On Campus 3 for web by University of the Western Cape

OnCampus Issue 3 • October 2015 • For daily updates visit www.uwc.ac.za

PAGE 3 Dentistry volunteers making a difference

PAGE 4-7 Events

PAGE 9 Learning Centres key to improving science

PAGE 16 UWC scholar appointed to top IOC position

Twenty-five years of community Law

WC’s Community Law Centre (CLC) has been renamed the Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights in honour of its founding director, Advocate Dullah Omar. The former CLC, which recently celebrated twenty-five years of tireless work in the cause of human rights and democracy, was born out of the struggles of the 1980s and opened its doors at UWC in 1990. It was active at the centre of the negotiations for a democratic South Africa in the early 1990s and, as the Institute, will continue to be a major contributor to policy formulation in South Africa and, increasingly, elsewhere on the continent. The Institute works in five key programme areas: children’s rights, socio-economic rights, multilevel government, criminal justice reform and parliamentary democracy. The Children’s Rights Project. The

Institute is a member of the African Children’s Charter Project (ACCP), an international consortium which supports efforts in the African Union to uphold the rights of children. In addition to policy engagement on the issues of children’s rights, the Institute also hosts postgraduate level teaching on the subject. The Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERP) is a multi-disciplinary research and advocacy unit that supports socio-economic rights nationally and continentally by publishing engaged research, conducting practical education and campaigning around social justice issues, including discussions on the right to housing and sexual and reproductive rights. The Civil Society for Prison Reform Initiative (CSPRI) conducts research and policy engagement to mitigate the consequences of imprisonment, including the risk of human rights violations in pre-

trial detention. For example, the CSPRI participated in a review of the incidence of torture in South Africa from 1985 to 2014 that revealed an increase since 2006 in the use of torture and excessive force by law enforcement officials in South Africa. The Multilevel Government Initiative (MLGI) undertakes applied interdisciplinary research into real-world governance problems. In addition to engaging in public debate about government at local, regional and national levels, the MLGI develops indices and barometers for measuring government performance, such as the Municipal Audit Consistency Barometer, which analyses trends in the audit performance of municipalities. The Parliamentary Programme promotes democracy and public participation in South Africa’s legislatures, with emphasis on women’s and children’s rights.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Dentistry volunteers making a difference

UWC develops emerging business

WC’s Faculty of Dentistry is community-engaged by design, as students need daily access to patients for their training while patients benefit from the free dental services in

he University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) is partnering with the Western Cape Government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism and Absa in the newly-launched Emerging Business Support Programme, that aims to equip one thousand Western Cape entrepreneurs with the skills needed to develop and grow their businesses. “Entrepreneurship plays a key role in South Africa’s political and economic development – and at UWC, we understand the importance of being active participants in building the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” says CEI Director Charleen Duncan. South Africa has one of the lowest start-up survival rates, with only 3% of start-ups surviving beyond the first three years. One of the contributing factors is the low business skills of business owners. The CEI therefore aims to grow and promote entrepreneurship education, innovation and small business development, and to bring business closer to academia, using the University as an ecosystem to help maintain businesses. The Emerging Business Support Programme creates an intensive and participative learning environment that assists business owners to adopt a strategic approach to planning the future growth and sustainability of their businesses. The course aids participants’ ability to develop business, marketing and operations strategies through simulation games, lectures and interactive discussions on topics such as business culture, cash flow, products, services and action plans. “In order for South Africa to progress, it is imperative that institutions – private sector, government and academia – work in collaboration to equip our people with the necessary skills, training and support to foster a culture of success and growth,” says UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tyrone Pretorius. “As an academic institution with deep-rooted community ties, UWC feels privileged to be a part of this journey that will empower budding entrepreneurs in the Western Cape.” To participate in the programme, businesses should be registered and operational; be operating in the Western Cape; have a valid tax clearance certificate; and be able to attend both days of the course. For more information, contact Wendy Mehl at 021 959 9549 (or email at wmehl@uwc.ac.za), or Odette Daries at 021 483 9114.

Centre for Entrepreneurship Director, Charleen Duncan.

Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities.

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return. But, recognising the dire shortage of dentists in South Africa, the faculty, which is Africa’s leading dental school, has strived for many years to provide far more than the minimum service required for its training needs. According to Professor Robert Barrie, the faculty’s outreach coordinator, during the term staff and students voluntarily have outreach clinics in Kraaifontein every Tuesday and Wednesday evening. They also hold five weekend outreach programmes a year, three of which are full weekends and two are Saturday programmes. With the blessing of the Western Cape Department of Health, the faculty has been providing free dental services, including clinical and educational sessions, in towns in the Cape Winelands and West Coast districts, using the UWC mobile clinic and the premises of state clinics. “There is a huge need out there for our service. People are suffering, they don’t have money for private dentists and we provide them with a free service,” says Prof Barrie. “They [the communities] appreciate it and the Department of Health

appreciates it as well and allows us to use its facilities.” In his experience, Prof Barrie has found that people neglect dental care, despite its importance, and most patients seek their services when it is too late. “Most patients come for extractions and that’s 90% of the time because the tooth is beyond repair. Although on weekends we offer fillings and polishing in addition to extractions, it looks terrible because you will find that we only fill about 30 teeth and pull out 700 teeth on a weekend. It should be the other way around.” Education campaigns do not seem to be making an impact in terms of creating awareness. “We can save teeth if people seek treatment early,” says Barrie, “but in most cases they just carry on with their lives until it’s rotten right to the nerve. “It affects the quality of life of people. It’s something you don’t die of but you can’t smile, you can’t eat and you are in pain. And it’s widespread, with 80% of children suffering from tooth decay at schools. There is no way we can get on top of it by treating it. We’ve got to prevent it.” Barrie adds that staff and students are always keen to take part in outreach. “It gives us real satisfaction and the students love it. You come home very tired at the end of the day but you feel good because you have helped a lot of people.”

UWC dentistry staff and students took part in a recent outreach programme at Kraaifontein Community Centre.

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EVENTS

1. AIMS Graduation South African trustee of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and former Rector and Vice-Chancellor of UWC, Prof Brian O’Connell, spoke at the annual AIMS graduation on 23 June where 43 students (including 19 women) from 18 African countries received master’s degrees in Mathematical Sciences.

2. Minister Dr Nomafrench Mbombo visit Western Cape MEC of Health and former professor at UWC’s School of Nursing, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, met with Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Tyrone Pretorius and visited the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences on 24 June.

7. Club 99 fundraiser Club 99’s annual langarm dance took place in July. The group of alumni regularly organises events to raise funds to support the studies of economically disadvantaged students.

8. UWC and SAQA complete four-year project UWC and SAQA marked the conclusion of their research partnership on flexible learning and teaching provision in public higher education when the results were handed over to the UWC Executive and SAQA Executive. The work done and support given by SAQA were acknowledged amid discussion of how the initiative could be taken forward.

3. Welcome and Orientation of Exchange and Study Abroad Students International Relations held its annual second semester welcome and orientation in August for foreign students who are studying at UWC.

4. The Annual David Sanders Lecture Dr Mary Bassett, Commissioner of Health of New York City, addressed the link between race and health when she delivered the Annual David Sanders Lecture in July. Her lecture was titled ‘#BlackLivesMatter’, a reference to the Black Lives Matter social movement that campaigns against police brutality in the USA.

9. National Science Week 2015 National Science Week took place at UWC in August, kicking off with an engaging open lecture for Grade 11 science learners from schools in the greater Cape Flats and Boland areas.

10. Breastfeeding Seminar UWC’s Dietetics Department collaborated with the Western Cape Health Department when it hosted the annual Breastfeeding Seminar on 7 August.

5. Launch of Varsity Football 2015 The new season of Varsity Football was launched in the UWC Student Centre on 16 July 2015 where the team was announced. The Rector and Vice-Chancellor and members of the SRC welcomed the UWC football team and captain Reon October encouraged students to support the players.

6. Law Dean’s Distinguished Lecture The Annual Law Dean’s Distinguished Lecture was presented by the Honourable Deputy Chief Justice, Dikgang Moseneke, in July this year. His topic was ‘Separation of Powers: Have the courts exceeded their constitutional mandate?’

11. Opening of four UWC Science Learning Centres The Education Faculty opened four new UWC-SLCA Science Learning Centres in partnership with Garden Cities’ Archway Foundation. The Centres were officially opened in August at Heideveld Secondary, Heideveld; Khulani Secondary, Langa; Floreat Primary, Steenberg; and Spine Road Secondary in Mitchells Plain.

12. Launch of e-Recruitment project UWC’s Human Resources Department is launching a recruitment system (e-Recruitment) where job vacancies will be advertised that can be applied for online.

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EVENTS

13. Transformational Leadership Talk In celebration of Women’s Month in August, the Executive at UWC hosted the Transformational Leadership Talk that focussed on the opportunities and challenges of women leaders in higher education.

15. WISA Award for Professor Trindade Prof Marla Trindade has won a Distinguished Young Woman Researcher Award at the 2015 DST Women in Science Awards (WISA), for her multidisciplinary work aimed at developing useful biotechnologies from bacteria and viruses.

17. UWC Johannesburg Golf Day The annual UWC Johannesburg Golf Day fundraiser took place on 18 August 2015. The event, which supports the bursary funding component of the Jakes Gerwel Education, Endowment and Development Fund, also aims is to develop relationships with business and alumni and to increase UWC’s footprint in Gauteng.

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EVENTS

20. WritingThreeSixty The second issue of WritingThreeSixty, the UWC journal of research and creative writing produced by graduate students in the UWC English Department, was published in August.The issue includes an interesting selection of research essays, poetry, short stories, a book review and artwork, as well as an interview with poet, author and UWC academic, Antjie Krog.

14. Alumni Namibia Chapter Launch UWC established its first African alumni chapter outside South Africa in August in Namibia. Namibian Ombudsman, Advocate John Walters, was nominated as the chairperson.

19. Thought Leadership Seminar on the Digital Economy The second discussion in the 2015 Thought Leadership Series on the Digital Economy took place on 21 August with the topic entitled ‘Organisational Agility in the face of digital disruption’.

16. LaunchLab Ideas Workshops Top start-up strategist Neil Hinrichsen kicked off a series of LaunchLab Ideas Workshops for budding entrepreneurs at UWC on 15 August. The LaunchLab is a business incubator project based at Stellenbosch University that mainly supports technology and innovation start-up businesses.

21. Support programme for emerging entrepreneurs launched UWC, the Western Cape Government and Absa have joined hands to equip one thousand entrepreneurs with the business strategy skills they need to grow their businesses. The official launch of the Emerging Business Support Programme took place on 28 August 2015.

22. Jakes Gerwel Commemorative Lecture The Jakes Gerwel Foundation and UWC co-hosted the 2nd Jakes Gerwel Commemorative Lecture on 1 September. Dr Carlos Lopes, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, delivered the lecture, themed “How does the African continent combine its abundant resources with the best of its cultural and intellectual heritage, to forge a new humanism that goes beyond race, ethnicity and artificial boundaries?”

23. UWC awarded two more SARChI Research Chairs UWC was awarded two more South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) national research chairs in September 2015 by the National Research Foundation. Prof Patricia Hayes holds the SARChI Chair in Visual History and Theory and the SARChI Chair in Health Systems Governance is held by Prof Helen Schneider.

24. Launch of the DST-NRF Flagship on Critical Thought in African Humanities The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, delivered the keynote address at the launch of the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Foundation Flagship on Critical Thought in African Humanities at UWC in September.The Flagship programme is designed to promote research capabilities in the humanities by acting as a platform for academic exchange between host scholars and students from South African universities, public institutions and national and international research bodies. UWC is the first university to host a DST-NRF flagship programme.

18. 10th Annual Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture Michael Masutha, the Minister of Justice & Correctional Services, delivered the 10th Annual Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture at UWC on 19 August. The lecture coincided with the celebration of the Community Law Centre’s 25th Anniversary and the launch of its new name. It is now known as the Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

HIV and AIDS Programme at UWC

he HIV and AIDS Programme Office at the University of the Western Cape is committed to training young people to be ambassadors at their schools and communities in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The unit provides training and interventions such as AIDS memorial quilting and wellness workshops to school principals, teachers, learners and school governing bodies, as well as student and staff programmes on campus. Youth from 27 communities in the Metropole, including Delft, Khayelitsha, Bishop Lavis, Heideveld and Valhalla Park, participated in the Life Skills Healthy Living Photovoice Project facilitated by UWC senior students (peer educators) under the supervision of the City of Cape Town and UWC HIV and AIDS Programme staff. Every year, the unit partners with the City of Cape Town to host an

annual youth indaba at UWC to create a platform for youth from the selected areas who underwent training to engage on key social issues in their respective communities. The training sessions included peerled classroom interventions at partner schools, facilitated by UWC peer educators. Learners were provided with HIV prevention information designed to change attitudes and teach skills for healthy living and the reduction of risky behaviour. Participants were also trained in basic photographic skills by UWC students and staff so that they could record the sessions. Topics covered in the training were teenage pregnancy; intergenerational sex; transactional sex; self-esteem, peer pressure and substance abuse/misuse; the HIV stigma; abstinence; genderbased violence; gender roles; healthy

and unhealthy relationships; sexual violence; bullying; the effects of media in advertising alcohol and substance abuse; rape; gender power within relationships; and unprotected sex. In total, 250 peer educators were trained. Peer educator interventions with UWC students and staff for the first-year orientation programme numbered 11 658 youth reached, and HIV counselling and testing was provided to 24 891 learners. Between 2009 and 2014, the HIV and AIDS Programme trained a total of 33 218 learners. The overall aims of this programme are to build the life skills of vulnerable youth to assist them in making positive choices, to raise awareness about the dangers of engaging in anti-social behaviour, and to inspire youth to be proactive and realise that they can make meaningful change in their communities. (Centre from right to left) Director at UWC-Science Learning Centre for Africa, Professor Shaheed Hartley, Professor Ramashwar Bharuthram and Professor Romeel Dave, who is the NRF Research Chair in Cosmology at UWC, along with learners and educators who attended the 2015 National Science Week festivities at UWC.

Learning Centres key to improving science

he Science Learning Centre for Africa at the University of the Western Cape (UWC-SLCA), led by Professor Shaheed Hartley, has developed an effective three-stage approach to tackle the problem of South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poor performance in maths and science education. The first stage focuses on training teachers, helping them to regain their confidence and become effective and efficient in their classrooms. Teachers are taken through the practical and experimental approach of teaching science, while raising their content knowledge and demonstrating how content can be effectively taught. The second stage is to provide opportunities for the learners to engage with teachers. This process uses science clubs and fun competitions (like the paper jet competition) to help to develop the learnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interest in learning science and mathematics. The UWC-SLCA programmes have received positive feedback from schools where the culture of learning science is growing by the day. The third stage to developing quality science education involves

Ikamva labazabalazi youth group from Khayelitsha performing at the UWC HIV and AIDS programme event.

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the construction of a science laboratory called a science learning centre at the school. Most historically disadvantaged schools were not provided with laboratory facilities in the past and many schools still lack them. Thus the construction of a science learning centre provides the teachers and learners with a creative space in which the teaching and learning of science and mathematics can be enhanced. The science learning centre encourages a culture of science teaching and learning, leading to improved results and a better understanding of science, engineering and technology careers. The science learning centres are developed in partnership with corporate funders who either partially or wholly fund the construction costs while the UWC-SLCA provides the training, support and development of teachers and learners and serves as the vehicle through which the project is sustained.

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YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Developing education through the arts

he UWC Centre for Performing Arts (CPA) gives opportunities to study to aspiring musicians who dream of pursuing careers in music. The centre offers a range of accredited courses and bursaries in music. Earlier in the year the CPA signed a collaboration agreement with the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) to provide skills development for members of projects funded by DCAS. Many of the current students at the CPA are from the community-based music organisations funded by DCAS, who are required to plough back some of what they have learned into their respective organisations. The courses offered at the CPA are all community-driven. Staff members travel to areas like Riebeek-Kasteel, Vredenburg and Hermanus to provide training and lessons to the students.

Students also participate in projects such as the UWC Wind Orchestra on campus on Saturdays. The CPA believes that education through the arts needs to be seen as an essential component of primary and secondary education from the earliest age onward, although its effective use is difficult without specialist training. The Director of the CPA, Henriette Weber, contends that there is a definite need for the reformation and support of arts education given South Africa’s cultural diversity. “Learners ought to be aware of other cultures and extend this understanding in a contemporary society. As such, the arts, its principles and methods will prove to be more significant. Arts teaching, like any other branch of teaching, depends for its quality and effectiveness on the supply and training of teachers,” Weber says.

University of the Western Cape Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, congratulating the Substance Abuse Training Programme trainees at the School of Public Health.

UWC aids the fight against substance abuse

The Centre for Performing Arts staff and students attended the signing of the collaboration agreement between the Western Cape government and University of the Western Cape.

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he Western Cape has the highest rates of alcohol and substance abuse in the country. Faced with this stark fact, the Community Engagement Unit of the University of the Western Cape recognised the need for substance abuse training programmes and introduced the first training programmes at the University in 2011. The Substance Abuse Training Programme is registered with the Division for Lifelong Learning and is funded by the Western Cape provincial government, which has been urging higher education

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institutions to become actively involved in the training of professionals and community workers in the area of substance abuse. The related Foetal Alcohol Training Programme is funded by the City of Cape Town. The aims of the training programmes are to: • acquire competency in the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for effective substance abuse interventions with individuals, families and communities; • understand and apply theoretical foundations necessary for substance

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abuse interventions. • understand various perspectives in issues related to substance abuse intervention; and • conduct research relating to the monitoring and evaluation of substance abuse interventions in the Western Cape. Trainees are awarded certificates at an official formal graduation ceremony on completion of the training and are thereafter considered able to deal competently with issues pertaining to substance abuse.

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UWC GREEN INITIATIVE

TUFCAT’s love of cats and reading

n the 1990s the University of the Western Cape had a large population of sick, unsterilised and starving feral cats. “There were literally hundreds of cats all over campus and the offcampus residences,” says lecturer Sharyn Spicer (Department of Anthropology & Sociology). “Since the cats were mating and hungry, they started becoming a serious nuisance and potential health risk. They were going into the Reserve to hunt, scratching in bins and entering residences.” In 1996 animal-loving UWC staff, including Spicer and the late Andre Oppelt (former Operations Manager), initiated a TNR (trap-neuter-release) and feeding programme and the UWC Feral Cat Project (TUFCAT) was born. Since 2000, the initiative ensured that the cats had food every day, including during the university holidays. The feeding and sterilisation project drastically improved the situation. Not only are the cats declining in number but they are healthier and seen as less of a nuisance. “Animal and human welfare are

inextricably linked,” says Spicer. “By helping cats, we are helping students too, and in the process teaching them the importance of humane solutions and interventions.” And the cats give back to the campus as well – the (sterilised) core cat colonies on campus prevent potential rodent problems. They’re so good at it that they form one of the ‘green innovations’ that have more than once earned UWC the title of Africa’s Greenest Campus. TUFCAT has funded its activities through weekly book sales, making books available at affordable prices to students and contributing towards creating a culture of reading on campus. Having secured formal premises at the Old Nursery (the small facebrick building across the road from the EMS Faculty), the TUFCAT Bookshop will open for business in the fourth term. Getting the bookshop up and running will require quite a bit of infrastructure and support, and the bookshop project’s needs include bookshelves, a cash register, a signage sponsor, posters and flyers, paint to spruce things up, UWC staff

Sport Science student visits the birthplace of the Olympics

“ Isaac Adom-Aboagye is doing the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport, Peace and Development.

Never too old to learn, or teach

F volunteers to work a lunchtime shift, and of course a steady supply of books and people to collect them. “Every week, students come and talk to me about books they bought from TUFCAT and loved,” says Spicer. “Some students have built up libraries!”

TUFCAT has a service agreement with UWC whereby UWC covers the cost of sterilising the ferals and pays TUFCAT a nominal monthly fee for taking responsibility for all aspects of caring for the cats. TUFCAT’s model is used at CPUT to control resident cats at its Bellville and Cape Town campuses. The project has also advised Wits, Rhodes and UKZN about their feral cats, as well as Pollsmoor Prison.

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SPORT

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or many people, reaching 66 years of age means gearing back and indulging in recreational activities. But Isaac Adom-Aboagye, a former educator and career advisor in the Department of Education, still wants to contribute to society and is completing his Postgraduate Diploma in Sport, Peace and Development at UWC’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Sport Science and Development. “I feel that I have energy and can still contribute to the development of the community,” explains Adom-Aboagye. According to Adom-Aboagye, who taught the subject for most of his teaching career in Ghana, Nigeria and in the Eastern Cape, physical education at schools is considered to be part of life skills and teachers who have no skills and ability to teach it, ignore it. “We talk of physical education but when you go to schools it is just sport with no strategy behind it,” he says. “Physical education is suffering at schools. When I think of physical education I think of subjects like Maths and English which are on the time-table Mondays to Fridays. Every child should be given an opportunity to play sport so that by the time they leave matric we should have good players in all codes.” Having completed his first course in physical education in 1977, Adom-Aboagye felt the need to return to study. “I want to be abreast with modern trends and upgrade myself with more new knowledge. God willing, I think I can still contribute to the development of children in terms of sport for the benefit of the community.” Now in its second year, the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport, Peace and Development assists participants to acquire knowledge about the use of sport and recreation as tools for development and peace.

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reating opportunities for the next generations of sport and development leaders and using our international networks to promote our students is most important for us.” So says Interdisciplinary Centre for Sport Science and Development (ICESSD) director, Prof Marion Keim. Exploiting the latest international opportunity is UWC master’s student Nana Adom-Aboagye, who headed to Greece in September to attend the 22nd International Seminar on Olympic Studies for Postgraduate Students at the prestigious International Olympic Academy. She was nominated by the management of the ICESSD, where she works as a researcher. Nominees had to have an interest in Olympic studies or have done related research, among other requirements. Adom-Aboagye presented a paper entitled The Need for Greater Support for African Female Athletes in the Modern Olympic Movement: An Exploratory Study of Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. A two-page synopsis of the paper formed part of her application. Before she jetted off to Europe, Adom-Aboagye could not hide her joy at the opportunity. “Attending the Olympic Games has been a life-long ambition, and having the opportunity to visit the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games is a step in the right direction,” she commented. “With this trip, I hope to meet other young aspiring researchers and academics from whom I can learn and vice versa, and who will help form the foundation of my future career and network as I prepare to begin my PhD studies in 2016.” Adom-Aboagye recently attended the United Nations Leadership Programme in Florida, USA, with 45 other participants from 30 countries. Adom-Aboagye said, “I got to interact with peers from countries that I had only heard of and never dreamed of going to, such as Nepal, Aruba, St Vincent and Cambodia.”

Nana Adom-Aboagye attended the 22nd International Seminar on Olympic Studies for Postgraduate Students in Greece.

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ICESSD paper calls for fair North-South sport research collaboration

The writing tutorial workshops have assisted a number of students to write their theses and to collaborate on articles.

ICESSD writing tutorials

eveloping and writing thesis chapters, research proposals and academic papers can be a daunting task for many students, even at master’s and doctorate levels. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Sport Science and Development (ICESSD) in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences introduced writing tutorial workshops more than a year ago to assist students. The weekly sessions on Thursday mornings have become part of the programme of many postgraduate students across the Faculty. The purpose of the weekly workshops, according to ICESSD’s Professor Christo de Coning, is to provide dedicated time for master’s and PhD participants to consciously reflect on writing, publication and research. “The weekly tutorials provide participants with dedicated time for writing, group reflection sessions as well as individual tutoring and advice where appropriate,” explains De Coning. The sessions consist of facilitated group reflection sessions as deemed necessary by participants and peer review support.

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However, most of the time is allocated to actual writing in a safe space for learning. Senior students play a major role in advising students. “Participants are encouraged to participate in this supportive network where various themes such as spiritual and emotional intelligence are discussed as part of the writing process,” De Coning adds. Other than academic and scientific writing, the sessions also consider other forms of writing, such as poetry, literature and writing for the media, although the emphasis of the writing tutorial workshops is on the development of thesis chapters, research proposals and peer-reviewed scientific articles. The writing tutorial workshops take place on Thursdays from 10h00 to 13h00 at room C4 in the Old MBS Building (next to the Life Sciences Building, no.14 on the map). Participants may join the group at any time during the remaining five months of this academic year. Please contact Anita Fredericks at arfredericks@uwc.ac.za for more information.

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rofessors Marion Keim and Christo de Coning of UWC’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Sport Science and Development (ICESSD) have co-authored a paper, entitled Voices from the South: Sport and development policy and programmes as an international priority. The paper argues that sport and development enjoy increased attention in Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean, as governments and multi-lateral organisations recognise the role that sport and recreation plays in socio-economic development. The paper was presented to delegates from 41 countries at the 50th anniversary World Congress of the International Sport and Sociology Association at Paris Descartes University in Paris, France, in June. The paper is based on the Case for Sport research conducted by ICESSD for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport in the Western Cape Government, and the African Sport and Development Policy Index. The authors emphasise the value and worth of a focus on sport and development programmes for developing countries in addition to the muchemphasised focus on high performance sport. The paper notes that the concept of sport and development should not be confused with either ‘sport development’ or ‘sport for development’ and that it focuses on the full spectrum of development impacts that sport and recreation have on individuals and communities in terms of a broad range of socio-economic and sustainable development benefits. Some of these include economic and financial investment, the strengthening of governance and civil

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Professors Marion Keim and Christo de Coning presented their paper calling for equitable research collaboration at the World Congress of the International Sport and Sociology Association at Paris Descartes University.

society organisation and management, health, education, social capital, spiritual and emotional intelligence, community safety and environmental benefits. The authors also argue that although the bulk of research in sport and development is conducted in the South, most of the resources and researchers are from the North, with little or no collaboration among them. “There is unevenness and sometimes a lack of fair play in who does what, where, for whose benefit and who owns copyright of the research,” De Coning explains. Research is often funded and conducted by researchers from the northern hemisphere and the vast majority of publications on research conducted in the South is published in the North. Important research is often at risk or does not materialise due to a lack of trust and a true feeling of equal partnership around the planning table. This is either due to a dependency with regards to funding or resources, or due to a lack of awareness

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of the respective contribution, context and culture. The authors maintain that “If sport projects directed at social change are appropriately planned, implemented, monitored, evaluated and sustained, they hold promise to play a role in the process of development and transformation of a country, and a new understanding of partnerships and networking is therefore crucial.” Genuine research partnerships should be formed with joint publication and research collaboration and joint work programmes. De Coning notes that their presentation was well-received by the delegates. Key role-players at the Conference were supportive of the paper’s findings and recommendations and one prominent scholar noted that the paper “provided a research agenda for the Conference for the next period and the focus on sport and development should be fully supported by the Conference in future.”

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SPORT

UWC scholar appointed to top IOC position

he International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently demonstrated its commitment to Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, following the 127th IOC Session last December in Monaco. Among the recommendations of the Session were greater representation of women and representation of Africa and Oceania on the IOC’s commissions. Among the new appointments was that of Professor Marion Keim, the Director of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) Interdisciplinary Centre for Sport Science and Development (ICESSD), who was appointed as a member of the Olympic Education Commission by Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee. The Olympic Education Commission is chaired by Sir Philip Craven, the President of the International Paralympic Committee. Fellow South African and IOC member Sam Ramsamy also sits on the commission. The commission’s composition of global leaders in the field of international sport gives UWC and ICESSD significant international exposure to Olympic education and the IOC’s Agenda 2020. Prof Keim was also invited to the Commonwealth Sport Post2015 Forum in June, convened to set the scene for Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals and to discuss the contribution that sport can make to key Sustainable Development Goals and targets. Keim says, “I am honoured to bring UWC’s voice to these important global conversations about the role of sport and education in an age where nations and continents must learn to work together in new ways to address perplexing world problems that are critical for the wellbeing of our communities and societies. “It is an amazing experience to work together with international leaders in the commission and experience the dynamics of true team spirit, fair play, care and commitment to make a difference for the next generation.”

UWC’s Prof Marion Keim with Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee.

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CONTRIBUTORS Nastasha Crow

Nicole Isaacs

Asiphe Nombewu

Myolisi Gophe

Nicklaus Kruger

Luthando Tyhalibongo

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