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Roots of wisdom: Dr TK Mopeli’s legacy unites scholarship and community

10 October 2025 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo MAFF (Music Art, Food and Fashion) Photography

History was made at the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus with the groundbreaking convergence of the Dr TK Mopeli Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) Memorial Lecture and Symposium. This joint inaugural event, held under the compelling theme, Roots of Wisdom: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in Science and Education: The Legacy of Dr TK Mopeli, served as a powerful platform to bridge the academic sphere with the lived wisdom of local communities.

Core vision: From commemoration to critical engagement

The planning team’s core vision was clear: to create a unifying platform where the scholarship of IKS could meaningfully intersect with the lived experience. Held on 19 September 2025, the combined memorial lecture and symposium moved beyond a mere commemoration of Dr Mopeli's enduring legacy. It aimed to be a critical engagement that actively pushed the boundaries of contemporary discourse.

The theme itself was a call to action. It sought to highlight the resilience, innovation, and relevance of IKS in solving modern problems, ensuring that indigenous perspectives not only survive but actively shape scientific research, educational curricula, and community development. This focus linked the region’s heritage to future possibilities, echoing Dr Mopeli’s own dedication to education and self-reliance.

Wisdom beyond the lecture hall: Inclusive participation

Recognising that indigenous knowledge is deeply rooted in lived experience – as highlighted by keynote speaker Prof Lerato Seleteng-Kose’s presentation on the role of IKS in scientific innovation in Lesotho – the planning team prioritised authentic and inclusive participation. Their strategy deliberately mixed celebrated academics with vital community voices. This involved engaging traditional leaders, community elders, and local IKS practitioners alongside university faculty.

To bridge the gap between abstract discourse and grassroots practice, the event created a space where storytelling, rituals, and oral traditions were given value equal to formal scholarly papers, including the message from Princess Shoeshoe ‘Tsiame’ Mopeli on cultivating self-reliance. Sessions utilised local languages, most notably Sesotho, to ensure that the knowledge holders felt fully represented and heard.

Dr Elias Nyefolo Malete described Dr Mopeli as a humble leader, passionate about the advancement of his people and the preservation of the Basotho nation. in his address on An Ideational Analysis and Integration of African Folktales in Science, Technology, and Education, he further emphasised the need to treat indigenous narratives not as relics, but as dynamic sources of knowledge for education.

The road ahead: Actionable outcomes

The symposium was not designed to be an echo chamber. The planning team identified several specific, measurable deliverables aimed at tracking the long-term impact of the discussions:

Policy Influence: Generating recommendations to be shared with local and national structures to positively influence cultural heritage and education policies.

Curriculum Development: Actively informing the integration of IKS into university curricula across various disciplines, ensuring that future students engage with both the theoretical and applied dimensions of indigenous knowledge.

Community Initiatives: Establishing partnerships to support grassroots-level, community-led projects in areas vital to Dr Mopeli's vision, such as sustainable agriculture, health practices, and cultural preservation.

To ensure that these discussions translate into tangible action, a monitoring framework is being put in place. This includes creating a public repository of all presentations and community contributions and establishing follow-up meetings between the university and community stakeholders.

One of the members of the planning team, Prof Puseletso Mofokeng, concluded, “The 2025 Symposium was a historic moment, transforming the late Dr TK Mopeli's Memorial Lecture into a living, dynamic platform. It reaffirmed that indigenous knowledge is not merely a preserved artefact of the past, but a vital, evolving resource capable of guiding sustainable development and shaping a self-reliant future for the region. The event laid the groundwork for Dr Mopeli’s dream to continue living, not just in memory, but in action, policy, and education.”

News Archive

OSM opening concert 2012

2012-03-02

The OSM Camerata is going to shine in the very first annual OSM opening concert.
1 March 2012

OSM opening concert 2012 with the OSM Camerata
Conductor: Nicholas Nikolaidis
Date: 1 March 2012
Venue: Odeion
Time: 19:30

The OSM opening concert 2012 with the OSM CAMERATA will be streamed live on the internet with the generous support of OSM partner, LA MUSE AUDIO & LIGHTING (www.ufs.ac.za/ufslivestreaming) in collaboration with the UFS LIVE STREAMING UNIT.

The OSM Camerata is going to shine in the very first annual OSM opening concert. The ensemble will be conducted by Nicholas Nikolaidis. The programme includes excerpts from Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Romanian Folk Dances (Bartók), Pelimannit (Rautavaara), Elegy (Grové) and Purple Haze (Hendrix). since 2011, the Odeion School of Music has embarked on a new, innovative strategy striving towards uncompromising excellence and internationalisation, which includes the A-List scholarship programme and a new flagship chamber ensemble, the OSM Camerata. Talented South African, conductor/tenor Nicholas Nicolaidis, (runner-up in the First National Len van Zyl Orchestral Conducting Competition) will take the stage for the inaugural concert of the OSM.

Nicholas started his conducting career at an early age while still in the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School. Professionally his first conducting post was as choirmaster and conductor of the choir and band at Pridwin Preparatory School (Melrose, Johannesburg) in 1996.

Following his appointment in April 1997 as the Musical Director of Côr Meibion Cymru de Affrig (The Welsh Male Voice Choir of South Africa), he conducted the choir for seven years, producing three albums. One of the highlights was the performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London in October 2000 for the Millennium Festival of Male Voice Choirs.

His orchestral conducting debut was in 1998 at the Johannesburg City Hall where he conducted the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg in a few items of ‘Last Night of the Proms’. Selected conducting performances include the Chanticleer Singers in a performance of Schubert’s Mass in G at the Holy Trinity Church (Braamfontein, Johannesburg) in 2002, and the Johannesburg Camerata, a chamber orchestra consisting of talented young performers, during their winter season in 2005.

In 2006, Nicholas enrolled at Stellenbosch University for a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting under the direction of the Norwegian pedagogue, Kåre Hanken. During this time, he also conducted the Johannesburg-based chamber choir, Collegium Vocale. He conducted the Johannesburg Chamber Wind Ensemble from 2006 to 2008.

In 2009, he conducted the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra in a programme of music by Leroy Anderson, the vocal ensemble, In Verse, and the Chanticleer Singers during their Christmas season. Nicholas was also the winner of the inaugural Young Choral Conductors Competition held during the Stellenbosch International Choral Conducting Symposium in March 2009.

In February 2010, he was awarded the Silver Medal in the inaugural Len van Zyl Conducting Competition held in conjunction with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. During the Easter period of 2010 he conducted Cantamus Corde in a performance of JS Bach’s St John’s Passion, whilst also singing the role of the Evangelist.

Nicholas has also appeared as guest conductor of the Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town in a concert with music by Ramirez and Klatzow. In that year he also conducted the gala Concert of the Brooklyn Theatre (Pretoria).

Refreshments will be on sale before and after the concert.

Admission:
R60 (adults)
R40 (pensioners, students and learners)
Tickets available at Computicket.

Enquiries:
Ninette Pretorius (Tel: +27(0)51 401 2504)

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