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Online participation: International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure Conference

03 May 2024 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied

The Law Faculty is excited to host the International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure (IISLT) Conference and extends an invitation for broad online institutional engagement in the event. Participants are encouraged to register early to secure their virtual presence and bookmark the link, which grants access throughout the conference days from 6 to 8 May 2024.

Conference Link

See the attached final conference programme.

Conference Programme

The University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with esteemed research partners, will host the IISLT Conference scheduled for 6-8 May 2024 on the Bloemfontein Campus, Equitas Building. The conference aims to address the pervasive issue of insecure land rights plaguing rural communities in South Africa, despite constitutional safeguards and landmark legal decisions.

Transforming the rural land economy

Under the theme Transforming the rural land economy: the creation of secure land rights for the enhancement of rural livelihoods and sustainable development, the conference seeks to explore solutions to the complex challenges surrounding land tenure security.

Dr Anthea-Lee September-Van Huffel, Lecturer in the UFS Department of Private Law and a member of the IISLT Planning Committee, emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to address land tenure security issues. She stated, "Security of land tenure requires an interdisciplinary approach that is conscious of the intersectionalities between property, environmental law and conservation, customary law and succession, gender and traditional practices, natural resources and socio-economic rights, development, agriculture and land reform, poverty, politics and governance. It is time for innovative holistic rights-based solutions."

The conference proudly collaborates with international and national research partners such as Anglia Ruskin University in London, England; Imo State University in Owerri, Nigeria, the National University of Lesotho's United Nations Development Programme Human Rights Chair, Lesotho; the Law Faculty of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria; the University of Stellenbosch, Department of Private Law, and the Free State Centre for Human Rights. Other closely associated research collaborators are Public Affairs Research Institute and the UFS Centre for Development Studies.

The International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure Conference presents a unique platform for stakeholders to engage in critical discussions, share insights, and propose innovative solutions towards securing land rights for rural communities and fostering sustainable development. Join us for this pivotal event aimed at transforming the rural land economy for the betterment of society. The conference is strongly aligned with Vision 130 and the Sustainable Development Goals (8) Economic growth, (10) Reduced inequalities, (11) Sustainable communities, and (15) Life on land.

Contact information:

For general enquiries, contact Riekie Viljoen via email at viljoenr@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

Research chair into Higher Education gets boost for five more years

2017-11-21

Prof Melanie Walker, Director of the Centre for Research on
Higher Education and Development (CRHED).
Photo: Supplied

The research Chair in Higher Education and Human Development within the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED) at the University of the Free State has secured funding for another five years. It follows a favourable evaluation by the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the research project at the UFS.

The Director of the Centre, Prof Melanie Walker, says she is delighted by the recognition of the Chair's hard work and significant productivity. “This new round of funding secures the centre and its activities for the next five years.”

Under the auspices of the Chair, research is conducted on higher education, inequalities and social justice, and how or if universities foster the human capabilities and aspirations of students. In essence, the research studies whether higher education makes a difference to the lives of students, their families and communities. Prof Walker says the Chair's projects look at issues of access, participation and transitions into work, as well as gender, race and social class. The research uses quantitative and qualitative methods and includes a strand of participatory research projects with students.

Prof Walker says through the Chair research project, and the Centre, researchers have developed extensive international links and produced international quality research and publications. “We foster high-quality PhD graduates as a new generation of social science academics.” The Chair has in the first five years produced 10 PhDs and four master’s students.

The project in the next five years will continue with its focus on higher education and human development research. Prof Walker says all the research efforts seek to contribute to more justice in society and universities and to contribute to debates, policy and practices in higher education and a scholarly knowledge base.

The Research Chairs Initiative aims to improve the research capacity at public universities to produce high-quality postgraduate students, research and innovative outputs. The assessors looked at features such as the number of students the research entity had trained and how many publications the research team had produced.

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