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UFS leads South Africa’s first Community Development Conference

19 November 2025 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Blackhood Photography

The University of the Free State (UFS) proudly hosted South Africa's inaugural Community Development Conference, a landmark national event. Held at the scenic Golden Gate Hotel and Chalets, the conference drew an overwhelming oversubscription of 205 delegates, bringing together a diverse community of practitioners, academics, government representatives, and civil society under the theme: "Grounding the future: Community voices and practice pathways for inclusive development."

In his opening and welcome address, Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities, expressed deep gratitude for the extensive support received. "Thank you to the government departments represented here - Social Development, CoGTA, Health, and others - as well as to the many non-profit organisations that have lent their unwavering support," he said, emphasising the importance of inter-sectoral collaboration.

National and international collaboration

The UFS worked in strategic partnership with the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to bring this significant platform to life. This collaboration reinforced the message that community development is "everyone’s business", a sentiment reflected in the broad and diverse participation.

International representation included delegates from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Austria, Nigeria, Lesotho, and Eswatini, alongside participants linked to institutions in Germany and North America. Nationally, delegates travelled from across South Africa – including the Western Cape, North-West, Northern Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal - demonstrating the conference's wide-reaching relevance and appeal.

Keynote address: Managing the developmental state

A major highlight of the second day was the keynote address delivered by Onkematse Kabasia, Head of the Department of Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal. His presentation, titled "South Africa's path to a developmental state: A managerial analysis of the Department of Social Development's transition," offered a compelling exploration of the shifts required within government departments to effectively manage and advance the objectives of a developmental state.

Kabasia outlined the managerial challenges and institutional reforms necessary to transition from a predominantly welfare-oriented system to one that actively drives inclusive social and economic development. His insights sparked robust discussion among academics, practitioners, and government delegates, highlighting the crucial role of efficient public-sector management in strengthening the community development sector ahead of the 2026 National Community Development Conference.

Charting the path to 2026

More than a standalone event, the inaugural conference forms part of a strategic lead-up to the 2026 National Community Development Conference. Its core purpose was to elevate community voices, promote ethical practice, and build collaborative pathways toward a professionalised, effective community development sector in South Africa.

The programme offered a rich and balanced mix of academic papers, interactive panel discussions, and practical workshops, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of the conference theme.

A notable highlight from the first day included an address by Norman (Pankie) Matomela on "CoGTA and Community Work," followed by an insightful national perspective on community development presented by Peter Netshipale. These contributions laid a strong foundation for the discussions that followed.

Advancing action research and policy implementation

A key takeaway from the conference was the strong collective commitment to Action Research and the translation of policy into effective practice. Delegates expressed a shared resolve to move beyond theoretical discussion toward tangible, results-oriented community development.

Participants agreed that effective community development requires:

Action research: The use of participatory methodologies that engage communities directly and deliver practical, context-specific solutions.

Policy implementation: The successful operationalisation of high-level policies - such as those discussed by keynote speakers Kabasia and Matomela - into on-the-ground interventions that drive inclusive development.

This emphasis on results and accountability underscores the conference's role as a crucial step toward a more professionalised and impactful community development sector in South Africa.

News Archive

Bloemfontein Campus hosts annual HELTASA conference

2014-12-09

From the left are: Prof Francois Strydom, Director: Academic - Centre for Teaching and Learning, UFS; Dr Lis Lange, Vice-Rector: Academic, UFS; and Prof George Kuh, Adjunct Research Professor of Education Policy at the University of Illinois.

This year, the privilege to host the annual Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) conference was afforded to our university. The event took place on the Bloemfontein Campus from 18 – 21 November 2014, attracting keynote speakers and members from across the world.

HELTASA is a professional association mainly for educators and significant role players in higher education institutions. With its inception in the early 2000s, it has grown to become the premier organisation for teaching and learning in Southern Africa, Dr Amanda Hlengwa, President of HELTASA, pointed out.

A central concern of this body is issues around success within the tertiary sector. The theme of this year, ‘Accessing success: using evidence for change’ served to focus members’ attention on what works and what does not work – as derived from researched evidence.

In a message from Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS), he stressed that the task as university teachers “is not simply cognitive gains that ensure graduation success but also intellectual gains that ensure success in life during and after university studies.”

The conference was led by internationally-acclaimed keynote speakers, namely Prof George Kuh, Prof William Grabe and Prof Fredricka Stoller, as well as our own A1 NRF-rated Prof Malanie Walker.

Prof Kuh is Adjunct Research Professor of Education Policy at the University of Illinois and Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education Emeritus at Indiana University. In his keynote address, Prof Kuh offered valuable lessons from the field to promote student success.

Profs Grabe and Stoller collectively presented the second keynote address that explored how to set up students for success through strategic-reader training. Prof Grabe is Regents’ Professor of Applied Linguistics and Vice President for Research at Northern Arizona University. Prof Stoller is a Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches in the MA-TESL and PhD in Applied Linguistics programmes.

Prof Walker is a Senior Research Professor at the UFS Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED). She is also currently Director of Research Training and a senior researcher in the EU-funded Marie Curie EDUWEL project. In her keynote address, Prof Walker looked at well-being and agency in higher education.

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