Kgositsile & the Black Arts Movement: Poetics of Possibility (2024), and is a senior lecturer in the English department at Stellenbosch University.
WiSER invites you to a hybrid book discussion on Reconfiguring Racial Capitalism: South Africa in the Chinese Century
Since the turn of the millennium, the return of the People’s Republic of China to the African continent has been framed as a neocolonial scramble or revival of south-south cooperation. An ethnography of Chinese capitalist projects in Johannesburg, Reconfiguring Racial Capitalism: South Africa in the Chinese Century recasts these relations of power as racial capitalism in a global moment of Chinese ascendance. The book draws on historical analysis and ethnographic research sited at a Chinese wholesale mall along Johannesburg’s old gold mining belt to offer a palimpsestic method for reading the colonial present. It argues that Chinese migrants act within global structures of white supremacy, anti-Blackness, capitalism, and colonialism that they did not create but perpetuate. The incorporation of Chinese from margins to center expands and fortifies racial capitalism and empire while urging a deprovincialization of critical terms based in Euro-American contexts. The book offers an ethnographic analysis of “Chinese capitalism” as racial capitalism, while also engaging South African theorizations of racial capitalism. A study of Chinese racial formations, it explores the emergence of racial and imperial forms “after whiteness.”
Mingwei Huang is an assistant professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH and former research affiliate with the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa at Wits. Her first book Reconfiguring Racial Capitalism: South Africa in the Chinese Century, is coming out with Duke University Press in October 2024. She has published in Scholar & Feminist Online, Radical History Review, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Public Culture, Verge, and Made In China, as well as edited volumes Anxious Joburg: Space, Affect, and Experience in a Global South City (Wits University Press/NYU Press, 2020) and New World Orderings: China and the Global South (Duke University Press, 2022).
The Wits Seabrooke Concerts offer you performances by leading South African and international musicians in a world-class acoustic.
This concert features Mombelli’s project, ‘The Prisoners of Strange’ with the powerful voice of Siya Makuzeni, Marcus Wyatt on horns, Justin Badenhorst on drums, & the composer/bassist, Mombelli.
Between them they have toured the world, performed on some of the greatest international festivals, recorded with some of the greatest legends in the South African as well as international music scene, and their album ‘Theory’ is still as fresh & innovative as the day it came.
Bassist Carlo Mombelli is something of a sage figure. He remains one of the most restlessly creative forces in South African jazz - All about JAZZ (New York).
Carlo’s music has been described in the press as: Hauntingly beautiful - BBC London.
It is music of outrageous, almost scandalous beauty - Die Weltwoche Switzerland.
Official Book Launch of Evolution: Classical Philosophy Meets Quantum Science by Professor Somnath Bhattacharyya.
The book reconceptualises the ancient philosophy of ‘dualism’ and a ‘trinity’ applied to classical and quantum nonequilibrium phenomena. In addition to classical mechanics and electrodynamics, a remarkable connection of this philosophy with quantum mechanics is established, which can be useful for quantum computing and the development of quantum artificial intelligence.
Packed with the recent theoretical models, quantum simulations of black holes, and experimental observations of quantum phase transitions, this book brings a holistic approach that can be useful in refining the concept of the ‘Creation’, i.e., the evo- lution of the Universe from the condensed state of matter, and in explaining the artificial vision.
The seminar is presented by Mr Abebe Selassie, Director of the African Department at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Wits School of Economics and Finance (SEF) will host the Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to present a seminar.
This book capture the stories of transnational African families and their use of digital media in mediating their experiences of migration.
Through the lens of a unique interdisciplinary collaboration - psychology, migration and social studies - this book addresses an important gap in transnational family studies by highlighting the opportunities and challenges of migration, care and digital connection from African perspectives. Transnational Families in Africaanalyses the highs and lows of family separation as a result of migration in three contexts: migration within South Africa from rural to urban areas; migration from other African countries into South Africa; It provides a ground-breaking contribution to global debates on migration from the Global South. You can find more info and the content listing of the bookhere.
Professor Ingrid Palmary (University of Johannesburg) will be the guest speaker and discussant with the editors of this book, Prof Maria Marchetti-Mercer, Prof Leslie Swartz and Prof Loretta Baldassar, together with some of the contributors.
This lecture will explore the dynamic landscape of television in the multimedia era.
The lecture features esteemed speaker Professor Claudia Nothelle. She is a renowned expert in television journalism, with extensive experience in both academia and industry.
As the former Multimedia Program Director of Rundfunk Berlin- Brandenburg (ARD/rbb) and currently serving as Professor of television journalism at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Science, Nothelle brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the discussion on multimedia in television.
The Wits Department of Social Work cordially invites you to the World Social Work Day Celebration.
The theme for 2024 is Shared Future for Transformative Change, which is rooted in the Global Agenda and emphasises the need for social workers to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature.
To celebrate the occasion, the Social Work Department will host a webinar where esteemed social work scholars, Dr Mbongeni Sithole from the Department of Social Work, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and Dr Robert Lekganyane from the Department of Social Work, University of South Africa will reflect on this year’s theme.
The Wits Writing Programme (WWP) presents writing festival
The theme of this year’s writing festival is Writing Community. The festival features South African poet-activist Diana Ferrus and two scholars from Bard College in the United States. The festival includes workshops on storytelling and listening, panel discussions on integrating writing with learning, writing black, and writing the city with Barbara Adair. Don’t miss the screening of WWP alumna Roberta Hunte’s documentary Sista in the Brotherhood, a reading from teenagers from Hillbrow of their version of Aime Cesaire’s Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, as well as poetry from Phillippa Yaa de Villiers. The festival also features evening book launches including Avenues by Train by Farai Mudzingwa, Cassava Republic Press; Once Removed by David Mann, Botsotso; Still to be Named:An exploration of African Epistemologies using Simphiwe Dana’s selected works by Nompumelelo Radebe and Zeithu Cakata, UNISA; and She Will Struggle: Revolutionary Women Who Shaped the World, presented by contributing author Kebotlhale Motseothata. Pluto Press presents the festival in partnership with Xarra Books, Wits Creative Writing, Open University Society Networks and Bard’s Institute for Writing and Thinking.
View the brochure below with the festival programme:
Bettina Malcomess: Sentimental Agents Walkabout with Artist
When:
Saturday, 06 April 2024
Where:
Wits Art Museum
Start time:
12:00
Enquiries:
Tiisang Monatisa
tiisang.monatisa@wits.ac.za
Join the artist walkabout
Sentimental Agents is a series of moving image works embodying the entanglements of cinema within the nervous system of empire, an immersive information field of signals, light, sound and transmission. The film cycle was shot in various locations in varied formats, tracking the journey of the sentimental agent, a technician of minor histories trying to tell the story of cinema's place in the South African War, but who suffers from the neurological disorder of narcolepsy. We travel with the agent to battlefields, memorials, unmarked graves, museums and archives, as well as colonial cinema palaces from the 1930s in Johannesburg and in Accra, Ghana. The films continuously gesture to an absence that they cannot fully articulate: the spectral presence of those figures that haunt the South African War archive, such as Solomon T. Plaatje. The work does not recycle archival footage nor historical images of the War's biopolitical violence. The cinematic language instead embodies a specifically colonial operationalisation of the nervous system by empire, one which violently marks, damages and marginalises black, feminine, queer, animal and nervous bodies. A registering of the re-inscription of historical representation on the celluloid substrate. Gaps, omissions, partial shadows, leakages of light.
The films form part of a PhD in Film Studies at Kings College London, the result of 7 years of archival and field research. The exhibition at Wits Art Museum includes objects, drawings, prints and expanded cinema works. The show opens with a first iteration from 26 March, and slowly over the course of the 3-month run, the space develops and shifts, culminating in the addition of a final film in May. While the project's research extends back to 2016, showing this work in Johannesburg in 2024 has an unplanned resonance with the contemporary conflicts we see playing out in our own media in a field of violent and opposing geo-political and neo-colonial forces. Thus, the show will have an active public programme of interventions and conversations that respond to the resonances between this war history and our contemporary moment.
Courtesy of the artist and Gallerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin
WiSER and the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at the University of London UCL warmly invite you to the new online seminar series.
WISER is very pleased to host the Wits Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities. The seminar meets every Monday afternoon of the teaching term. This year we will be hosting seminars along two thematic series -- breathing in and trust -- each on alternate Mondays. The rationale for each of the series is explained at https://wiser.wits.ac.za. Please remember: * Participants must read the paper prior to the seminar * The paper will typically only be available on the Friday preceding the seminar. For more details on the WISH series, and other WISER activities please go to https://wiser.wits.ac.za.
Keynote Speaker: Professor Jennifer Fitchett will explore the bio-meteorological fingerprints of global warming that help us to understand climate change.
Join us in welcoming Sankofa, a Colombian dance company, on their tour to South Africa.
This international act is in South Africa as part of a series to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of relations between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Colombia.
This dance initiative promotes a differential and intercultural framework through diverse pedagogical dance and theatre projects involving black and other vulnerable communities in Colombia to educate and create danza.
Sankofa's work is oriented to the search for poetics that start from the roots of Afro dance, developed within the framework of the everyday, the traditional and the contemporary, as an option for social bonding, personal growth and positioning of local cultures in the national dynamic.
Gathering, to read and discuss South African poetry written in the 90s and 00s.
The 90s and 00s were a creatively fertile time for South African poetry. Daring young poets were writing in daring new forms, trying to articulate the hopes, doubts and confusions brought about by the new democracy. Berold, editor of New Coin in the 90s and later the editor of Deep South books will lead a reading and discussion on some of the amazing poems of these years. The reading will be followed by an open workshop at 14:00, same day. The Poetry for Pleasure meetings are a collaboration between the Wits Writing Centre and the Creative Writing Department.
Join the Wits Art Museum for the make-a-book workshop.
Learn and enjoy the art of book making at the Make-a-Book workshop hosted by Wits Art Museum. You will learn how to bind books using three different traditional Japanese binding techniques.
All materials will be supplied, but you are welcome to bring along two A4 sheets of thin decorated paper for your book cover and anything that you would like to work with. There is no charge for the workshop, but donations are welcome.
All ages welcomed.
WAM offer school tours from Tuesday to Friday, between 10:00 and 16:00.
In Conversation with Mat Cuthbert - Democratic Alliance's Head of Policy.
The Wits School of Governance (WSG) is hosting a series of of dialogues to address key issues around the 2024 National Elections in South Africa. This series will provide a comprehensive assessment of the meaning and implications of the 2024 elections through multiple lenses. This scholarly series themed, 30 Years of Democratic Governance and the 2024 South African Elections: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, will focus on the implications of South Africa’s Elections for the country, SADC, Africa, and Global South while also focusing on gender and the elections. For each of these dialogues, prominent and expert voices will comprise panels. The WSG will host dialogues with the leaders of other smaller and large parties, and other individuals in the coming weeks. Look out for details at www.wits.ac.za/wsg.
In conversation with Mr Julius Malema, President of the Economic Freedom Fighters.
The Wits School of Governance (WSG) is hosting a series of of dialogues to address key issues around the 2024 National Elections in South Africa. This series will provide a comprehensive assessment of the meaning and implications of the 2024 elections through multiple lenses. This scholarly series themed, 30 Years of Democratic Governance and the 2024 South African Elections: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, will focus on the implications of South Africa’s Elections for the country, SADC, Africa, and Global South while also focusing on gender and the elections. For each of these dialogues, prominent and expert voices will comprise panels. The WSG will host dialogues with the leaders of other smaller and large parties, and other individuals in the coming weeks. Look out for details at www.wits.ac.za/wsg.
Symposium: The Question of Life’s Meaning: An African Perspective, by Dr Aribiah Attoe
You are invited to a symposium on a recent book, titled The Question of Life’s Meaning: An African Perspective, by Dr Aribiah Attoe, a lecturer in the Wits Philosophy Department. The symposium will feature an introduction to the book by Attoe, as well as commentary by Professor Thad Metz (University of Pretoria), Professor Masahiro Morioka (Waseda University), Professor Motsamai Molefe (University of South Africa) and Dr Asheel Singh (University of Johannesburg). Tea and a light lunch will be served.
Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention in the Global South and North
Too often, researchers, practitioners and community activists and advocacy groups do not engage each other sufficiently to inform joint efforts at making a difference in communities characterised by poor mental health outcomes and high rates of suicide.
Showcasing the best of Wits Music's Classical and Jazz Student Musicians
This showcases the best of the Wits Music Department’s student musicians from the foundation programme, and first years through to post-graduate students. 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 performance. This free admission concert provides a professional platform for 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. Free parking is available in Solomon Mahlangu House and the entrance is on Jorissen Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research Seminar
Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) hosts the Wits Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities. The seminar takes place online every Monday at 16:00 to 17:00, from 19 February to 1 July 2024.WISER, and its predecessor institutions, the Institute for Advanced Study and the African Studies Institute, have hosted similar seminars that date back to the late 1960s. The archive of those events, and the past papers of the current semester, is available here. A printable version of the seminar schedule for the current year is available here. For the details of the Zoom meetings, please sign up for email notices here. Participants are encouraged to read the paper prior to the seminar. The paper will typically only be available on the Friday preceding the seminar.
The Wits School of Governance (WSG) is hosting a series of of dialogues to address key issues around the 2024 National Elections in South Africa. This series will provide a comprehensive assessment of the meaning and implications of the 2024 elections through multiple lenses. This scholarly series themed, 30 Years of Democratic Governance and the 2024 South African Elections: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, will focus on the implications of South Africa’s Elections for the country, SADC, Africa, and Global South while also focusing on gender and the elections. For each of these dialogues, prominent and expert voices will comprise panels. The WSG will host dialogues with the leaders of other smaller and large parties, and other individuals in the coming weeks. Look out for details at www.wits.ac.za/wsg.
Panel Discussion on the Implications of the 2024 Elections for SADC.
The Wits School of Governance (WSG) is hosting a series of of dialogues to address key issues around the 2024 National Elections in South Africa. This series will provide a comprehensive assessment of the meaning and implications of the 2024 elections through multiple lenses. This scholarly series themed, 30 Years of Democratic Governance and the 2024 South African Elections: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, will focus on the implications of South Africa’s Elections for the country, SADC, Africa, and Global South while also focusing on gender and the elections. For each of these dialogues, prominent and expert voices will comprise panels. The WSG will host dialogues with the leaders of other smaller and large parties, and other individuals in the coming weeks. Look out for details at www.wits.ac.za/wsg.
The Centre for Researching Education and Labour hosts a panel of researchers engaged with skills for green hydrogen research in Germany, Brazil, SA and India.
Understanding past, present and future Mountain Ecosystem-Societal interactions to inform Sustainable Futures.
Mountains are topographically complex areas, play a fundamental role in shaping regional and continental-scale climates, underpin global processes, are a source to major river systems and support unique, and often highly biodiverse and threatened, ecosystems. Mountains cover only ~25% of the world’s total continental land surface yet are home to more than 85% of the world’s amphibians, birds, and mammals, many of which are entirely restricted to mountains. This amazing diversity is especially high in the tropics; where hotspots of extraordinary species richness commonly exhibit high levels of endemism and beta diversity at genetic, species, and ecosystem scales as well as being culturally diverse and of economic importance; directly supporting communities through the provision of a diverse range of ecosystem services.
One Night in Africa is a musical journey exploring African rhythms, instruments, heritage, and culture. This one-day concert offers the audience a rare opportunity to experience the Pan-Africanist approach to sound in celebrating Africa Month. This event is a celebration of the shining star of this concert, Volley Nchabeleng, a percussionist of global acclaim and an award-winning artist, his latest prestigious award as the 2024 Cultural and Creative Industry Awards (CCIA) winner. With a career that spans international collaborations, commercial ventures, and theatre performances, his musical prowess resonates with diverse audiences and cultures in Africa and worldwide. His focus is on celebrating African musical heritage through sound that transcends borders, encompassing not only South Africa but also the diverse parts of the African continent. Book here.
Yebo Gogga Yebo amaBlomo Festival explore Nature's Cycles: A Fun and Educational Experience for All
The annual Yebo Gogga Yebo amaBlomo festival is set to captivate nature enthusiasts of all ages. This unique event brings together animals and plants under one roof, offering tailor-made talks from experts and providing a fun and educational experience for kids and nature lovers alike. This year’s festival is themed “Cycles” exploring some of the cycles that drive life and the planet.
The annual Yebo Gogga Yebo amaBlomo festival is set to captivate nature enthusiasts of all ages.
Wednesday 15 May – Friday 17 May 8:30 – 15:30
Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May 9:00 – 16:00
Cycles make life possible. Day and night, the progression of seasons and the rise and fall of tides provide the beat for the dance of life. Air and water circulate regulating temperatures and returning water lost through evaporation, transpiration and runoff to the land.
The chemicals that are the structure and fuel for life are ultimately broken down becoming available again for the complex web of life. When cycles are broken life is affected. CO2released from fossil fuels and intensive animal farming exceeds the capacity of the system to use or store the excess, so levels increase and the planet warms. Waste and applied fertilizer pollute water if not properly managed and instead of these nutrients being utilized in a harmless or advantageous way, they promote the growth of water plants such as water hyacinth and make the water toxic for aquatic animals and unsuitable for drinking.
Every living thing has a life cycle from the moment of being a new entity to death.
The Remarkable Story of Khonology Digital Solutions: Values-Driven Entrepreneurship
Wits Business School is hosting a special case seminar with Dr Judy Dlamini, author of the case study: Khonology Digital Solutions: Values-Driven Entrepreneurship. Dr Dlamini will be in conversation with the three South African entrepreneurs featured in the story. This is a unique opportunity to witness a case study come to life and will be an enriching learning experience for entrepreneurs or anyone considering a career in entrepreneurship.
The Monthly Lunchtime Seminar hosted by the Global Change Institute.
Mountains are topographically complex areas, play a fundamental role in shaping regional and continental-scale climates, underpin global processes, are a source to major river systems and support unique, and often highly biodiverse and threatened, ecosystems.
Mountains cover ~25% of the world’s total continental land surface yet are home to more than 85% of the world’s amphibians, birds, and mammals, many of which are entirely restricted to mountains. This amazing diversity is especially high in the tropics; where hotspots of extraordinary species richness commonly exhibit high levels of endemism and beta diversity at genetic, species, and ecosystem scales as well as being culturally diverse and of economic importance; directly supporting communities through the provision of a diverse range of ecosystem services.
WiSER is pleased to host the Wits Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities.
The Earth, Fire, Water: Reflections on Air and Atmospheres seminar will be presented by Ruth Gilmore. Participants should please note that they are required to read the paper prior to the event.
WISER, and its predecessor institutions the Institute for Advanced Study and the African Studies Institute, have hosted similar seminars that date back to the late 1960s. The archive of those events is also available on the WISER web site at http://wiser.wits.ac.za.
The Remarkable Story of Khonology Digital Solutions: Values-Driven Entrepreneurship.
The Wits Business School is pleased to invite you to a special seminar which will take a deep dive into a new case study written by Dr Judy Dlamini, Chancellor of Wits University and WBS alumna.
The case is on Khonology Digital Solutions, a young South African start-up with a vision of becoming Africa’s leading digital enabler. In September 2023, ten years after Khonology was founded, the management team of Dapo Ayedemo, Africa Nkosi and Mosa Nyamande realised they still had a long way to go in realising their vision. What would it take for the company to move out of the shadows and truly achieve its goal of digitising the African continent and expanding its services to the rest of the world?
Presenting a unique opportunity of witnessing a case study ‘come to life’, Dr Dlamini will be chatting to the three entrepreneurs featured in the story. Please join us for a rich, interactive learning experience about overcoming the barriers to entrepreneurial success.
Evaluation of the JHB Infrastructure – how to prevent another “Bree Street” explosion!
For the seventh year the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) will host the Wits Integrated Experience (WIE), with contributions from all 5 faculties, including aspects from Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, Humanities, Health Science, and Commerce, Law and Management. The WIE is targeted at Gauteng top academic Grade 11 learners.
This short course is designed to expose learners to real life scenarios and problem-solving exercises that develop their 21-century soft skills such as critical thinking and creativity in finding solutions to otherwise disruptive problems. This experience will also expose learners to the evolving career opportunities within the different faculties and showcase the interdisciplinary nature of these various branches within the five disciplines. The course is exciting, with an experiential and interactive aspect to it that includes a captivating analytical exercise. This course will aid participants in making better informed decisions about subject choices, careers and higher education opportunities that lead to the future world of work.
GALA invites you to their information and networking sessions.
GALA is an international community of diverse, innovative, and socially responsible universities and colleges, whose aims are to transform lives and to enhance global understanding through interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and research.
These online sessions are open to all Faculty and staff members as well as postgraduate students. Sessions include: How you can get involved in the network;details of forthcoming GALA conferences;an opportunity to share your own interests on research, teaching, and professional services; and an opportunity to connect with colleagues and other GALA partners.
The office of the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment invite you to the Inaugural edition of the FEBE Research Seminar Series
The American University in Cairo (AUC) will host the Afretec Healthcare Summer School from June 9-12, 2024.
The event will be in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University Africa and supported by the African Engineering and Technology Network, of which Wits University is a member. The summer school is a four-day workshop which will be held hybridly online and at AUC.
With healthcare in Africa rapidly advancing through digital technologies, AI, and telemedicine, the summer school aims to enhance collaboration. It will gather researchers, allied medical professionals, industry leaders, and government stakeholders to exchange insights, foster understanding of emerging concepts, and drive healthcare transformation across the continent.
This workshop focuses on identifying and addressing the barriers and drivers of gender equity and discussing effective solutions to promote gender equity.
Tickets on webtickets or at the door: R30 kids, students and pensioners, R60 adults.
Neurologist and brain health specialist, Dr Kirti Ranchod will discuss aspects of our brain, mental wellness and healthy brain function.
Join neurologist and brain health specialist, Dr Kirti Ranchod for a walkabout around Origins Centre, while she discusses aspects of our brain, mental wellness and healthy brain functioning.
The walkabout is part of a series of monthly walkabouts 'Investing in our Cultural Capital for Better Brain Health' that focuses on what we have within our traditions and cultures to support brain health and mental wellness.
Entrance is free. We look forward to seeing you there!
Walkabout by David Paton of lo-fi street cred: artist' zines, DIY and alternative publications.
This exhibition contains a diverse and intriguing collection of zines and self-published works that you might not typically find in a traditional museum setting, especially within an academic institution. The display highlights the vibrant history and evolution of these unique forms of expression, spanning five decades and ranging from literary magazines of the 1950s to contemporary posterzines created by students and the general public. The exhibition provides an insightful look into the world of alternative art publications in South Africa.
A zine is a self-published work that features original or repurposed texts and images. These works are usually produced in small quantities and reproduced using a copy machine. Zines serve various purposes, from being a source of entertainment to offering a platform for inexpensive and provocative social commentary.
JGCBA gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday 10:00 – 16:00 Museum hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10h00 - 16h00
To attend the memorial lecture, please register here.
The Vona du Toit memorial lecture is the most prestigious of the OTASA awards.
The 2024 Vona du Toit memorial lecture has been awarded by the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA) Council to Dr Tania Rauch van der Merwe.
The purpose of the lecture is to honour South African occupational therapists or others who have made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the profession.
Dr Tania Rauch van der Merwe's lecture, titled Harnessing Human Praxis: Turning our Wisdom into Practice with Impact will be presented as a hybrid event during the OTASA congress.
Delegates will be able to join the lecture online or in-person at eFundanathi (eZone) on the Wits education campus.
R100 per person. Tickets on webtickets or at the door.
Join us for a morning of crafts and activities inspired by nature and archaeology.
Make art from seeds and plants, explore our indigenous garden, excavate like an archaeologist, learn about stratigraphy, go on a treasure hunt, learn about South Africa's rich heritage, and touch real artefacts! Join us for an hour or for three. Kids and adults welcome.
R70 adults, R40 students/pensioners. Tickets on webtickets or at the door.
The impact of contact and colonization on indigenous worldviews, rock art, and the history of southern Africa - “The Disconnect”, by Dr Sam Challis
Rock art in southern Africa testifies to successive interactions among hunter-gatherers, incoming African herders, African farmers, and, later, European settlers. New subject matter, however, is not simply incorporated into the preexisting tradition. Images that depict novel motifs are made differently from the “traditional corpus,” usually rougher in appearance (in both paintings and engravings), more dynamic, or made with vivid and chalky paints. The drop in pigment quality is likely owing to the disruption and ultimate decimation of indigenous groups and the subsequent breakdown in trade and social communications—the Disconnect. The changes owe more, it seems, to the increasingly mixed membership of the art-producing people and the mixing of their cosmologies, albeit with specific cultural survivals. Precolonial contact images speak to a multitude of interactions that can inform the archaeological record, and colonial-era rock art constitutes a major component of the historical archive that offers a reverse gaze from an indigenous perspective.
Dr Sam Challis is Director of the Rock Art Research Institute, Wits. His research focus is on the interaction between hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and farmers, as well as Europeans, as expressed in rock art around the world.
Tickets on webtickets or at the door. R70 adults, R40 students/pensioners
Origin of the World: creation and transformation in San Dress, Narrative and Rock Art, by Dr Vibeke Viestad
This exhibition looks at the rich material and embodied culture of San dress practices, and how these made explicit part of a complex cultural discourse encompassing all aspects of life – in myth, ritual, and everyday practice. The exhibition displays and explores special items, clothing and accessories, and the creation beliefs of historic Khoe and San groups from around southern Africa.
This is the story of the Origin of the World – told through ways of dressing the body.
The Workshop will consist of lectures by invited speakers, case studies, group discussions and role-playing sessions related to commercialisation of products.
Join Wits Art Museum for a Walkabout of Karel Nel: Close and Far led by Professor Federico Freschi.
Professor Federico Freschi is the executive Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture at UJ. Professor Freschi, who wrote the introductory chapter to Karel Nel's forthcoming book, will provide valuable insights and perspectives on the exhibition.
Join a discussion with two distinguished scholars of elections and politics in Africa.
Professor Gabrielle Lynch and Professor Michael Wahman, who have worked on polls in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. Will discuss methods for researching elections, questions of data access and quality, as well as exciting new research methods and directions.
This promises to be an excellent discussion and will be relevant not only for those interested in politics and elections, but for all students and staff in the Social Sciences and Humanities who are interested in innovative research methods.
The impact of contact and colonization on indigenous worldviews, rock art, and the history of Southern Africa – ‘the disconnect’
Public lecture by Dr Sam Challis, the Director of the Rock Art Research Institute at Wits.
Rock art in Southern Africa testifies to successive interactions among hunter-gatherers, incoming African herders, African farmers, and, later, European settlers. New subject matter, however, is not simply incorporated into the pre-existing tradition. Images that depict novel motifs are made differently from the “traditional corpus,” usually rougher in appearance (in both paintings and engravings), more dynamic, or made with vivid and chalky paints.
The drop in pigment quality is likely owing to the disruption and ultimate decimation of indigenous groups and the subsequent breakdown in trade and social communications – “the Disconnect”. The changes owe more, it seems, to the increasingly mixed membership of the art-producing people and the mixing of their cosmologies, albeit with specific cultural survivals.
Precolonial contact images speak to a multitude of interactions that can inform the archaeological record, and colonial-era rock art constitutes a major component of the historical archive that offers a reverse gaze from an indigenous perspective.
This year’s Nelson Mandela International Day will be celebrated under the theme It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity.
There are several Witsies involved in different Mandela Day events taking place today – some are involved in book drives, others in school visits, and many in a clean-up operation in Hillbrow as part of the #JoziMyJozi initiative. We salute you all for giving of yourself, your time, and your resources, to help others, for good.
We will also launch the Mandela Month food drive today at 13:15 on the Wits Library Lawns. Remember, that you can continue to drop off non-perishable food and care packs at the Wits Citizenship and Community Outreach unit based at the Sanctuary on Braamfontein Campus East, throughout the month.
The Disability Rights Unit at Wits University, in collaboration with the Afretec Inclusion, Diversity and Impact team invite you to a two day workshop.
Wits SARIMA Carnegie Global Ethics Day 2024: AI and Big Data: Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Research
The Wits Research Integrity Office along with SARIMA (Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association) and Carnegie host the annual Ethics Colloquium, which this year discusses some key ethical dilemmas in modern research due to the rapid developments of AI and big data. Some short presentations will be made from colleagues from diverse research fields, but who all have interests in research ethics and integrity. If time permits, an open discussion forum on some of these ethical dilemmas in research in an African and global context will be held. All colleagues and students from across the University and externally are welcome to attend and participate.
This is a Student Fees Campaign Initiative. Shows at 11:00, 11:45, 13:30, 14:15.
‘Like Dreaming Backwards’ in association with Drama For Life at Wits University invites you to attend this experience that transformative practices of teaching and learning using Applied Theatre as an entry and a discourse for cultural performance. Through a performative experience, the project hopes to reconnect people to heritage sites, reminding us of the history that the spaces preserve. Cast and crew: Katleho Sekhosana, Theodore Mohlala, Sebasa Mogale, Luyanda Ntombela, Aphiwe Dumeko and Thulisile Binda
Join neurologist and brain health specialist, Dr Kirti Ranchod for a Women’s Day inspired walkabout at Origins Centre.
Join neurologist and brain health specialist, Dr Kirti Ranchod for a Women’s Day inspired walkabout at Origins Centre. What can we learn from remarkable women, from their stories and journeys, from the every day and from the extraordinary. Join us this Saturday, 10 August as we celebrate women. We invite you to share your stories of the people who inspired you, supported you, or challenged you. The walkabout is part of a series of monthly walkabouts 'Investing in our Cultural Capital for Better Brain Health' that focuses on what we have within our traditions and cultures to support brain health and mental wellness.
Delve into the minds and crimes of some of South Africa’s notorious serial murderers.
Join author and psychologist, Dr Brin Hodgskiss and Nicole Engelbrecht, and Wits academics - neuropsychologist Dr Sahaba Besharati and writer and communicator Beth Amato - as they discuss crime, trauma, healing and the power of storytelling.
About Killer Stories. Hodgskiss combines his interviews with the tenets of narrative psychology to take the reader into the minds of the killers and shares how his own journey as a psychologist and human being contributed to his deeper understanding of them. The book intertwines the killers’ versions of the truth and the true-crime stories behind them, re-telling their killing sprees in gripping detail. Journey with the authors as they lay out how the stories these men told themselves about their lives contributed to where they ended up – and how those stories aren’t that different from those we all tell ourselves.
‘Killer Stories’ by Brin Hodgskiss and Nicole Engelbrecht will be on sale. RSVP: Tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.za
Dr David Whitley is a rock art archaeologist from California. His primary research region is far western North America.
The Coso Range engravings in eastern California, USA, is the largest concentration of rock art sites and motifs in the Americas, and possibly the world. Dr Whitley will consider how ritual landscapes were structured by metaphysical beliefs about the nature of different landforms, including places that commonly experienced particular geophysical events. It is these such places which were believed to be unusually imbued with supernatural power.
Dr David Whitley is a rock art archaeologist from California. His primary research region is far western North America. Whitley is the author of numerous books including most recently ‘Cognitive Archaeology: Mind, Ethnography and the Past in South Africa and Beyond’ (2020). He is currently synthesizing his last 40+ years of research in the Coso Range.
Lecture made possible through a US Fulbright grant and Dr Catherine Namono.
Wits School of Arts invites you to attend Spha Mdlalose’s Indlel’eyekhaya musical concert. Mdlalose, a jazz singer, songwriter, voice-over artist, and radio presenter from Umlazi, Durban, has performed with renowned artists such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Josh Groban. Her debut album "Indlel'eyekhaya" earned three SAMA nominations and won two Mzantsi Jazz Awards. Join as Mdlalose presents music from this album at Chris Seabrooke Music Hall, Wits University Campus East on 9 August 2024. Doors open at 19:00. Tickets are available on webtickets for R250. Free parking is available in Solomon Mahlangu House; entrance is on Jorissen Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
A day full of fun, physical activity and entertainment.
Kick off the day with the #WitsParade2024 at noon! Join the #WitsDay celebration and take to the streets dressed in blue, white and gold, a Wits tradition. The theme for this year is Celebrating Wits.
The Challenge: Plan your streetwear (academic gowns, doctors coats, engineers’ hats, etc.). Dress Up. Turn Up. #WitsRizz
Gather at 12:00 for the buildup; the walk starts at 13:00 from the Origins Centre, Yale Road South, continues through Braamfontein, and culminates on the Library Lawns.
Title: Should non-member spouses receive their member spouses’ accrued retirement benefits held by retirement funds
upon divorce? A call for law reform.
'Exponential opportunities in the metaverse' with Mic Mann, CEO of Africarare
Mic Mann, CEO of Africarare, will be presenting the next Data Science Strategic Group talk on 21 August from 13:00 to 14:00. The talk is titled Exponential opportunities in the metaverse, and is focused on Ubuntuland, Africa’s first metaverse. Please join at the IBM Research Laboratory in Braamfontein or online. For more information and to RSVP please contact diane.dowejko@wits.ac.za.
'Trends in Enrollments and Graduates in Mathematical Sciences at South African Universities, 1986-2022' with Thomas Farrar.
HEMIS enrollment and graduate headcount data published on the DHET website was combined and cleaned to make it conducive to diachronic analysis. This included taking account of changes over time in qualification types, CESM categories, and institutions. The analysis is restricted to CESM category 15 (Mathematics and Statistics). Descriptive results are presented on enrolment and graduate headcount over time, broken down by demographic group, NQF level, institution, and CESM subcategory. There has been significant growth and demographic transformation in Mathematical Sciences students and graduates in South African universities over the past four decades. However, demographic representativity has not yet been achieved, especially at higher levels of study.
The conference brings together work at different scales, exploring urbanisation experiences.
The Wits-TUB-UNILAG Urban Lab based the school of Architecture and Planning, Wits University, is hosting the African Urbanism Conference on the 23rd-26th of October 2024. The conference aims at bringing together work at different scales, exploring urbanisation experiences. This may range from contributions on local phenomena and challenges, to work exploring experiences shared across various cities on the continent and to research on the ways in which African urbanisms influence and/or are impacted by the world beyond the continent. It also aims to seek transformative practices that present alternatives to “business as usual” urban development, and to imagine alternative urban futures.
There are three themes in the conference: Critical Engagements, Transformative Practices, Alternative Futures.
Critical Engagements: The conference endeavours to bring together critical reflections on hegemonic norms, concepts and ways of thinking that have dominated global and African (urban) development policies and agendas in the recent decades. By and large, these have not delivered the promised outcomes for the majority of urban residents or proved to be impossible to implement at the local level. Participants in this theme are expected to make contributions that challenge, deconstruct and disrupt dominant assumptions as well as the concepts and buzzwords that have become empty signifiers in recent decades. This theme aims for reflections from a broad range of in everyday experiences from African cities which may include economic practices, housing, social and cultural networks, ways of moving and infrastructural assemblages amongst others.
Transformative Practices: Participants will make contributions that explore local community-based approaches and grassroot activism and experimental approaches of local governments attentive to issues of socio-spatial and environmental justice. This theme of conference also aims to explore the role of higher education and knowledge production in enabling, imagining and training for transformative practices through reflecting on research agendas, pedagogies and curriculum development with linkages to urban development practice.
Alternative Futures: This conference theme calls for a discussion of African urban futures that goes beyond those narratives and is attentive to specific local conditions, relationships, histories, memories and allows for the development of counter-imaginations. This theme also invites utopian speculation about the future of African cities that allows radical difference to be imagined, particularly in terms of justice, equality and structures of solidarity and resilience. It also encourages debates on new concepts and vocabularies and alternative epistemologies through which to formulate different futures for African cities.
The conference programme is as follows:
October 23: Registration: 16:00-17:00. Opening keynote (17:00-18:30) by Prof Shuaib Lwasa (ISS, Erasmus University Rotterdam), Opening reception (18:30-20:00)
October 24-25: Thematic sessions and plenary events (9:00-16:45), Book Launch (24 Oct:17:00-18:00), Closing event (25 Oct:1 7:00-18:00)
WiSER, the School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM) and the Presidential Climate Commission warmly invite you to a lunchtime lecture by Amitav Ghosh.
The world is currently in the grip of several intensifying crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, geopolitical instability, and so on. Given the scale of the disruptions that are already being felt around the planet, it is hardly surprising that many people who have come to be convinced that an apocalypse is inevitable and requires active planning and preparation. This trend cannot be lightly dismissed for it is being spearheaded by the founders of companies like Facebook and Google, that is to say figures who are uniquely well-placed to stay abreast of all the latest information and research. It is well-known now that several billionaire tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Peter Thiel are preparing for an impending apocalypse by building enormously expensive and heavily fortified retreats on remote islands, or in sparsely-populated stretches of the United States and Canada. Not to be left behind, a bevy of America’s most popular stars, such as Taylor Swift and Tom Cruise have also acquired cutting-edge apocalypse shelters. Nor are the ultra-rich the only Americans who are investing in doomsday retreats: so great is the demand that a new and rapidly-growing industry has emerged to cater to it. This talk seeks to understand the thinking behind these trends, and what it signifies for the future of humanity.
Introduced by Sarah Nuttall(WiSER) and Dan Ojwang (School of Literature, Language and Media Studies)
Brief responses from: Stacy Hardy, Simon van Schalkwyk, Dipika Nath and Sarah Nuttall
Closing remarks by: Isabel Hofmeyr and Ivan Vladislaviç
Official opening of the Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
Wits Roy McAlpine Burns unit is the only public sector specialist burns unit in Gauteng. The unit not only services Soweto residents but receives referrals from South Africa and Africa. The unit treats over 750 people annually and the expanded unit has more ICU beds and extra facilities, which means it can treat more patients and out-patients.
Join in celebrating Women's Month in a seminar featuring Paulina Chiziane, the highly acclaimed and honored female author from Mozambique.
The seminar aims to explore the empowering nature of Paulina Chiziane's writing and the negotiation of female identity within Mozambican literature. This event offers valuable insights into the literary perspectives on female struggles, religion, and traditions. You are encouraged to bring guests with you to share and experience this enlightening opportunity.
Join us at WAM for the opening of Clive van den Berg: Porous on Tuesday 27 August 2024 at 18:00 for 18:30. The artist will deliver an opening speech to mark the occasion.
Porous is a survey exhibition of Clive van den Berg's work. His artistic practice is centered around two main themes, land and love. The surface of land and the surface of skin have occupied many artists, so much so that landscape and figurative painting are core terms in our lexicon. What makes van den Berg’s practice distinct is his interest in the porous - porous skin and porous land.
He became acutely aware of the permeability of skin in the 1980s with the identification of the HIV virus. “From that time I began to re-imagine my body as a porous thing, vulnerable to an invisible and incomprehensible threat. It was a medieval moment. Modernism had ruptured, medicine meant nothing and the words gay and plague, were joined. And yet we found ways to love, knowingly, in the face of accumulating threats to our health and identity”.
Van den Berg’s paintings and sculptures have explored the enduringly uneasy relationship between the familiar above ground landscape and the less familiar below ground landscape - the underneath, the realm of geology, mining, burial, and the repressed. He has forged a unique pictorial language that allows the present and past to meet, repressed memory to have voice and the underneath to be given image.
Museum hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 16:00 Exhibition dates: 27 August – 26 October 2024.
The Global Change Institute invites you to its next monthly lunchtime seminar by Dr Auther Maviza.
Climate and spatio-temporal changes in landscape heterogeneities are consequential on surface hydrological processes and thus water security. In this regard, we present highlights from our study exploring the climate – land use – surface hydrology nexus in the Upper Mzingwane Subcatch- ment (UMS) nested in northern-most extent of the Limpopo basin.
The UMS generates 9.3% of total run-off into the Limpopo River, thus its great socio-economic significance. Geospatial-based techniques were used to quantify and model land use changes and present future climate scenarios using the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM) datasets. Thereon, the Hydrologic Engineering Center's Geospatial Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC-GeoHMS)) was forced to simulate future stream discharge and thus water security scenarios within UMS. Results reveal historical woodland loss which is projected to continue into the mid-term future. A progressively warming climate in the UMS was noted while future precipitation trends show generally drying conditions, despite some uncertainty.
Join the Transformation Office for a Gender Equity Webinar.
The Transformation Office in collaboration with the Gender Equity Office will be hosting a Gender Equity Panel Discussion on Gender Equity Frameworks and Positive Change Interventions in Higher Education. You are invited to participate in this conversation.
The annual Lenn Smith Fun Run around campus takes place on 5 September 2024. Registration begins at 12:00 on the west side of Alumni House near Wits Club/Olives and Plates at the bottom of Braamfontein Campus West and the run will start at 12:30. This 5km fun run/walk follows the Wits Parkrun route and is open to all Wits staff and postgraduate students. Walkers are most welcome – participation, rather than time, is most important. We will try to arrange refreshments but in the interests of being proactive, please bring your water for the run/walk.
The Data Science Strategic Group: Lunchtime Talk With Prof Ritesh Ajoodha
Prof Ritesh Ajoodha of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, will be presenting the next Data Science Strategic Group talk on 04 September from 13:00 to 14:00. The talk is titled 'Interpretable AI in Mathematical and Statistical (MaSS) Fields: Can AI solve MaSS problems?'.
AI and Assessment Workshop: Reimagining Assessment Practices
Join for a practical workshop on 12 September 2024 from 10:00 to 14:00 at the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Development (CLTD) Building, West Campus. This workshop will focus on reimagining assessment practices with students in mind, and on rethinking the possibilities that academics can explore with Generative AI. Space is limited, so registration is essential. To secure your spot contact Natasha Munsamy at natasha.munsamy@wits.ac.za for more information.
You are invited to attend the hybrid Learning and Teaching conference taking place on 3 to 5 September.
You are invited to attend the hybrid Learning and Teaching conference taking place on 3 September in the Senate Room, 2nd Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House, from 10:00 to 16:30, and online via Zoom on 4 - 5 September, from 11:00 to 16:30. The conference theme is Nurturing Academic Success Through Improved Student Learning Experience. Registration is still open, however the submission for abstracts have closed. Click here for more info.
Get ready for an action-packed weekend as we bring you the Varsity Sports Netball Bumper on 1 - 2 September 2024! Kick-off your spring with thrilling matches featuring the best of University netball! The games will begin at 13:00 on both days, with an exciting lineup that promises intense competition and non-stop energy. Bring your friends, show your University spirit, and cheer on your favourite teams! Tickets are available at the door via TicketPro for R20 at Old Mutual Sports Hall. Don’t miss out on securing your spot for this unforgettable sporting experience!
Join WAM this Saturday 31 August 2024 at 12:00 for a walkabout by Clive van den Berg: Porous at WAM.
This is a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable insights and perspectives on his work directly from the artist. Porous is a survey exhibition of Clive van den Berg's work. His artistic practice is centered around two main themes, land and love. The surface of land and the surface of skin have occupied many artists, so much so that landscape and figurative painting are core terms in our lexicon. What makes van den Berg’s practice distinct is his interest in the porous - porous skin and porous land. Limited on-street parking is available, but we encourage the use of ride hailing systems for convenience. Exhibition supported by Goodman Gallery.
Join us for an in-depth discussion on race in the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. Explore racial identity, voter mobilisation, and political messaging.
Webinar co-hosted by the Academy of Science of SA, presented by Dr Isaac Nape, Lecturer and Researcher, Structured Light Laboratory, Wits School of Physics.
'Crafting quantum states of light for quantum information technologies'
Abstract: Light, much like clay, can be moulded and shaped in various ways: spinning (polarization), embedding spatially structured patterns, twisting (orbital angular momentum), or altering its colour (wavelength) and temporal dynamics. The spatial patterns, in particular, allow us to imprint arbitrary shapes onto photons therefore creating a large encoding alphabet. At the single-photon level, these patterns can also be crafted, but they also bring with them the strange and fascinating phenomena of the quantum world, which in recent years have unlocked new methods for processing information over long-distance communication channels and for computing. In this talk, I will guide you through some of the techniques that we use to encode and decode information using spatial patterns of photons, generate secure encoding alphabets, realize Einstein’s 'spooky action at a distance,' and more. I will also explore the potential applications we are investigating at the Structured Light Lab, aimed at advancing the next generation of quantum communication and computing technologies using tailored states of light.
About the Speaker: Dr. Isaac Nape is a Lecturer at the School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, and is focused on photonics and quantum computing. His work includes harnessing spatial patterns of light for quantum information processing and using quantum computers for solving multiparameter problems in quantum optics. He was recently awarded the prestigious Meiring Naudé Medal by the Royal Society of South Africa (2024), the Jubilee Silver Medal by the South African Institute of Physics in 2023 and was recognized as one of the top 200 young South Africans in technology and innovation by Mail & Guardian (2023). Additionally, he serves as the Optica Emerging Leader in Optics Chair and is a Friedel Sellschop Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Public lecture: Constructing Modern Slavery: Law, Capitalism and Unfree Labour,
Judy Fudge, McMaster University.
Modern slavery is an amalgam of legal concepts defined in international law united by a shared characteristic—they are all forms of unfree labour: one person deprives another person of their freedom for profit. Instead of being a solution to the problem of unfree labour, modern slavery laws divert attention from the underlying structures and processes that generate unfreedom. Focusing on international immigration and global supply chains, the book offers a novel socio-legal genealogy of the concept ‘modern slavery’ through a series of linked case studies of influential actors associated with key legal instruments: the United Nations, the United States, the International Labour Organization, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Walk Free Foundation. Constructing Modern Slavery reveals that, despite the best efforts of academics, advocates, and policymakers to develop a multifaceted approach to modern slavery, it is difficult to uncouple antislavery initiatives from conservative moral and economic agendas. Judy Fudge is a professor in the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University. Judy takes a socio-legal approach to studying labour and is committed to fostering a multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges and opportunities facing workers. She has worked with women’s groups, legal clinics, trade unions and the International Labour Organization. Her most recent work focuses on labour exploitation, modern slavery and unfree labour in the context of labour migration and global supply chains.
Mathematical studies of atmospheric wave interactions
Professor Lucy Campbell of Carleton University, Canada, will be presenting a seminar titled 'Mathematical studies of atmospheric wave interactions' on Friday 13 September from 10:30 to 11:30. Join via the CoE-MaSS website calendar here.
Etienne Vos, Research Manager and Research Scientist at IBM Africa, will be presenting the next Data Science Strategic Group talk on 18 September from 13:00 to 14:00. The talk will discuss the phenomenon of Urban Heat Islands. Join at the IBM Research Laboratory in Braamfontein or online https://ibm.webex.com/meet/zkara.
Dr Ludwig Hansen will open the exhibition and will deliver a memorial lecture.
The Roelof S Uytenbogaardt UDISA Memorial Lecture (RSUUML) was initiated by UDISA to honour the extraordinary contribution made by Roelof S Uytenbogaardt in the establishing and promotion of Urban Design in South Africa, as teacher, mentor, urbanist, and practitioner.
The RSUUML is also a platform to celebrate the career of a UDISA member with an outstanding contribution to the field of urban design.
Dr Ludwig Hansen is the 8th recipient of the the UDISA RSUUML award.
Join neurologist and brain health specialist, Dr Kirti Ranchod on Saturday 21 September at Origins Centre at 11:00 for a session focusing on Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. Focusing on aspects of healthy brain functioning and mental wellness, she will discuss what to do if you think you have dementia or experience memory problems, what can be done to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and how to support people living with Alzheimer's disease. Free entrance. Spaces are limited. RSVP and enquires: Tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.za
Come together at Origins Centre on 24 September for a series of vibrant and immersive performances that celebrate South Africa's rich heritage and diverse artistic expressions. With a focus on community engagement and cultural promotion, this event on is set to offer a unique platform for emerging artists and provide a memorable experience for attendees. ‘Stories of the Soil: Kwasukasukela’ brings a dynamic blend of theatre, music, and physical theatre and interactive activities. Discounted entrance on pre-sale tickets on webtickets (R60 for half day, R100 for the full day) (https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/EventCategory.aspx?itemid=1553444336#tickets). Brought to you by Origins Centre interns 2024 and Apex Studios, Braamfontein. Enquiries: Bongiwe.ndulula@wits.ac.za; tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.za
If you are interested in attending please enrol online - the course can be found under the Generic Development Suite on iWits.
The Counselling and Careers Development Unit staff are offering academic, support and residence staff a two-day workshop on supportive skills and basic counselling. The requirement for the attendance of this Supportive Skills course is full attendance of the Students at Emotional Risk workshop. This training includes sections on self-reflection and self-awareness, as well as supporter and counselling skills. Please note: Staff who are feeling emotionally fragile or who have experienced recent trauma or bereavement are advised not to attend at this point. This workshop takes place on 17 and 18 September 2024 at the Centre For Learning and Development (CLTD), Wits University Campus West. Time: Day 1 08:30 to 15:00 and Day 2 08:30 to 16:00. For more information click here
Please enrol via iWits, Employee Self Service. The offering can be found under the Academic Development Suite
Good quality feedback to postgraduate students on both the process and product is key to a successful supervision relationship and, ultimately, to the timely completion of postgraduate studies. This workshop is an opportunity for dialogue and discussion, as well as illustrating principles and strategies for effective and constructive feedback that informs the continuous learning of the student. This workshop takes place online on 18 September 2024 from 09:00 to 12:00. For more information click here
Join Dr Robin Drennan as he discusses how to use a project plan to develop a project budget that supports and enhances your research.
A research project budget is a vital component of any funding proposal. Join Dr Robin Drennan as he discusses how to use a project plan to develop a project budget that supports and enhances your research. The workshop makes use of laptops and allows delegates to develop their own budgets that account for direct and indirect costs (CORY). It covers the translation of the project plan to a budget and includes matters such as Value Added Tax, student bursaries and charge out rates. You need not be an accountant to make sense of these issues; in fact, the course is intended for non-accountants. This workshop takes place on 20 September 2024 from 09:00 to 13:00 at Centre For Learning and Development (CLTD), Wits University Campus West. For more information click here
Join the School of Electrical and Information Engineering for its annual Open Day!
The School of Electrical and Information Engineeringwill host its annual Open Day to showcase exciting investigation projects completed by their fourth-year students. As part of the curriculum, electrical and information engineering students pair up to use all the engineering skills and knowledge they have gained as undergraduates to conduct investigation projects that provide insights and solutions to various challenges.
Join the public lecture on AI for the Humanities, AI and African Languages.
The School of Literature Language and Media will host Professor Vukosi Marivate (University of Pretoria) who will deliver a lecture on AI for the Humanities, AI and African Languages. He will talk about how he developed methods, and tools and generated data for local or low-resource languages and how using data science could be utilised to solve social challenges. The event aims to highlight some of his work in the field of AI and African Languages, e.g. the Masakhane NLP project, which aims to develop NLP technologies for African languages and the Lelapa AI, an African start-up focused on AI for Africans by Africans. Marivate aims to empower and support African researchers and practitioners by opening up conversations for ideation and possible collaborations between institutions of higher learning. This public lecture takes place on 16 September 2024, from 13:15 to 14:00, at the Humanities Graduate Seminar Room, West Engineering Building, Wits Campus East.
The English Academy of Southern Africa will be hosting an online lecture in honour of Ama Ata Aidoo, the Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic who passed away in 2023. The lecture is titledWays of Teaching: African Feminism as Pedagogyand will be presented by Dr Naomi Nkealahfrom the Wits School of Education. The lecture will take place on Monday, 30 September 2024, at 15:00. Should you wish to attend the lecture, RSVP by 20 September to Karin Baselenglishacademy@societies.wits.ac.za.
Professor Garth Stevens, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: People Development and Culture, invites you to the Inaugural Lecture of Professor Tshepo Mongalo.
The simple language drafting movement in recent times in the corporate law field has shown the simplicity and accessibility of many corporate law transactions, previously thought of as being too complex for ordinary (and aspiring) entrepreneurs to engage in. The lecture presented by Professor Tshepo Mongalo, Professor of Corporate Law at Wits School of Law, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management intends to demonstrate that there is a massive need for the transfer of corporate law power to the people. The lecture posits that the first step consists in incorporating corporate law as part of every higher education programme in the effort to integrate ‘innovation and entrepreneurship’ education curriculum. The lecture shows that several corporate law transactions have distinct benefits and are accessible to ordinary entrepreneurs in a developing country like South Africa. YouTube live stream: https://youtu.be/jGR13l_wKvk
Exploring Novel Solutions for Tracking and Adapting to the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Resource-Constrained Settings.
Presenters from Wits:
Dr. Nicholas Brink (HE2AT Center, Wits Planetary Health Research group) will be delivering a presentation titled “Responses to the Climate Change Crisis: Understanding and Monitoring the Impact of Climate Change, Packages of Adaptation Interventions, and Climate Financing.”
Ijeoma Solarin (Wits Planetary Health Research) will participate in the panel discussion, contributing her expertise on the social dimensions of climate-related heat exposure and maternal health.
About Dr. Brink's Presentation: Dr. Brink will focus on the health sector’s response to climate change, with an emphasis on monitoring the impacts of climate change on health and evaluating adaptation and mitigation strategies. His presentation will highlight the importance of climate financing in supporting adaptation interventions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on research from the HE2AT Center, his talk will outline key measurement strategies for climate interventions and discuss the need for coordinated efforts across sectors to address climate-related health challenges.
About Ijeoma Solarin's Panel Contribution: As a key contributor to the panel discussion, Ijeoma Solarin will address the social and behavioral dimensions of how extreme heat exposure affects maternal and child health in sub-Saharan Africa. She will explore the critical link between social determinants of health—such as poverty, healthcare access, and living conditions—and how these factors interact with climate-related health risks for vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant women. Solarin will advocate for incorporating these social perspectives into broader climate adaptation strategies to ensure interventions are both equitable and effective.
Target Audience and Outreach Goals: This session is designed to engage a broad, multidisciplinary audience, including:
Public health professionals and researchers.
Climate scientists, data scientists, and AI specialists.
Policymakers, climate financing agencies, and healthcare providers.
Civil society organizations and students interested in the intersection of climate change and health.
Addressing Your Questions:
Wits' Representation: Dr. Nicholas Brink will be speaking during the session, with Ijeoma Solarin contributing to the panel discussion.
Target Audience: Our target audience includes public health professionals, researchers, climate scientists, policymakers, healthcare providers, climate financing bodies, and civil society. The session aims to engage a multidisciplinary audience, emphasizing the intersection of climate, health, and sustainable development.
We hope to raise awareness about the health impacts of climate change, especially on vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children, and showcase how data science and social science can inform effective climate action. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share this session on Wits' communication platforms to engage the broader Wits community and external audiences.
About Wits Planetary Health Research
Wits Planetary Health Research (Wits PHR) is dedicated to advancing understanding of the interactions between human health and the environment. Through cutting-edge research, innovative solutions, and strategic partnerships, Wits PHR seeks to address the growing impacts of climate change on public health, especially in vulnerable and resource-constrained settings.
Join for a workshop on teaching development and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).
Are you thinking about your teaching and research for 2025? If so, join us for a workshop on teaching development and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This workshop is offered in preparation for applying for funding from the UCDP grant. The workshop will be offered in two slots on Friday 27 September and participants could attend either the morning session from 9:30-11:30 or the afternoon session from 14:00-16:00 at the CLTD. Send RSVPs and enquiries to: arthi.sooryalall@wits.ac.za
The School of Physics and Geosciences, in collaboration with Fast4Future is excited to host Christer Funglesang for a Family Friendly talk.
Bring your aspiring young astronauts and come listen to stories from the International Space Station! The event is free but we are asking you to get tickets so we can monitor numbers and keep you updated: Get your tickets at:https://qkt.io/Astro24
The Centre for Indian Studies in Africa presents it’s Annual Satadru Sen Memorial Lecture Series. This year Prof Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History at University of Oxford will present his lecture on History and the Political Imagination. It seems impossible to think about politics in anything but historical terms. Not only does grand strategy require a historical narrative, but popular politics is also defined by visions of a past that must either be repudiated or reclaimed. But today this relationship between politics and history appears to have reached an impasse, with versions of the past endlessly but unconvincingly recycled to explain the present. Historians have dealt with this problem by focussing on the issue of presentism, though more interesting might be thinking about politics outside history. Focussing on 20th-century efforts to avoid historical narrative, this lecture will trace the emergence of esotericism in anti-colonial and Cold War political thought to argue for its return in our own times. This takes place on 2 October 2024, from 18:00 to 19.30 online. Join here:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84836749523?pwd=xEgJjoxQbtzgEOVtIgP0AsGhUg5v6U.1
Join the Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) for a Lunch Break seminar.
Joel Pearson will present a paper titled ‘Historicising Crisis in a South African Rural Municipality: Spatial, Administrative and Extractivist Dimensions’, looking at the Mogalakwena Local Municipality in Limpopo.
WiCDS is hosting its 10th Annual Conference on Irreverence, Ridicule and the Risqué: Humour in (De)(Pro)moting Social Justice.
The conference will gather scholars from different directions and locations to critically engage with the question of humour in (de)(pro)moting social justice. Of particular interest for this conference, is how humour is implicated in, and acts through, on, and against the power relations that organise understandings of social differences. When is humour harmless? When is it dangerous? When should we applaud? Where do we draw the line?
Scholars in the humanities and social sciences, from different parts of the world, are called upon to reflect on humour as a vehicle for both disempowering and speaking truth to power.
Our conference is therefore not about humour for the sake of humour but wishes to consider ridicule, laughter, and fun in the context of dismantling injustice, discrimination and othering, and in promoting a fairer, kinder, less exclusionary world.
Group 4 of the 2024 ECAD program invites you to a performative dialogue to collaboratively identify and address challenges encountered by Early Career Academics
Early Career Academics (ECA) in South Africa face common challenges. Group 4 of the 2024 Wits ‘Early Career Academic Development’ (ECAD) Programme is hosting a forum theatre-based symposium that will highlight challenges faced by new and emerging academics through a theater performance. Structured as a performative dialogue, Group 4 aims to initiate and sustain meaningful conversations between universities and senior and junior academics to collaboratively identify and address the challenges ECAs encounter.
Amplifying African Voices for Strategic Action- (AFSA) Conference on 31 October – 01 November 2024.
The African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) at Wits University, South Africa, is partnering with multiple organisations, to host the “Amplifying the Africa Voices for Strategic Action (AFSA)” on 31 October - 01 November 2024. The conference will be held at the Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference forms part of an initiative to explore in more detail several of the main areas of global power competition in Africa. It seeks to address the challenge Africa faces as the global powers escalate and refine their strategies toward the continent across political, economic, and cultural themes and sectors. Undoubtedly, the escalating interest of various global powers in Africa reflects the continent's increasing significance on the world stage. This trend is underscored by a series of recent summits involving Africa, with more on the horizon as these countries entrench their positions in Africa. In all this, African states are treated as norm takers rather than norm setters, agenda-takers rather than agenda-setters. Rather than merely complaining, the conference will propose strategies and initiatives to ensure African countries and stakeholders take agency in charting self-interested positions towards the global powers. The conference will thus bring together participants from various fields, including policy makers, academics, media practitioners, civil society activists, think tanks, and business people.
Join for a Family Talk-About of the exhibition Clive van den Berg: Porous with Prof. Alison Kearney, Department of Visual Art, UJ.
This session will explore the ways in which the artist combines different perspectives in his landscape paintings and provide an opportunity for participants of all ages to create their own oil pastel drawings inspired by the works on exhibition. This interactive workshop offers us the chance to create art in a vibrant family-friendly setting. Participants will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the various artworks showcased in the exhibition. The workshop will take place in the WAM Café / Gallery Forecourt area. All materials will be provided for this free event. Museum hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 16:00. Entrance is free, all are welcome.
Join PhD Fine Art candidate, Janet Solomon, at Origins Centre on Thursday 3 October, 18:00 - 21:00 for the 'Blue Burning' exhibition and film screening.
The video documentary is a response to the state’s intention to “maximise” utilisation of South African offshore petroleum potential. Filmed between 2019 and 2024, Blue Burning chronicles the grassroots refusal of consent to offshore oil and gas development that has been called the largest environmental campaign in South Africa’s history. The film offers a haunting aesthetic of irreconcilable worlds, peeling back a state imaginary to reveal a storied and remarkable ocean at the heart of ongoing resistance. RSVP here: tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.zahttps://www.blueburning.africa/
Book tickets at https://www.quicket.co.za/events/250400-fakugesi-festival-2024-untilunlocked/#/
Africa’s biggest creative digital innovation festival celebrates the exciting expansion of African digital creativity.
The annualFak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festivalcelebrates young Pan-African talent in the digital sphere to its fullest. It is rooted in showcasing and developing skills in technology, art and culture in Africa.
This yearFak’ugesi #UntilUnlockedcelebrates the exciting expansion of African digital creativity. Visit the Festival website:https://fakugesi.co.za/
Fak'ugesi has something for everyone: conferences, workshops, talks, exhibitions, hackathons, music and digital art performances. Buy your ticketshere.
A highlight is the annual Fak’ugesi Awards, which honours innovators for outstanding creative achievements in immersive video, digital art, music, video games, design and animation. The Award winners will be announced on 4 October 2024.
Renzo Filinich and InterLab's body of work responds to the urgency of ecological crisis as a crisis of imagination.
This work emerges from an ongoing trans-atlantic collaboration between colleagues in Brazil and South Africa, opening new global south epistemologies. The work's algorithmic imaging and sonification of the anthropological collection of the Origins Centre moves away from a focus on representation to embody a collision of knowledge systems. The work speaks to Sylvia Wynter's idea of the human as a multiple and complex form of relational being, inseparable from language, narrative and context. The algorithm works with facial recognition software, but builds in possibilities for recursion and even mis-recognition, undoing the logics of surveillance, and the racial and gendered codes that haunt computational models. The work invites interactive viewing from the audience, making space for multiple modulations that never produce the same image twice. Exhibition on until 12 October 2024
Blue Burning exhibition and video documentary is a response to the state’s intention to “maximise” utilisation of South African offshore petroleum potential.
Fine Art PhD candidate Janet Solomon’s Blue Burning exhibition and video documentary is a response to the state’s intention to “maximise” utilisation of South African offshore petroleum potential. Filmed between 2019 and 2024, Blue Burning chronicles the grassroots refusal of consent to offshore oil and gas development that has been called the largest environmental campaign in South Africa’s history. Experimental in form, the documentary exposes the theatre of ‘mitigation’ and ‘public consultation’ in the state’s push for thirty new offshore oil and gas wells by 2030. The film offers a haunting aesthetic of irreconcilable worlds, peeling back a state imaginary to reveal a storied and remarkable ocean at the heart of ongoing resistance. Solomon worked with interested and affected parties for four years,to shape the visually poetic, emotionally poignant, and politically bold Blue Burning documentary. Exhibition on until 31 October 2024
Join the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) Weekly US Presidential Webinar!
On 9 October 2024, we're diving into a critical discussion on the Implications for the Implementation of 2022 US Policy Toward Africa. As the U.S. continues to engage with African nations under its 2022 policy framework, we explore the real-world effects, challenges, and opportunities this policy presents for Africa’s development, diplomacy, and governance. Led by experts in U.S.-Africa relations, this webinar will provide insights into the policy’s focus areas, including economic partnerships, human rights, governance, and security. Join us to analyse the broader impacts on African nations and what the future of U.S.-Africa relations might hold. Don't miss this opportunity to engage with thought leaders, ask critical questions, and network with like-minded professionals.
Make-a-Book at the Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts: Tunnel Book with artist Stephen Hobbs
When:
Saturday, 05 October 2024
Where:
Wits Art Museum
Start time:
11:30
Enquiries:
kutlwano.mokgojwa@wits.ac.za
Join us on Saturday, 5 October from 11:30 – 13:00 to make a tunnel book exploring ideas of optical play and perspectives.
A tunnel book is a three-dimensional book with layered cut-out scenes connected by accordion-folded sides, creating depth when viewed through an opening. We will be using altered images from the current Stephen Hobbs exhibition at WAM Man Shouting in Distance. All materials will be supplied. The workshop will take place in the WAM Café/ Gallery Forecourt area. Entrance is free.
Please note:
THIS WORKSHOP IS ONLY SUITABLE FOR THOSE 12 YEARS AND ABOVE.
Limited on-street parking is available, but we encourage the use of ride-hailing systems for convenience.
Politics of Cross-Border Data Flows – Impact on African Researchers
Ntsibane Ntlatlapa, Associate Professor at the Learning Information Networking Knowledge (LINK) Centre of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, will be presenting the next Data Science Strategic Group talk on 16 October from 13:00 to 14:00. The title of the talk is Politics of Cross-Border Data Flows – Impact on African Researchers. Please join us at the IBM Research Laboratory in Braamfontein or online. For more information and to RSVP please contact diane.dowejko@wits.ac.za.
After the Storms — Academic Freedom and Leadership in Higher Education
WiSER invites you to a conversation on
After the Storms — Academic Freedom and Leadership in Higher Education
During the apartheid years, academic freedom was the main concept used to defend the autonomy of institutions of higher learning. Throughout the period, universities commemorated and marked the passing of the Extension of University Education Act of 1959 by holding protests or organising lectures on academic freedom. With the end of apartheid, it has become less clear what academic freedom means and whether it is still a useful term for understanding the internal and external threats to university autonomy. This conversation between two former university vice-chancellors will explore the post-apartheid dilemmas of university leadership through the lens of academic freedom.
Speakers include Max Price andAdam Habib
The discussion will be moderated by Victoria Collis-Buthelezi
Professor Paul N. Edwards' talk proposes that the Paris Agreement's bottom-up, voluntarist framework should be understood as incantatory ungovernance...
Join us this Saturday, 12 October 2024, for an Artist Walk-About.
The exhibition Man Shouting in Distance: Stephen Hobbs will provide fascinating insights into the artist's artmaking process over 30 years. This is a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into the artist's perspectives and the themes that have concerned him over 30 years of his artistic practice, such as body and trauma; art and war; building construction, architecture and Joburg.
This exhibition is supported by David Krut Projects, Digital Fabric (Pty) Ltd, Soul Circle Studios and The Trinity Session.
Museum hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 16:00 Entrance is free, all are welcome.
Limited on-street parking is available, but we encourage using ride-hailing systems for convenience.
Join the ACSUS Webinar: Countdown to US Elections 2024
The African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) invites you to The Geopolitical Implications of a Harris or Trump Presidency for Africa, with a Focus on BRICS webinar. As the U.S. elections draw near, we explore the potential outcomes of a Harris or Trump presidency and their broader geopolitical impacts on Africa, particularly in relation to BRICS.
This discussion will delve into how U.S.-Africa relations might shift, especially in the spheres of trade, diplomacy, and global alliances. With the growing influence of BRICS, the webinar will critically assess what either administration could mean for Africa’s positioning in the global economy and political landscape.
Satire & Social Justice with Chester Missing and Conrad Koch
As part of the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (WiCDS) 10th Annual Conference on Irreverence, Ridicule and the Risqué: Humour in (De)(Pro)moting Social Justice we invite you to an evening with comedian, ventriloquist, and social commentator, Conrad Koch and his most famous puppet, Chester Missing! Open and FREE to the public, this performance will engage with questions of humour, laughter and jokes in relation to social (in)justice. Conrad Koch will perform with his irrepressible sidekick, Chester Missing, followed by an interactive and educational discussion on the uses and limits of humour toward social justice. Come prepared to engage with Conrad Koch and Chester Missing and an evening full of laughter and learning!
Providing essential knowledge and tools for planning a fulfilling and secure retirement, covering emotional transitions, budgeting, and financial strategies.
Join the Botlhale Orenstein Memorial Lecture on the Evolution and Impact of Cardiovascular Diseases in South Africa, hosted by the Adler Museum of Medicine.
After the Rainbow. South Africa’s Interregnum through Brazil’s Lens
The Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) invites you to the final LunchBreak seminar of 2024atHofmeyr House on Friday, 18 October 2024. Fabio Luis Barbosa dos Santos will present a paper titled ‘After the Rainbow. South Africa’s Interregnum through Brazil’s Lens’. Lunch will be served at 13:00. Visit the SWOP website at: www.swop.org.za. Join the SWOP mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/h1cX8L
This workshop is designed to advance the initiatives of the African Engineering and Technology Network (Afretec).
Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at Wits, will open the Workshop, and she will be joined by speakers: Glaudina Loots, Director for Health Innovation at the Department of Science and Innovation, and Professor Thokozani Majozi, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.
South Africa’s universities will converge from 9 -11 October for the 3rd Higher Education Conference themed The Future of the University.
This conference will explore current and developing trends in higher education and how they impact universities’ core functions of teaching and learning, research and engagement, as well as universities’ leadership and management, transformation and how institutions are positioning graduates for the future world of work and economic participation. Hosted by Universities South Africa (USAf), this conference will gather vice-chancellors, their deputies, chief financial officers and heads of universities’ administrative functions as well as representatives of government, science councils, industry as well as civil society. Plenary sessions will be live-streamed on the USAf You Tube channel. View programme
Translanguaging, Literacies, and Technological Affordances: Shaping the Future of Multilingual Education.
The Hub for Multilingual Education and Literacies (HuMEL) and its partners are pleased to announce the 12th International Conference on Language and Literacy Education, set to take place from 12-14 September 2025. The theme for the year 2025 focuses on the intersection of translanguaging, literacies, and technological affordances, exploring how these key elements are transforming the landscape of multilingual education in the 21st century.
Wits Business School is pleased to announce its upcoming energy conference in partnership with the Consulate General of India, Johannesburg.
The two-day conference, dubbed Matla-Urja (meaning “energy” in Sesotho and Hindi) will bring together industry leaders and academics from South Africa and India to engage on both shared and divergent energy challenges as well as explore investment opportunities.
India is the third largest energy consumer globally and has emerged as a global leader in the energy transition. The country has created a power surplus and has turned around its entire energy supply chain in order to meet its goal of providing secure and sustainable energy to its vast citizenship. Despite progress made in its transition to a clean energy future, India faces significant challenges ahead, including funding and mitigation of climate change issues.
South Africa faces the multipronged challenge of providing affordable, secure and clean energy for its citizens in ways that simultaneously combat poverty, unemployment and inequality. In the context of a near collapse of its national grid resulting in rolling black-outs, South Africa’s goal is to ensuring security of electricity supply while pursuing a diversified energy mix.
With the shared challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy while addressing critical socio-economic and environmental issues, South Africa and India can benefit from the sharing of best practice, research and experience, as well as finding areas of common interest for future collaboration and investment.
The inaugural Matla-Urja Energy Conference will take place at Wits Business School on the 28 November and will consider energy market developments, the future energy mix and efficiency initiatives, energy financing, and infrastructure.
The conference will be preceded by an Academic Conference on 27 November, the sessions of which will include the role of oil and gas in the just energy transition, energy modelling, and skills and capacity development. Post-conference activities will include delegates visits to both Sasol and Eskom.
For information on the Academic Conference and to present a paper please contact: David.phaho@wits.ac.za
Geo-Data Science: Applications of GIS and Remote Sensing.
Dr Iqra Atif, Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography, Archaeology, and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, will be presenting the next Data Science Strategic Group talk on 30 October from 13:00 to 14:00. The talk is titled “Geo-Data Science: Applications of GIS and Remote Sensing”Please join us at the IBM Research Laboratory in Braamfontein or online here. For more information and to RSVP please contact diane.dowejko@wits.ac.za.
The Wits School of Governance invites you to their 2025 intake Open Day on 18 October 2024, 11:00 at the Donald Gordon Auditorium, Parktown Management Campus. Meet our academics and support team to learn about the various programmes on offer and get assistance in applying for our programmes: Postgraduate Diploma in Management, Master of Management and PhD.
This will focus on innovative translanguaging strategies in the classroom, emphasizing practical classroom applications and teacher-driven methodologies.
The exhibition brings together objects, images, symbols and languages that embody knowledge and narratives both near and far.
ANAMNESIS refers to a recalling of a supposed previous existence or an account of one’s medical history. ǂ’ANMÃSISA, is from the Kora/!Ora language which was spoken by the Korana and is now believed to be an almost extinct indigenous language with roots stretching to the original Khoi inhabitants of the early Cape. ǂ’ANMÃSISA has been translated as ‘Well-known’ by linguistic anthropologists. The exhibition brings together objects, images, symbols and languages that embody knowledge and narratives both near and far. They allow us to think across time and space, as a way to liberate and shift the narrow status quo and normative racial conceptions of subjectivity. Adrian Fortuin is currently completing his Master of Fine Arts at Wits University. The opening event is free. Enquiries: tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.za. Exhibition on until 9 November 2024 (entrance 30 students and pensioners, R60 adults).
This meditative walkabout will share the impact of silence on our mental health, and allow for quiet reflection within a community.
Join a silent museum walkabout with neurologist and brain health specialist, Dr Kirti Ranchod. This meditative walkabout will share the impact of silence on our mental health, and allow for quiet reflection within a community. The walkabout is part of a series of monthly walkabouts 'Investing in our Cultural Capital for Better Brain Health' that focuses on what we have within our traditions and cultures to support brain health and mental wellness. Tickets at the door or on webtickets: R30 students and pensioners, R60 adults. Enquiries: tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.za
This exhibition encapsulates Brenner’s long-term creative engagement with the skull, broadly exploring themes of fragility and survival.
‘Impact’ presents an in-depth artistic response to a scientific subject—the 2.5-2.8-million-year-old Taung skull. This exhibition encapsulates Brenner’s long-term creative engagement with the skull, broadly exploring themes of fragility and survival, destruction and creation, uncertainty, loss, pressure, and chance. The exhibition marked the beginning of Wits’ year-long celebration commemorating the discovery of the Taung child. Joni Brenner is an artist and lecturer in Interdisciplinary Arts and Culture Studies at the Wits School of Arts. The opening event is free. Enquiries and RSVP: tammy.hodgskiss@wits.ac.za. Exhibition on until April 2025.
Elevating your research publishing through Read and Publish Agreements (Transformative Agreements)
WITS Libraries, in collaboration with Springer Nature, invite Postgraduate Students, Postdoctoral Fellows, Early Career Researchers, and Established Researchers to the 2024 WITS Open Access Week Seminars and the Transformative Agreements Authorship Recognition Awards.
The Department of Political Studies, Wits University, invites you to join us at a memorial event for Dr Stephen John Louw.
Stephen passed away suddenly in June, a great shock to the many who knew him, worked with him, or were mentored by him. Stephen was employed at Wits University for thirty years before taking up a job at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He subsequently retained links with the Wits Political Studies Department as a Research Associate. Stephen is remembered in the Wits community as a dedicated teacher, friendly colleague and razor-sharp mind. The event will be an opportunity to recall and reflect on the Stephen everyone knew.
Time: 12:00 -13:30
Date: Tuesday 29 October
Venue: Room 107, Robert Sobukwe Building, East Campus, Wits University
Titled “Placing inclusive education in conversation with digital education”, this webinar explores the intersection of inclusive and digital education.
Afretec, the African Engineering and Technology Network presents the second webinar in this series which aims to showcase innovative approaches from researchers, practitioners, and advocates working towards transformative change across the continent. This webinar is titled “Placing inclusive education in conversation with digital education” and will be presented by Professor Nazir Carrim and Dr Tanya Bekker from the Wits School of Education.
WITS Faculty of Science Transformation Committee and the Dean of the Faculty of Science Invite you to 'Multilingualism and Cross-Cultural Intelligence' summit.
The School of Law invites you to Wits Law 2024, a two-day conference on 28 and 29 October 2024.
Wits Law 2024 is an open-ended and collaborative two-day conference taking place on 28 and 29 October 2024. It will bring together academics, practitioners, and alumni to discuss and share knowledge and experiences of the law. This year's theme, 'Into the next 30 years of democracy', is both forward-looking and reflective of the previous 30 years.
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