Eminent Wits epidemiologist elected to African Academy of Sciences
- Wits University
Professor Shane Norris has been elected as a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) for his work on the developmental origins of health and disease.
AAS Fellows are individuals who have reached the highest level of excellence in their field of expertise and have made contributions to the advancement of the field in Africa. Fellows are elected through a rigorous review process based on their achievements that include their publication record, innovations, leadership roles, and contribution to society.
“To be recognised by Africa’s foremost science research organization is a great honour. My area of research – infant and maternal health and its social and economic repercussions for generations down the line – has indeed received a boost and recognition of its importance in Africa," says Norris.
Norris's election acknowledges the critical work he has done in Africa, especially around the developmental origins of health and disease. His research focuses on lifecourse epidemiology with a specific interest in the development of intergenerational risk for obesity and diabetes. He also runs the Wits South African Medical Research Council-Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU).
The DPHRU is part of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the School of Clinical Medicine at Wits. The unit investigates genetic, physiological, psycho-social, and lifestyle determinants of growth and development; obesity and risk of cardio-metabolic disease; and healthy ageing through innovative multi-disciplinary methodologies across the life-course.
Norris has over 22 years of research experience in longitudinal birth cohort studies and population and non-communicable disease epidemiology and is the lead investigator of the Soweto First 1000 Days cohort, and co-Principal Investigator of the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort, which is Africa’s longest running cohort study.
In November 2019, Norris received Wits' Vice-Chancellor's Research Award, which acknowledges the achievements of an exceptional Wits scholar who has demonstrated high levels of research excellence over a sustained period of time. He was also a recipient previously of the UK Medical Reseach Council and Department of International Development African Research Leader Award.
Norris has published over 330 papers, mentored 11 postdoctoral research fellows, and supervised/supervising 90 postgraduate students.
Covid-19 Update 45: Policies and Protocols - All you need to know
- Wits University
All staff and students are reminded of the approved Wits Covid-19 policy, Emergency Response Plan and other associated protocols.
Dear Colleagues and Students
We hope that you are well and healthy, and enjoying the return of the warm weather. As we prepare for the phased return of selected cohorts of students (as invited by faculties or the Dean of Students) and some employees (as requested by line managers), it is important for all members of the Wits community to be aware of Wits’ latest COVID-19 policies and protocols as explained below.
Please remember that you should only return to campus if you receive an invitation and permit from your faculty or line manager. In the case of residences, the Office of the Dean of Students will issue invitations and permits for some students to return in this phase, in line with government regulations. If you do not receive an invitation to return to residence by Sunday evening, please continue with the academic programme online from home. Your name will remain on a waiting list and you will be notified as soon as space becomes available, or when the next phase commences.
COVID-19 Infections
Two staff members and four students reported testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week. These include staff members who are working from home. This is out of a population of approximately 5 500 permanent staff and 37 500 students. Affected staff members and students are self-isolating in line with government directives and University protocols.
No of infections
28 Aug – 3 Sept 2020
Total Infections
Staff
2
100
Students
4
181
The passing of Mr Themba Tshabalala
We lost another long-standing member of the Wits community this week. We learnt earlier this week about the passing of Mr Themba Tshabalala, a Library Assistant at the Commerce Library. He will be sorely missed by all who interacted with him in the libraries and the greater Wits community. Mr Tshabalala has served Wits for over 22 years in various capacities. He joined the Wits Health Sciences Library in 1996 and was appointed as an Administrative Assistant in the Library’s Finance and Administration Department in 1999, before taking up the post of Library Assistant in the Commerce Library in 2011. On behalf of the Wits community, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his friends and family, and those who knew him well. May he rest in peace.
SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM
4 SEPTEMBER 2020
WITS’ COVID-19 POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS
The Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Management Directorate (OHS&E) would like to remind all staff and students of the approved Wits COVID-19 policy, Emergency Response Plan and other associated protocols.
1. Risk assessment
All managers, Heads of Schools (HoS), Section 16.2 Assignees, Directors and Supervisors (as appropriate) must complete a COVID-19 risk assessment for their respective School or entity and implement the necessary risk mitigation measures before the return of staff and students to their respective entities. A copy of the risk assessment must be sent to the School or Unit’s respective OHS&E Officer. Guidelines to carry out the risk assessment are available from the OHS&E Directorate.
2. Relevant Forms
A Reporting Form for Employees must be completed for every staff member that contracts COVID-19, irrespective of whether the employee is working from home or on campus. The completed form must be sent to Jo-Anne Zastrau via Dept-OHS-Admin@wits.ac.za. This form has prompts indicating which other University entities should be notified.
A Reporting Form for Students must be completed for every student that contracts COVID-19. This form can also be obtained from Anna.Moloi@wits.ac.za from the Campus Health and Wellness Centre and must be returned to her once completed.
Line Managers and/or Supervisors are expected to investigate an infection incident involving an employee or student from their respective entity if the infected person was on the University’s premises 10 days prior to being positively diagnosed. The infected person's HoS, Section 16.2 Assignee, Director or Supervisor must, during such an investigation, attempt to ascertain whether contraction of the virus arose out of or in the course of employment or during student activities while on the University's precincts. They must complete the COVID-19 Investigation Form and send a copy of the completed form to the relevant OHS&E Officer. The form also includes prompts indicating which other University entities should be notified.
If an infected employee was on campus within a period of 10 days prior to being positively diagnosed and if there is evidence to suggest that the employee contracted COVID-19 arising out of and in the course of employment, then the infected person's HoS, Director, Supervisor or Section 16.2 assignee must fill in a WCL1 form and any other documents and send these to Ntabiseng.Nzimande@wits.ac.za and copy Dept-OHS-Admin@wits.ac.za so that the infection can be formally reported to the Compensation Commissioner.
3. Reporting Infections
In order to manage infections, maintain record-keeping and fulfil all University and legislative and regulatory requirements, certain entities at the University must be informed about staff and student COVID-19 infections. These persons or entities may include, but are not limited to:
The Line Manager or Supervisor must immediately be notified by the employee or student to enable the notification of other University entities and to investigate infection incidents;
The Line Manager or Supervisor will inform the Human Resources Officer, Manager or Course Co-ordinator of the entity in which the person is employed or studies (to assist with leave of absence arrangements and follow up);
In the case of student infections, the Campus Health and Wellness Centre (CHWC) is to be notified by the Line Manager or Supervisor and/or the infected person in order to facilitate isolation arrangements if necessary, to record the infection and to follow-up with the infected person, as well as to provide information about isolation and quarantining. Student infections must be reported using the student reporting form and must be sent to CHWC via Anna.Moloi@wits.ac.za
In the case of staff infections, the OHS&E Directorate is to be notified by the Line Manager or Supervisor and/or the infected person using the employee reporting form. The OHS&E Directorate records infections in a central register and uses the information to report work-related infections to the relevant authorities (such as the Department of Employment and Labour, insurers and the Compensation Commissioner).
Campus Protection Services is to be notified by the Line Manager or Supervisor and the CHWC to ensure that adequate access controls are implemented (i.e. CPS temporarily blocks the infected person's access card while the person completes the obligatory isolation or quarantine period and the card remains blocked until the recovered persons comply with the requirements to be permitted to return to campus);
Course coordinators in Schools (such as in the Faculty of Health Sciences) should be informed to facilitate the learning and/or tracking and isolation arrangements of infected and/or affected students;
For students and staff in residences, Residence Managers should be notified in order for isolation or quarantine arrangements to be made.
Cleaning services should be contacted in all instances where buildings and/or sections within buildings may potentially have been contaminated by an infected person and/or persons experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. The Services Directorate has a cleaning plan that can be obtained from the Director: Services by emailing Israel.Mogomotsi@wits.ac.za.
4. Confidentiality
The above designated individuals and those who may be designated to manage operations and who have access to information about an infected person, must keep such information confidential.
5. COVID-19 Symptoms
In the event that a person on campus experiences COVID-19 symptoms, this information must also be disclosed to the relevant Line Manager, Supervisor, Course Coordinator, the Campus Health and Wellness Centre, Residence Manager or Campus Protection Services either by the affected employee or student or by any person observing such symptoms (this requirement is not only confined to positively diagnosed persons). The person must be isolated and the protocol for the management of COVID-19 events must be followed. A copy of this protocol can be obtained from Jo-Anne Zastrau by emailing Dept-OHS-Admin@wits.ac.za.
6. Contact tracing
In the event that an infected or suspected infected person may have been in close contact with other persons on campus, then efforts will be made by the University to trace or determine (with the assistance of the infected individual) whether any other persons were potentially exposed. It will be expected that the relevant entity or School in which such an infected person functions will assist in the tracing process. The University will contact any affected employee or student and inform them of the potential exposure so that they may take the necessary precautionary measures. The name of the employee or student that is suspected to be infected with the virus must not be disclosed.
7. Return to Campus Readiness Plan
The Human Resources team have developed a comprehensive Return to Campus Readiness Plan, which can be obtained from the Senior Director: Human Resources via Kgomotso.Kasonkola@wits.ac.za.
8. Wits COVID-19 webpage
An informative COVID-19 webpage reflects Wits’ protocols as well as other useful COVID-19 information and resources. Please read and share this content as appropriate.
9. COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan
The latest version of the Wits COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan is available online and all entities must be aware of the content of this document.
Symposium to focus on key challenges in dealing with a delayed but explosive unfolding of Covid-19 in parts of Africa.
The purpose of the symposium, held from 1 – 4 September 2020, was to identify best practice solutions in respect of:
gaining of public trust in adhering to the health imperatives of social distancing and the use of approved therapies and vaccines to manage and contain outbreaks;
the dynamic and most-effective use of testing, tracing and isolation as public health tools during a pandemic; and
the scaling up of SARS_COV2 vaccine acquisition and distribution platforms that will serve all African countries for mass immunization.
The online symposium was hosted by Columbia University, the University of the Witwatersrand and Africa CDC, in collaboration with the Daily Maverick. Here follows post-symposium articles from a host of experts from Wits and its partners:
The call for candidates to run for the SRC General Election has yielded positive results with nearly 58 nominations submitted to the Wits Electoral Office.
The nominations opened on 31 August and close at 16:00 on Friday, 11 September 2020. Online voting takes place on 6 and 7 October 2020.
“The number of nominations received thus far surpasses those of previous year. This is a good sign to the University and for student activism as the SRC plays an important role in making sure that the voices and needs of students are heard and considered at all levels of the university,” says Jabu Mashinini, the Chief Electoral Officer and Manager of Student Governance.
The schedule for the elections process has been published and all related activities will take place online due to Covid-19.
The process leading to voting day is traditionally characterised by robust debates and campaigning across all five campuses. However, due to changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the regulations to contain the virus, candidates will have to conduct these online using virtual platforms.
“Even though this departs from the traditional practices of campaigning and mass circuses where candidates present their manifestos, we are confident that our student leaders will rise to the challenge as digital natives,” adds Mashinini.
No stranger to running elections online, the Wits Student Governance Office introduced online voting in 2017 and has built the foundation and experience required to move the electoral process fully online.
According to Mashinini there are several benefits that come with running the elections fully online, one of which is the democratisation of the elections.
The online process means that anyone can participate and vote no matter where they are in the world. Previously the official mass circuses with candidates responding to questions from fellow students would take place during lunch hour. Not all students could attend due to competing needs such as academic programmes, distance and collecting food from the dining hall. The online platforms mean that more students can engage with the candidates about their vision and the changing needs of students.
Online elections and Data
Many operations are running successfully online across the world including virtual mass conferences and gatherings.
Candidates will present via zoom and interact with students. Dates will be communicated via the University’s channels once the final candidates have gone through a vetting process for eligibility in line with the University’sthe rules.
The Electoral Office aims to use zero-rated platforms to minimise data usage on the side of students, says Mashinini.
Further details will be communicated via the University’s official website for the elections, student emails and the University’s social media accounts.
2020/2021 SRC General Election Schedule
DATES
ACTIVITY
31 August 2020
Announcement of SRC Elections
31 August 2020
Announcement of the appointment of the Chief Electoral Officer and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer
Announcement of polling days
31 August 2020
Nominations Open
11 September 2020
Closing of nominations at 16H00
12 September 2020
Publishing of the provisional list of nominees.
16 September 2020
Objections to Candidature (in writing via email)
Closing (14:00)
14 to 18 September 2020
Vetting of nominees
18 September 2020
Publishing of the finallist of candidates.
18 September 2020
Withdrawal of nominations
22 September 2020
22 September 2020
Candidates’ Workshop
Signing of the Code of Conduct
23 September 2020
23 September 2020
Official Open Campaigns commence
Introduction of candidates to the student body.
Circulation of manifestos and voter’s guide.
05 October 2020
Campaigns cease at 7pm.
06 to 07 October 2020
POLLING DAYS
08 October 2020
Continuation of polling if 25% threshold not met
07 or 08 Oct 2020
Counting of Votes and Announcement Of Results
09 October 2020
Written Objections to Preliminary Results
Closing (16:00)
12 October 2020
Announcement of Final Results
A hero has fallen - rest in peace Advocate George Bizos
- Wits University
Rest in peace Advocate Bizos, knowing that you have left a lasting legacy in gifting freedom to our people.
The University of the Witwatersrand mourns the passing of one its greatest alumni, Advocate George Bizos, who was a hero, a stalwart in the fight against apartheid, and a lifelong member of the Wits community.
We remember him as a man of courage who always sided with the truth and who spent his lifetime fighting injustice and prejudice.
We remember him for his intellectual and legal prowess, and for the courageous role that he played in defending the Rivonia trialists, the role that he played in the Steve Biko, Neil Aggott and Ahmed Timol inquests, and the Bram Fischer Trial, amongst others. He defended numerous political activists over the years.
We remember him for the instrumental role that he played in securing the freedom of the people of South Africa. He met former president Nelson Mandela (and others) whilst studying at Wits, which was the beginning of their lifelong friendship. Together, they spent many more decades fighting for justice, freedom and human rights for all.
We remember him for the critical role that he played as South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s, and for the contribution that he made towards South Africa’s Interim Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Wits bestowed its highest honour – a Doctorate of Laws honoris causa on Advocate George Bizos in 1999. Read the full citation.
Rest in peace Advocate Bizos, knowing that you have left a lasting legacy in gifting freedom to our people, reassured that you have spent your lifetime in the service of humanity, and comforted that you were courageous to pursue the truth and fight for justice when it mattered the most.
Our deepest condolences are extended to Advocate George Bizos’ family and friends, his colleagues, his comrades, and all the people of South Africa, whom he served until his passing. May he rest in peace.
Covid-19 Update 46 - Level 1 is here
- Wits University
We welcome the news that South Africa will move to national lockdown level 1 from Monday, 21 September 2020.
However, given that we are still in the midst of a pandemic, let us continue to remain vigilant, and to follow all regulations and protocols in order to stave off a second wave of the coronavirus.
Implications for staff and students
We have received many queries pertaining to the return to our campuses and residences (including emails from international students), the continuation of the emergency remote academic programme (contact and/or online teaching and learning), and the mode of the upcoming examinations.
We are waiting for the Minister of Higher Education and Training to announce level 1 regulations for the sector. In the interim, please note the following:
The academic programme will continue as is, unless you are notified otherwise by your faculty,
Your school/faculty will advise you directly about the mode of your examinations,
You should only return to campus if you receive an invitation (and permit) from your faculty,
International students should not return until we have clarity on the regulations from the Ministry,
Students who are invited to return to residences will be issued with permits, and
Staff members should return if requested to do so by their line managers.
Please note that staff and students who are at risk due to co-morbidities should not return to campus, and should follow the University’s policies and protocols in this regard.
A further announcement will follow next week, once the Ministerial regulations are announced.
Update on student and staff infections
One staff member and three students reported testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week. These include staff members who are working from home. This is out of a population comprising of approximately 5 500 permanent staff and 37 500 students. Affected staff members and students are self-isolating in line with governmental directives and University protocols.
of infections
10 Sept – 17 Sep
22 June – 17 Sep
Staff
1
104
Students
3
187
News and Analysis
For the latest COVID-19 news, opinion, analysis and updates from Wits, please visit www.wits.ac.za/covid19.
COVID Alert SA App
President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged all people living in South Africa to download the free exposure notification COVID Alert SA app. It lets you know when you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
#JerusalemaChallenge
The President also encouraged people to participate in the Heritage Day #JerusalemaChallenge. No need to rush to the Library Lawns – simply tag #WitsJerusalemaChallenge on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram once you have mastered your moves.
You will receive a further update next week, once the new regulations are announced.
Take care
SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM
18 SEPTEMBER 2020
New MOOC: Root Canal Preparation
- Wits University
Wits University has added a new course to its free, online WitsX/edX learning platform.
Starting on 5 October 2020, the seven week course, Root Canal Preparation, will help you learn how to navigate root canal systems in the 20th Century.
About the course
Rotary endodontic instruments have revolutionised the methods and techniques used to prepare root canals. The past 2 decades has seen multiple advancements in the field of rotary instrumentation and thus a continuous effort to keep “up-to-date” is vital. This course will introduce participants to the foundational concepts of rotary instrumentation and magnification, and describes more recent file systems and techniques available to efficiently and successfully prepare root canals. The course is aimed at students and dental professionals who are fairly new to rotary endodontics or who wish to revisit fundamental concepts or learn about improvements in instrumentation.
Note: This course is based on material taught in accredited Wits courses, and can be used as course work at other universities.
Learning aims include
Define rotary endodontics, and explain the differences between rotary endodontics and manual endodontics
Recognise the benefits of using magnification, and the different types of magnification devices
Compare and contrast endodontic file systems and motors, and explain the benefits of each
Demonstrate knowledge of the concept and techniques of creating a glide path
Evaluate and select file motions during root canal preparation, identifying the benefits and limitations of such motions for differing root canal morphology.
In 2014 Wits University became the first African University to partner with edX, the online learning destination founded by MIT and Harvard to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs) to a global learning audience.
To date more than 144 000 students have enrolled on the WitsX platform that currently offers 14 free online courses.
Social work paper finalist in Global Undergraduate Awards
- Wits University
When Bilqees Mahomed decided to study the factors that hinder the treatment of mental health, she didn’t anticipate that it would have a ripple effect.
The recent graduate from the Department of Social Work has been named the regional winner of the Africa and the Middle East region of the Global Undergraduate Awards (GUA). She will now proceed to the finals where she will meet other regional finalists in the Social Science: Anthropology & Cultural studies category, in November. The GUA are viewed as the world’s leading undergraduate awards programme which recognises top undergraduate work and connects students across cultures and disciplines.
Her interest was borne out of the realisation that mental health continues to be undertreated, despite the growing awareness of its prevalence.
Her research paper attributes the problem to misperceptions and stigma, firstly around the condition and secondly, the lack of knowledge about the different forms of therapy.
She, however, believes that through more research, education and awareness these barriers could be dismantled. “Cultural sensitivity and a greater understanding of cultural and religious beliefs is a vital component in counselling in a diverse country such as South Africa,” adds the 23-year-old, who calls herself an activist at heart.
The GUA under the patronage of the President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, was established in 2012 and targets students and graduates early in their career to give them the confidence to acknowledge and harness their talents to build a brighter future. “We believe in empowering students, helping them to recognise the potential their undergraduate work can have in making real change,” read the organisation’s website.
It is this belief that prompted her research supervisor, Ms Laetitia Petersen to urge Mohamed to submit her entry in June 2020.
“Her study makes valuable contributions to the field of mental health and indigenous perceptions and cultures that shape our world views. I am truly honoured to have played a small role in her research journey. Students like Ms Mahomed makes the academic journey just so much more rewarding.
“I am very proud of her! This is an enormous achievement for her and all of us in the School and Faculty. It is hoped, the example she has set for all students will reinforce the value of their explorations in understanding their world. May more students, especially the fourth-year social work students, have the courage to let their work be show cased nationally and internationally.”
Covid 19 Update 47 - Preparing to return to campus under Lockdown Level 1
- Wits University
The Senior Executive Team (SET) met this week and agreed in principle to the coordinated return of more students and staff to our campuses from 5 October 2020.
In order to protect staff and students, this will happen in a controlled manner, under strict conditions, in line with level 1 lockdown regulations and the University’s COVID-19 policies and protocols.
Consultation with the relevant internal stakeholders is underway, in order to ensure that all health and safety protocols are in place, and to determine which cohorts of students and staff should return to our campuses and residences. A further communique will be sent out next week, detailing these decisions (including specific plans for international students). In the interim, the academic programme continues online. For now, students should only return if invited to do so by their respective faculties or the Dean of Student Affairs. Staff members must return if requested to do so by their line managers.
Update on student and staff infections
Three students reported testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week. This is out of a population comprising of approximately 37 500 students. Affected students are self-isolating in line with governmental directives and University protocols.
Thank you to all the students and staff who participated in the #ShowYourRoots Campaign. Check out the fabulous images and videos on the Wits Facebook and Instagram pages.
Look out for emails detailing the level 1 return to campus plan.
SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM
25 SEPTEMBER 2020
Fak’ugesi Festival 2020: #POWERTOTHEPIXEL
- Fak'ugesi Festival
A virtual feast of Africa’s best creative digital workshops, talks, pitches and digital art exhibitions.
Now in its seventh year, Fak’ugesi is a celebration of technology and creativity by Africans for Africa. Under the theme #POWERTOTHEPIXEL, the 2020 festival aims to bring regional and international audiences together through three major focus areas of
AFRICAN DIGITAL ART
HERITAGE & TECHNOLOGY
FAK’UGESI ARCADE
A major festival highlight is the work of anonymous South African artist a.k.a Xopher Wallace, who is the Fak’ugesi Festival 2020 #POWERTOTHEPIXEL featured Augmented Reality (AR) artist. Not only is he a winner of one of the curatorial commissions for Digital Art with exhibition titled The AFRIDELIC trip: Faces of mixed realities but is also the featured artist for the official 2020 #POWERTOTHEPIXEL face filter for Instagram, Facebook and Snap Camera. Using the Fak’ugesi iconography, Wallace’s face filter allows users to change between ‘Cyborg’ and ‘Third Eye’ to encapsulate the meeting of technology, culture, and the spirit of Fak’ugesi, try it out on Fak’ugesi’s Instagram. (video)
The exciting virtual programme launches with the opening of 8 online digital art exhibitions which will be Always On and Free, taking place online, on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. These and other contributions in the African Digital Art line-up will explore everything in digital culture today from the lives of South African teenagers in matric living through a global pandemic, to the premiere screenings of short animations from the Tshimologong Development Studio’s Young Director Program.
Special commissions
The exhibitions include five special commissions by five extraordinary new African digital art curators and are the outcome of an Africa-wide curator bootcamp led by Fak’ugesi in June and July this year and include:
Time, the Earth, and Death are Living Things, as Stories areby Ghanaian curator Elisabeth Efua Sutherland - co-created digital storytelling exhibition which maps the North, South, East & West of the continent into a rich, interactive platform that explores a collective understanding of what it means to be African in the digital age.
#DearUs, Matric 2020by Faye Kabali-Kagwa, South African / Uganda curator - a WhatsApp driven exhibition that speaks to the lives of six South African teenagers living through a global pandemic at what should be the pinnacle of their schooling career.
Misavaby South African curator and artist Nkhensani Mkhari - an online exhibition that seeks to refigure the digital as a site for radical healing and the manifestation of new metaphors of consciousness.
Spatial Fabrications: An Uninhabitable Worldby Soweto based PRE-EMPT Group Collective, a nonlinear Web VR orbiting around three animated films within a 360 environment. These views strive to warp politics and representations through various decolonial interventions.
The AFRIDELIC trip: Faces of mixed realities is curated by our feature face-filter artist Durban based Xopher Wallace presents themes influenced by African mysticism, using augmented reality as a realm of interaction between humanity and the spiritual or cosmic realms.
Winners
Other unmissable highlights in the African Digital Art leg of Fak’ugesi 2020 include industry pitches from the winners of this year’s Digital Lab Africa in Immersive Media, Animation, Gaming, Interactive Media, Digital Music and Digital Art. The programme will include various industry panels, skills exchanges and networking opportunities like ‘Meet the Digital Creatives’.
HERITAGE & TECHNOLOGY
From 23 October the Festival shifts focus towards HERITAGE & TECHNOLOGY with an inspiring line-up including:
Prize giving and closing ceremony of the #HackUrCulture Hack-a-thon – a month-long starting on Heritage Day 24 Sept. and commencing on 23 Oct. an initiative led by Fak’ugesi partners Credipple and Goethe Johannesburg beginning on Heritage Day.
Panel discussions starting with The New Media Business of Heritage Stories featuring panellists from the South African History Archive, District Six Museum, the SABC and Kalushi producer Mandla Dube. This will be followed by an international panel titled Digitising Africa: Sustaining Access & Empowerment in Digitising African Archives with partners from the French National Audio-visual Institute INA, with Robben Island Museum and the Kenyan organisations Open Restitution and African Digital Heritage.
FAK'UGESI ARCADE
The much anticipated FAK’UGESI ARCADE kicks off in November with the exhibition People of Play: African Game Developers,curated by Games Industry Africa writer Vic Bassey which aims to celebrate and acknowledge gaming’s growing foothold across the African continent as well as the game developers, producers, writers and digital artists behind the industry.
This year’s gaming programme will include industry talks, skills exchanges, and will also see Fak’ugesi partner, French Institute of South Africa’s Novembre Numerique hosting a game-jam with a particular focus on South African game development.
Pre-Register for early access and tickets to limited and special events at Fakugesi.co.za.
Partners & Funders
Fak’ugesi Festival Online 2020 is brought to you by the Tshimologong Innovation Precinct in collaboration with the Wits School of Arts. Its offering in 2020 is supported by the AFD Agence française de développement, Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development, Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, National Arts Council, Gauteng Film Commission, Wits School of Arts - Arts Research Africa, French Institute of South Africa.
Partners include:Goethe Institut Johannesburg, Credipple, AnimationSA, Digital Lab Africa, WeAreVR and Games Industry Africa.
About Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival
Fak’ugesi, which means “Switch it on” or “add power” in urban Zulu, is focused on culture, technology and innovation in Africa. It is an opportunity for young adults, with or without formal education, to learn or engage with tomorrow’s technology.
According to an Impact Report commissioned by the British Council ConnectZA- Fak’ugesi is believed to be the most important digital creativity festival in Africa.
The Tshimologong Precinct, founded by Wits University, is a true "Silicon Valley" in Johannesburg that aims to realise African digital innovation for global markets. Its ecosystem propels entrepreneurship and grows the skills pipeline for the digital economy through collaboration with academia, corporates, government and entrepreneurs.
Driven by common goals, including the desire to combine technology, innovation and creative content, Tshimologong and the French Embassy in South Africa have joined forces to create a Digital Content Hub (DCH) - and integrate and sustain the existing Digital Lab Africa Programme – the first support programming for the production of digital content across sub-Saharan Africa initiated in 2016 by the French Embassy in South Africa. The DCH is the first project from cultural industries in Africa to have obtained funding from the Agence française de développement (AFD) since the extension of their mandate to these sectors.
Created in 2016, Digital Lab Africa is an initiative of the French Institute and the French Embassy in South Africa, managed by the South African innovation hub Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct since 2018.
Digital Lab Africa (DLA) is the first platform dedicated to creative content (immersive realities, video game, animation, music, digital art) linked with innovation in Africa. The very idea of DLA is to incubate emerging talent by offering them a springboard to fast track their projects development with the support and expertise of DLA creative industries ecosystem in France and in Sub-Saharan African countries.
Wits’ first cross-faculty PhD competition promises to be a festival of invigorating and innovative ideas.
Twenty-two PhD candidates from different Faculties have been shortlisted to share their thinking around the pre-selected word ‘pandemic’. Over a period of two days, the candidates who are already into their second year of research will draw on their disciplines and apply their research and thinking to the keyword.
Winners will receive prizes from the Research & Postgraduate Affairs Office. The top three presenters will receive R35 000, R25 000 and R20 000 respectively. The abstracts were selected by a 16-member adjudicating panel. A panel of nine judges will adjudicate the final competition. The winner of The People’s Choice category to be nominated by audiences through an online, will be awarded R7000 in cash. The organising committee has also made provision for three consolation prizes amounting to 3000 each to those who came close to the top presentations.
Speaking about this new initiative Professor Robert Muponde, Director of Postgraduate Affairs in the Research Office says: “The Wits PhD Seminar is a unique cross-faculty vehicle designed to aid the articulation and dissemination of novel ideas that seek to address experiences that have a strong impact on all of us.”
Muponde says the aim of the Seminar is to provide a space for PhD students to demonstrate thought leadership, and lead through engaged scholarship. It is intended as a platform to push boundaries, and plans are in place to turn it into an annual event.
The competition requires students to be agile and responsive and to be able to present their work to the public.
“PhD students should not be prisoners of their disciplines; they should seek to innovatively extend the horizons of knowledge production and creatively adapt their research interests to a fast-changing world,” says Muponde.
The call received a positive response as over 100 abstracts were submitted by Wits PhD students. The competition is open to Wits PhD students who are at least two years into their research.
It is going to be a busy two weeks for the Research Office which will host the 11th Cross-Faculty Symposium on 12-14 October 2020. More details will be posted on the Wits Events Calendar.
Transforming African health systems to embrace diversity
- Wits University
Westernised health systems are dominant in Africa, a situation that calls for transformation to embrace more diverse forms of healing.
Health systems in Africa need a decolonial approach. A three-day convention hosted by the Wits School of Public Health will focus on decolonising African health systems. Titled, Decolonial thought and African consciousness for socially just health systems: An imaginative space, the virtual convention seeks to build collective capacity to engage in critical decolonial scholarship towards socially just health systems. The convention further aims to provide a platform for conversations to build solidarity across Africa and eradicate colonial-imposed divides in health systems on the continent.
Laetitia Rispel, Professor of Public Health at Wits University, will facilitate a session on 30 September (14:40-15:20) titled, Exploring the intersection between decoloniality and African health systems - A conversation in ‘post-colonial’ Africa. The discussion will unravel the status quo in episteme traditions, and highlight knowledge systems and its relationship to the social world.
This session will focus on the intersection between decoloniality and African health systems. It will explore how decolonial theories or approaches could complement or advance the field of health policy and systems research. In this session, scholars will highlight and share diverse examples to begin to shift African health policy and systems research (HPSR) towards decolonised, egalitarian frameworks of research methodologies.
“The session on decoloniality is important in order to advance scholarship on the theme, contribute to improvements in the performance of health systems in Africa, and ultimately achieve good health for all the people in sub-Saharan Africa,” says Rispel.
On 1 October, Dr Kui Muraya, a postdoctoral social scientist at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, will facilitate a panel on Creating an African project: Rethinking the configuration of knowledge to advance African health and health systems. The session will explore ways in which the field of HPSR offers theorisations and empirical work to guide scholars when engaging with the social, economic and political nature of health systems.
Tanya Charles, feminist activist, programme and impact lead at the Atlantic Institute, will facilitate session 3 (2 October, 14:40-15:20), From paradigm to praxis: Tools for decolonial, African health systems and policy and research. In this session, Charles will examine existing and possible ways to address and shift colonial structures of knowledge production within the academy, research institutions, and other sites of knowledge production.
Prioritising African Health Policy and Systems Research
With the focus on African health policy and systems research, the convention will reorient African knowledge, realities and people as legitimate knowledge-bearers who are able to shape the field on the continent and elsewhere.
The convention will bring together scholars, practitioners, artists, performers, creatives, media, policy-makers and activists whose work interests and work is on health systems in Africa and social justice issues.
For African HPSR and decolonial scholars in particular, this convention will explore the possibilities of a knowledge paradigm that frames decolonial research in HPSR and draws explicitly on decolonial theories and approaches, including anti-racist, critical race, Black Consciousness, queer and African feminist perspectives.
Shehnaz Munshi, convenor and Research Project Manager of the Sheiham Family Wits Programme on Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequality, says it is imperative to begin conversations that transform health.
“Today, health systems across Africa are failing to respond to the health and social needs of people. South Africa has inequitable private and public health systems, which are highly westernised. We need to probe them and change the narrative of health, and begin to recognise traditional and indigenous health systems that represent the diversity of the continent,” says Munshi.
The convention is one of five Africa-centred forums in the field of HPSR but the first focusing on decolonisation of HPSR on the continent. It takes an ambitious approach that the work of reimagining African consciousness is not only an intellectual task, but a visceral embodied journey.
It will establish strategies for dismantling processes and structures that produce and sustain inequities and injustices in health policies and systems.
“Through a process of politicizing and historicizing the HPSR space, we critically reflect on whether we are doing work that transforms unjust political, economic and social systems and structural arrangements.
The convention will grapple with the questions of “how do we as African HPSR scholars read health systems and policy recognise the erasure of our collective histories. How do we acknowledge the processes of othering and alienation? Can we see ourselves as colonised subjects that need to undergo healing and consciousness?,” says Munshi.
This event is co-sponsored by the Wits School of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; Health Systems Global; the Atlantic Institute; Tekano; and CHESAI.
Wits Professor of public health in rural South Africa wins international alumni award
- Wits University
Wits Professor Kathleen Kahn has received the 2020 Alumni Award of Merit from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Kahn is Chief Scientist at the Wits rural campus in Mpumalanga, officially known as the Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt). She is a Personal Professor in the Health and Population Division in the Wits School of Public Health and leads the Interdisciplinary PhD programme in Public and Population Health.
Kahn holds an MBBCh degree from Wits and a PhD in public health and epidemiology from Umeå University, Sweden, in addition to a Master’s in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Established in 1992, the Alumni Award of Merit is the highest honour awarded by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Alumni Association to an alumna/us of this school.
The Alumni Merit Award acknowledges Kahn’s “substantial contributions to population health research and policy translation, equitable community health in rural southern Africa, and public health education”.
“It is an honour to receive the 2020 Alumni Award of Merit from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In making this award, Harvard has recognised the importance of African health and development, the concerns of African populations, and the importance of African-led science. For this, I sincerely thank the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Alumni Association," says Kahn.
Advancing public health in rural South Africa and beyond
Kahn’s research interests include adolescent and young adult health and development, including HIV prevention, non-communicable disease risk, and mental health, as well as a life course approach to health and ageing.
Kahn has spent over 25 years working in rural South Africa and regionally. Since the inception of the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system in 1992, she has led work on mortality and cause of death measurement, using verbal autopsy to track transitions over a period of dramatic socio-political change and the HIV epidemic.
She partners with communities, public-sector departments, and collaborating investigators to undertake excellent, ethical, and community-sensitive research and elevates rural priorities to policy and decision makers. In this capacity, Kahn has been a senior adviser on issues of rural health and equity, and has investigated and shed light on such divergent problems as HIV prevention, mental health, and metabolic disease, focusing on vulnerable adolescents and how to mitigate risk and foster resilience.
She has highlighted issues that others have overlooked, such as the problem of young children dying before their parents—a global concern magnified in the epidemic period of HIV/AIDS.
Incubating research at Wits' lab in the bush
With an enduring commitment to mentorship and building capacity, Kahn has contributed substantially to building the next generation of African researchers. In 2008, she reformulated and now leads an Interdisciplinary PhD Programme in Public and Population Health, which today boasts over 100 candidates.
Kahn’s efforts to inculcate research capacity and excellence extend into Africa through the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).
She is acknowledged as among the most accomplished epidemiologists and health scientists in Africa and thus a worthy winner of the Alumni Merit Award.
