The University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted a global conference on legal and healthcare pathways to inclusion for people with albinism.
The Albinism Beyond 2030: Legal and Healthcare Pathways to Inclusion International Conference, hosted from 23 to 24 October 2025 at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, brought together global voices, ideas, and lived experiences related to albinism.
Jointly organised by the Faculty of Law’s Disability Rights Unit and the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Department of Dermatology, the two-day conference convened scholars, medical experts, policymakers, human rights advocates, and persons with albinism from across Africa and beyond. Together, they explored how law and healthcare can intersect to advance equality, dignity, and social inclusion.
“The conference invites us to move from awareness to accountability, transforming commitments into sustained, measurable change that ensures persons with albinism live, work, and thrive with equality, safety, and dignity in every sphere of life,” said Laetitia Fourie, Project Coordinator of the UFS Disability Rights Unit.
From conversation to collaboration
In his address, Prof Serges Kamga, Dean of the Faculty of Law, spoke of the university’s responsibility to confront discrimination with compassion and justice. “Persons with albinism are victims of a clear attempt to wipe them out of the face of the earth,” he said. “Hosting this conference reflects who we are – a university rooted in care, inclusion, and social justice.”
He added that the collaboration between the Faculties of Law and Health Sciences reflects one of the UFS’s strategic goals: breaking down barriers between disciplines. “This is not just a conference for lawyers or for doctors,” he said. “It’s a shared platform for dialogue, research, and future projects that connect us nationally, regionally, and globally.”
The sense of collaboration was echoed by Prof Frans Maruma, Head of the Department of Dermatology, who emphasised that the goal of the conference was not just discussion, but measurable change. “We can speak, but if those talks are not translating into actions, we might as well pack and go,” he said. “This is where we begin crafting ideas that flourish into tangible outcomes – policy, research, and healthcare reforms that ensure persons with albinism are fully documented, supported, and cared for.”
Turning inclusion into action
Representing the university’s leadership, Dr Molapo Qhobela, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategic Initiatives, International and Institutional Affairs, reminded delegates that inclusion must live through action. “This gathering comes at a pivotal moment when our societies must move beyond awareness towards action, beyond empathy towards equity,” he said.
Dr Qhobela reflected on the UFS’s unique model of inclusion, which sees the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS), the Disability Rights Unit, and the Faculty of Health Sciences form a connected ecosystem of care; combining access, advocacy, and research. “The right to health cannot exist without the right to justice, and the right to justice cannot exist without care,” he said.
Their participation, alongside local and international academics, students, and community representatives, underscored the significance of this dialogue – not as a once-off event, but as a collaborative movement uniting research, healthcare, and human rights.
From law to health to art, Albinism Beyond 2030 showcased the power of partnership in shaping inclusive futures. A key feature of the conference was Kwinana’s art exhibition, titled Ndijongile, which offered a vivid and personal reflection on the experiences of persons with albinism. The conference was a shared commitment to ensure that no person with albinism is left unseen, unprotected, or unheard.