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30 May 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Africa Memorial lecture
From left; Dr Stephanie Cawood, Director of CGAS; Prof Francis Nyamnjoh; Prof Heidi Hudson, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities, and Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic
Ubuntu is a word we all know and, to some extent, relate to. Prof Francis Nyamnjoh aimed to delve and explore this African philosophy when he presented the 2019 Africa Day Memorial Lecture with the topic Ubuntuism and Africa: Actualised, Misappropriated, Endangered and Reappraised. 

The memorial lecture is hosted annually by the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) to coincide with Africa Month celebrations. Prof Nyamnjoh holds a PhD from the University of Leicester in the UK. He is currently a professor of social anthropology at the University of Cape Town and has been a scholar in sociology, anthropology and communication science at universities in Cameroon and Botswana. The lecture took place on 22 May 2019 in the Equitas Auditorium on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

“When I saw the topic I thought this was very contemporary. We at the university decided to include the Ubuntu principle in our learning and teaching strategy,” said Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic. 

Ubuntu as a binding factor for interconnectedness 

We live a world in which we cannot stand alone as the principle of Ubuntu tells us that we are who we are because of our interconnectedness with other people. “It is important to recognise that you stand on others to be tall,” said Prof Nyamnjoh. 

“We are the product of ongoing conversations on interconnectedness."

“I have argued that, in the spirit of Ubuntu, Africans, their identities and mobilities are part and parcel of the experience of being human in a world on the move. And their contributions are needed in today’s world more than ever. 

“I have broached the context of globalisation and histories of unequal encounters that have shaped relations in Africa and beyond under global capitalism."

“Even as it is increasingly seriously tested by opportunism, Ubuntuism, sometimes a reality and sometimes an ideal, brings hope and redemption, and offers a feasible framework for participatory and inclusive emancipatory social change,” said Prof Nyamnjoh. 


News Archive

Universities and communities should forge links, Prof. Khotseng
2010-03-04

At the seminar, from the left: Dr Sethulego Matebesi (Head: Department of Sociology), Prof. Khotseng and Prof. Naas Bredenkamp (Department of Sociology).
Photo: Lize du Plessis


The Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently held a departmental seminar where the former Vice-Rector of the UFS, Prof. Benito Khotseng, was the guest speaker.

He focused on the importance of the engagement between universities and the community. According to him South Africa has one of the most troubled societies in the world.

He said factors that led to people living in stress are, amongst others, unemployment, broken families, slum housing, child abuse, school dropouts, HIV/Aids, illiteracy and crime.

“People in the communities complain about what they don’t have when they should look at what they can do with what they do have,” Prof. Khotseng said.

He said the UFS was filled with people with the necessary expertise who should go to the communities to help where they could. “Universities and communities should start new, collaborating relationships,” he said.

“When we assist communities we should not see them as a bag of needs,” he said. “Each time someone uses his capabilities, the community grows stronger.”

He further said the UFS could certainly play a meaningful role in regional engagement and development.
- Lize du Plessis

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