What do you say when you are sitting across from a pope?

Prof Liezel Lues, Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Management at the University of the Free State and President of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), did not respond with a carefully prepared academic argument. Her answer was a feeling.

“Everything is going to be OK.”

This was what stayed with her after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on 28 August 2026. Prof Lues was in Rome for the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) Council of Administration meeting, held from 25 to 27 August, when the IIAS delegation was granted the audience and Apostolic Blessing.

She describes the experience as surreal and deeply meaningful. More than the occasion itself, though, it was the sense of hope and peace that remained with her.

The Pope also left the delegation with a question that sits close to the heart of Prof Lues’s work: how can public administration keep pace with a world changing through technology, conflict, and uncertainty while still putting people first?

He encouraged members of the IIAS to continue their research on ways of contributing to public administration in “the humanisation of digital technologies, so that they may serve life and peace”.

For Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, “Prof Lues’ audience with the Pope reminds us that universities do more than generate knowledge. They help shape the moral imagination needed to address humanity’s greatest challenges. At the University of the Free State, scholarship and social responsibility remain inseparable. This encounter reinforces the idea that universities are not only centres of learning, but catalysts for hope, understanding, and transformation.

What South Africa can teach the world

The conversations in Rome brought together scholars and practitioners from places including Palestine, Ukraine, Mexico, North Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The discussions brought into focus the human and governance consequences of conflict, instability, and humanitarian crises affecting communities in many parts of the world, and showed the importance of resilient, ethical, responsive, and inclusive public institutions that can protect citizens and navigate uncertainty.

South Africa enters these conversations with its own complicated history.

“We have significant governance and socio-economic challenges, including corruption, violent crime, unemployment, and persistent poverty,” says Prof Lues. Yet she believes there is another side to the South African story that deserves attention: the resilience, adaptability, and determination of its people.

“South Africa’s voice is increasingly recognised as an example of how nations can overcome historical challenges, build unity, and move forward collectively. Our history and modern diplomacy offer valuable lessons on the importance of a sound constitutional framework, broad-based internal coalition-building, and strategic international alliances.”

That perspective has also informed her international academic work. Prof Lues was recently invited to present an online paper to colleagues at the 2026 International Congress Respice Similia in Pasto, Colombia, which focused on experiences and lessons from the Global South. South Africa featured as an important case through which others could consider how a country has confronted and continues to navigate complex governance challenges.

“In an increasingly uncertain global environment, the South African experience therefore offers an important reminder that resilience is not merely the capacity to withstand challenges, but also the ability to learn, adapt, and transform in response to them,” she says.

“I am passionate about collaborative research that brings countries and contexts into conversation with one another, allowing us to learn from both our similarities and our differences,” she says. It is important to her that the voices of the Global South and other underrepresented regions are not merely included but genuinely heard and valued.

Her involvement in the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) has given her an important platform to bring perspectives and experiences from the Global South into global conversations on public administration, governance, and sustainable development. She feels a responsibility to ensure that South Africa’s experiences, challenges, and solutions are part of these conversations.

The human side of international work

Some of the most rewarding parts of international work happen away from conference rooms. Meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds has, over time, turned professional relationships into genuine friendships.

She remembers watching South Africa’s opening football match with Belgian colleagues in Brussels. While most people around them supported Morocco, her colleagues proudly told everyone that she was from South Africa. “It was a small moment, but one that made me feel incredibly welcome and connected,” she recalls.

A similar connection developed during the South Africa-Canada match, when colleagues exchanged WhatsApp messages throughout the game, sharing the excitement, frustration, and humour.

These moments show that international relationships are built in ordinary ways too. The same applies when colleagues are living and working in conflict-affected areas. Sometimes, she says, a simple message asking how someone is doing, or letting them know they are in your thoughts, is enough to maintain a connection.

Prof Lues’ own perspective was influenced early on by her 84-year-old father, a history teacher. He taught her that understanding where we have come from matters just as much as knowing where we are going.

She carries that lesson into her teaching. Students, she believes, should be encouraged to make informed decisions based on evidence and critical thinking rather than simply being told what is right or wrong.

Perhaps this is also why South Africa’s experience matters in the international conversations she takes part in. A country does not have to have all the answers to have something valuable to say. Sometimes, the lessons come from having faced difficult questions before.

And perhaps that is what made her moment with Pope Leo XIV so meaningful: after a week of difficult questions, she was left with a simple sense of hope. “Everything is going to be OK."

“In a world often defined by division, Prof Lues’ meeting with the Pope is a powerful affirmation that higher education has a vital role in fostering dignity, inclusion, and hope. It also highlights the importance of leadership grounded in compassion, service, and ethical purpose. The significance of her audience at the Vatican extends beyond a meeting. It affirms the University of the Free State’s place in global conversations about human flourishing, and the future we wish to create together – one that is beyond borders,” observed Prof Reddy.