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Prof Gert van Zyl honoured with prestigious SAAHE council medal

08 August 2025 | Story Reuben Maeko | Photo Reuben Maeko

The Southern African Association of Health Educationalists (SAAHE) recently bestowed the Council Medal Award – its highest accolade – on Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) in recognition of his extraordinary and sustained contributions to Health Professions Education (HPE) in Southern Africa.

The SAAHE Council Medal is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated long-term, impactful contributions to HPE, transforming pedagogy, advancing equity and diversity, and inspiring excellence in teaching, research, and engagement. Recipients must also demonstrate national and international recognition, as well as exemplary leadership, mentorship, and inclusiveness.

A transformative leader in medical education

Prof Van Zyl’s visionary leadership has been pivotal in shaping the future of medical education in South Africa. His strategic role in the development and implementation of the UFS’s five-year MBChB curriculum modernised the teaching and learning experience for medical students, aligning it with international best practice while addressing the specific needs of the South African healthcare context.

Speaking of his award, Prof Van Zyl expressed his gratitude and humility, acknowledging the collective efforts of colleagues, students, and institutional partners over the years. His recognition serves as an inspiration to the HPE community, illustrating the profound and lasting impact that dedicated leadership and innovation can have on the future of healthcare education.

Central to his transformative approach has been the integration of Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Community-Based Education (CBE). These innovative strategies ensured that medical training not only develops technical expertise but also nurtures collaborative practice and community engagement. Prof Van Zyl championed practical learning through CBE initiatives in Trompsburg and Springfontein, later expanding this model to Botshabelo, thereby fostering a strong culture of service to underserved communities.

A founding member and lifelong contributor to SAAHE

Prof Van Zyl’s association with SAAHE dates to its very inception in the early 2000s. As a founding member, he was actively involved in the organisation’s transition from the South African Association of Medical Educators (SAAME) to SAAHE, participating in the first meeting in Bloemfontein. His leadership and passion for HPE have been constant in the association’s growth and evolution.

His sustained commitment is evident in his 15 years of service on the SAAHE Executive Committee (2005-2020). Throughout this period he was instrumental in guiding the association’s strategic direction, ensuring that it remained a dynamic platform for advancing medical and health professions education.

Prof Van Zyl’s engagement extended well beyond committee work. He has been a consistent and influential presence at SAAHE conferences, contributing his expertise and thought-leadership at gatherings in 2006, 2007, 2012-2015, 2017-2019, and 2024. His presentations and discussions have enriched the dialogue around pedagogy, curriculum reform, and capacity building in HPE.

Advocate for mentorship, inclusivity, and capacity building

At the heart of Prof Van Zyl’s career is a deep commitment to mentorship and capacity development. Colleagues and students alike have benefited from his guidance, which blends academic excellence with a genuine investment in the growth and success of others. His leadership style has consistently promoted inclusivity and equity, fostering an environment in which diverse perspectives and talents can thrive in the service of excellence in HPE.

A deserving recognition of a lifetime’s work

The awarding of the SAAHE Council Medal to Prof Van Zyl is a fitting acknowledgment of his decades-long dedication to advancing HPE in Southern Africa. His transformative influence – spanning curriculum innovation, professional development, organisational leadership and community engagement – embodies the qualities the medal seeks to honour.

With this accolade, SAAHE not only honours Prof Van Zyl’s remarkable achievements, but also celebrates a career devoted to building a stronger, more inclusive, and forward-looking HPE landscape in Southern Africa.

News Archive

Prof Antjie Krog speaks on verbalising revulsion and the collusion of men

2015-06-26

From the left are Prof Lucius Botes, UFS: Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities; Prof Helene Strauss, UFS: Department of English; Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, UFS: Trauma, Forgiveness and Reconciliation Studies; Prof Antjie Krog, UCT: Department Afrikaans and Dutch; Dr Buhle Zuma, UCT: Department of Psychology. Both Prof Strauss and Dr Zuma are partners in the Mellon Foundation research project.

“This is one of the bitterest moments I have ever endured. I would rather see my daughter carried away as a corpse than see her raped like this.”

This is one of 32 testimonies that were locked away quietly in 1902. These documents, part of the NC Havenga collection, contain the testimonies of Afrikaner women describing their experiences of sexual assault and rape at the hands of British soldiers during the South African War.

This cluster of affidavits formed the foundation of a public lecture that Prof Antjie Krog delivered at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus on Tuesday 23 June 2015. The lecture, entitled ‘They Couldn’t Achieve their Goal with Me: Narrating Rape during the South African War’, was the third instalment in the Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture Series on Trauma, Memory, and Representations of the Past. The series is hosted by Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Senior Research Professor in Trauma, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation Studies at the UFS, as part of a five-year research project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Verbalising revulsion

The testimonies were taken down during the last two months of the war, and “some of the women still had marks and bruises on their bodies as evidence,” Prof Krog said. The victims’ words, on the other hand, struggled to express the story their bodies told.

What are the nouns for that which one sees? What words are permissible in front of men? How does one process revulsion verbally? These are the barriers the victims – raised with Victorian reserve – faced while trying to express their trauma, Prof Krog explained.

The collusion of men

When the war ended, there was a massive drive to reconcile the Boers and the British. “Within this process of letting bygones be bygones,” Prof Krog said, “affidavits of severe violations by white men had no place. Through the collusion of men, prioritising reconciliation between two white male hierarchies, these affidavits were shelved, and, finally, had to suffer an embargo.”

“It is only when South Africa accepted a constitution based on equality and safety from violence,” Prof Krog said, “that the various levels of deeply-rooted brutality, violence, and devastation of men against the vulnerable in society seemed to burst like an evil boil into the open, leaving South African aghast in its toxic suppurations. As if, for many decades, we did not know it was there and multiplied.”

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