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Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo first UFS academic to join the Global Young Academy

24 April 2025 | Story Reuben Maeko | Photo Supplied

Dr Mutshidzi Mulondo, an academic in the Division of Public Health within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), will make history when she becomes the first academic from the institution to be inaugurated into the Global Young Academy (GYA).

Dr Mulondo is one of two South Africans that are part of the 2025 cohort of incoming members who will be inaugurated to the sought-after prestigious Academy in Hyderabad, India. The other South African is Dr Mbuzeleni Hlongwa, a Senior Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council.

The Global Young Academy is a network institution of the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board which allows young scientists from around the world to collaborate on research, set the global agenda, and contribute to global policies. The GYA develops, connects and mobilises young talent from six continents, and empowers young researchers to lead international, interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue and contribute to societal challenges. The GYA aims to elevate the voice of young scientists in evidence-informed and inclusive global, regional and national decision making.

The membership is comprised of passionate young scientists, typically who obtained their PhD degrees three to 10 years earlier, are between 30 to 40 years of age, and in the early stages of their independent academic careers. Members are selected for their scientific excellence and commitment to engage with society, and serve five-year terms.

Global Young Academy

“I feel honoured to be selected. The selection further cements the ingenuity of young African scientists and our ability to shape the global agenda. It allows us to envision a future together which leans towards empathy, kindness and unity,” said Dr Mulondo.

The Academy hopes to bridge the gap between established and new academics as well the gap between academics from the Global North and Global South. Further positioning academics from the south for interdisciplinary collaboration and publication in high impact journals to address complex and emerging challenges such as public health issues. The Academy selects young academics who display contribution to research, dedication to serving society and the ability to make an impact on the Academy’s community.

Aspirations in the academy

The recognition is testament that Africa is still producing globally competitive academics. This achievement is even better as it comes during the G20 presidency when Africa is showing what the developing world can produce. Coincidentally, Dr Mulondo, was one of the invited speakers at the G20 Research & Innovation Working Group, joining other selected young academics.

According to Dr Mulondo, who won the Zenith Global Health Award under the category ‘Mental Health and Well-being’ last year and was first runner-up in the category Emerging Leader at the South African Health Excellence Award. Academics from Africa have a responsibility to contribute to the development of the continent through evidence-based advice and solutions to policymakers. This membership allows young academics to stay in touch with global scientific trends and shifts in order to be better informed about resolving some of humanity’s most pressing crises.

She hopes to continue to advance public health strategies that prioritise mental health and health equity. With geopolitical complexities, climate changes and technological advancements shaping our future, the Academy allows for voices from the Global South to contribute to global policies and influence global policy decisions. “As a mentor and supervisor of master’s and PhD students in Public Health, I hope to contribute to ushering in a new generation of well-rounded public health researchers who are societally engaged.”

Prof Anthea Rhoda, UFS Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, congratulated Dr Mulondo, saying the UFS is extremely proud of her. “Being selected as one of two South African scholars to the Global Young Academy demonstrates her dedication as a public health scholar passionate about making a difference in the health and well-being of society. Well done, on this great achievement.”

News Archive

“To forgive is not an obligation. It’s a choice.” – Prof Minow during Reconciliation Lecture

2014-03-05

“To forgive is not an obligation. It’s a choice.” – Prof Minow during the Third Annual Reconciliation Lecture entitled Forgiveness, Law and Justice.
Photo: Johan Roux

No one could have anticipated the atmosphere in which Prof Martha Minow would visit the Bloemfontein Campus. And no one could have predicted how apt the timing of her message would be. As this formidable Dean of Harvard University’s Law School stepped behind the podium, a latent tension edged through the crowded audience.

“The issue of getting along after conflict is urgent.”

With these few words, Prof Minow exposed the essence of not only her lecture, but also the central concern of the entire university community.

As an expert on issues surrounding racial justice, Prof Minow has worked across the globe in post-conflict societies. How can we prevent atrocities from happening? she asked. Her answer was an honest, “I don’t know.” What she is certain of, on the other hand, is that the usual practice of either silence or retribution does not work. “I think that silence produces rage – understandably – and retribution produces the cycle of violence. Rather than ignoring what happens, rather than retribution, it would be good to reach for something more.” This is where reconciliation comes in.

Prof Minow put forward the idea that forgiveness should accompany reconciliation efforts. She defined forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to forego rightful grounds of resentment towards those who have committed a wrong. “To forgive then, in this definition, is not an obligation. It’s a choice. And it’s held by the one who was harmed,” she explained.

Letting go of resentment cannot be forced – not even by the law. What the law can do, though, is either to encourage or discourage forgiveness. Prof Minow showed how the law can construct adversarial processes that render forgiveness less likely, when indeed its intention was the opposite. “Or, law can give people chances to meet together in spaces where they may apologise and they may forgive,” she continued. This point introduced some surprising revelations about our Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Indeed, studies do report ambivalence, disappointment and mixed views about the TRC. Whatever our views are on its success, Prof Minow reported that people across the world wonder how South African did it. “It may not work entirely inside the country; outside the country it’s had a huge effect. It’s a touchstone for transitional justice.”

The TRC “seems to have coincided with, and maybe contributed to, the relatively peaceful political transition to democracy that is, frankly, an absolute miracle.” What came as a surprise to many is this: the fact that the TRC has affected transitional justice efforts in forty jurisdictions, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Liberia. It has even inspired the creation of a TRC in Greensborough, North Carolina, in the United States.

There are no blueprints for solving conflict, though. “But the possibility of something other than criminal trials, something other than war, something other than silence – that’s why the TRC, I think, has been such an exemplar to the world,” she commended.

Court decision cannot rebuild a society, though. Only individuals can forgive. Only individuals can start with purposeful, daily decisions to forgive and forge a common future. Forgiveness is rather like kindness, she suggested. It’s a resource without limits. It’s not scarce like water or money. It’s within our reach. But if it’s forced, it’s not forgiveness.

“It is good,” Prof Minow warned, “to be cautious about the use of law to deliberately shape or manipulate the feelings of any individual. But it is no less important to admit that law does affect human beings, not just in its results, but in its process.” And then we must take responsibility for how we use that law.

“A government can judge, but only people can forgive.” As Prof Minow’s words lingered, the air suddenly seemed a bit more buoyant.

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