Uwc three sixt e issue 4

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ALUMNI E-NEWSLETTER | ISSUE 4/FEBRUARY 2013

Contact the Alumni Relations Office: Amanda Philander-Hietala, Contact the Alumni Alumni Relations Relations Manager Office: Tel: +27 21 959 2143 | Fax: 021 959 9791 | Email: alumni@uwc.ac.za | www.uwc.ac.za/alumni http://twitter.com/UWCAlumni http://twitter.com/UWConline | http://www.facebook.com/uwcalumni

UWC’s Pathway to Lifelong Learning

UWC conferred a record-breaking 76 PhD degrees in 2012.

Record-breaking PhD output at UWC UWC is increasingly producing more doctoral students. The university conferred seventy-six PhD degrees in 2012 during its March and September graduation ceremonies, marking the highest output of PhD graduates in a single year in the history of the institution. While this is a marginal increase from the seventy-four PhD students who graduated in 2011, it is a significant improvement on the forty-six who graduated in 2010.

Thirty-nine PhD degrees were conferred in March, while thirtyseven were conferred in September. The spring graduation ceremony saw twenty-four PhD graduates from the faculties of Community and Health Sciences, Dentistry, Education and Science, while the remaining thirteen came from the faculties of Arts, Law and Economic Management Sciences.

The increase in the number of PhDs bears testimony to UWC’s growth as a research-intensive university, which contributes to the country’s development by retaining and disseminating the best knowledge and providing a platform for creating new knowledge.

UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, said: “We are engaging with this challenge and given the exceptional

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rate of research output and the number of doctorates we have produced in recent years, the message UWC sends out is loud and clear: ‘if we take ownership, if we commit, then it is all possible”.

Professor O’Connell noted that the university has transformed from its humble apartheid origins. Over fifty years ago, in 1963, the university only capped twenty-three graduands at its first graduation ceremony. Since then, UWC has established itself as an oasis of learning in the heart of Cape Town and today boasts many centres of excellence and a growing body of research.

“We must convince South Africans that it is possible to operate at high levels, both nationally and internationally,” said Professor O’Connell. “All the previously disadvantaged universities must be the best on the continent in at least one area. Once that becomes your learning culture, then you begin to understand excellence”.

Professor O’Connell added that aspiration was part of the University’s learning consciousness. “We are proof that Africans are excelling. Apartheid said we could not, must not and would not. UWC begs to differ!”

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4280 students graduated from UWC in 2012

UWC 2012 PhD Graduates Abd Almonam Baleg Abraham Love Prins Amiena Peck Andrew Faro Anthony Appiah Duah Anver Desai Aquilina Mawadza Athena Sheila Pedro Barbara Tapela Birgit Schreiber Chesa Gift Chauke Chinwe Oluchi Ikpo Christiaan Winston Daniels Claire Scott Claude Bayingana Colin Ohlhoff David Roger Neacalbann McIntyre Morris Dominique Anderson Edgar Kateshumbwa Mwesigye Edgard Ngounda Edson Pindza Edwin Murungi Eric Harper Francis Zvidzai Mavhunga Franscious Riccardo Cummings Heidi Lynn Richards Hima Bindu Vadapalli Izak Nicolaas Andreas Fredericks James Dumisani Lekhuleni Jephias Mapuva Juliet Roselyn Amenge Okoth Kletus Muhena Likuwa Kudzayi Munyaradzi Ngara Lawrence Awa Ticha Lilian Mitchell-Kamalie Lloyd Llewellyn Leach Lorraine Winifred Wolhuter Lukas Muntingh Marianne Emilie Visser

ON YOUR GRADUATION

Maryke Meerkotter Michael Uusiku Akuupa Moegamat Wafeeq Davids Moffat Tarusikirwa Mogamat Khashief Soeker Msukwa Chimwemwe Anyelwishe Pharaoh Shikalere Mustapha Saidi Mzime Regina Ndebele-Murisa Napandulwe Shiweda Natasha Mavengere Ncebakazi Galada Ndebele-Murisa Mzime Regina Nicholas Mulei Musyoka Njagi Njomo Okechukwu Charles Nwafor Olusegun Nelson Morakinyo Omotola Oluwafunmilayo Babajide Peter Jairo Aloka Peter Ndangili Quentin Williams Ralf Colmer Staudemeyer Rasaq Adewale Olowu Rosalie Small Rosemary Ruth Raitt Sean Passmoor Sibawu Witness Siyepu Thokozani Olex Butawo Kanyerere Thozama April Tobias Keswick Vilho Amukwaya Shigwedha Waheeb Gasant Wisemen Chingombe Yook-Wah Choi Zanephyn Keyser Zemelak Ayele Zubeida Khatoom Desai Zuleiga Adams

Editorial Welcome to the fourth edition of Three-Sixt-e, the first issue for 2013.

We wish you a happy new year and a prosperous 2013.

This issue focuses on UWC’s pathway to lifelong learning. It celebrates and reflects on the achievements of the university and its alumni, showcasing UWC as a beacon of excellence through education. Last year the university produced the highest number of PhD graduates in the history of the institution. This is testimony to UWC’s growth as a researchintensive university and reinforces UWC’s goal of impacting positively on and transforming South African society and the world at large through knowledge. UWC, in collaboration with Ghent University (Belgium) and the University of Missouri (United States) entered into a transatlantic partnership with the aim of strengthening international co-operation, research and learning. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.

In keeping with our theme, the newsletter features several alumni from different faculties and departments who have reached new heights in their academic and professional careers, showcasing the positive impact of a UWC education.

Lastly, congratulations to our rugby team for emerging triumphant after the first two home games of the Varsity Shield tournament. We wish you the best of luck for the remainder of the competition.

Happy reading!

Patricia Lawrence Pro Vice-Chancellor Department for Institutional Advancement

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UWC is the only African university that is a member of the Open Courseware Consortium - and the University was voted onto the OCWC Board in 2007

Alumni Profile Taking the bull by the horns Dr Barbara Tapela

The empowerment of emerging farmers and the rural poor in Southern Africa is close to the heart of Dr Barbara Nompumelelo Tapela.

Zimbabwean-born Tapela is a senior researcher at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) based at UWC’s School of Government.

(From left) Rector of the University of Ghent, Professor Paul Van Cauwenberge, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape, Professor Brian O’Connell, and Vice-President of the University of Missouri, Professor Michael Middleton, at the signing of the trilateral agreement.

UWC joins forces with international partners UWC’s goal of promoting international academic research and learning took a positive step when the university entered into a transatlantic partnership with the University of Missouri (UM) and Ghent University (UGhent) .

University of Missouri, Ghent University and UWC, will search for new ways of thinking in response to new situations which, if not engaged with earnesty, will have dire consequences for our own countries and perhaps for all humankind”.

The partnership will allow the three universities to collaborate and share expertise in strategic areas. It will advance the future of these institutions, particularly in the fields of linguistics, urban studies, physics and graduate studies.

The Rector of Ghent University, Professor Paul Van Cauwenberge, echoed Professor O’Connell’s sentiments. “Gathering and sharing information from three different continents could yield amazing results and the visibility of this trilateral agreement will be seen all around the world,” said Van Cauwenberge. Director of the International Relations Office at UWC, Leolyn Jackson, said that the aim of the conference was to lay the foundation for a common strategy, to define collective goals and to formulate a shared position towards the implementation of future commitments.

This will be done through joint summer/ winter schools for masters and PhD students, joint staff and/or PhD training, as well as through research networks and libraries, including open access and collection sharing.

Earlier this year UWC hosted the first transatlantic conference on, “The Importance of International Partnerships”, where the heads of the three institutions as well as representatives of the academic and administrative staff set the tone for longterm collaborations. In his opening speech UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, noted that the recent dramatic changes in both our social and natural environments would test this generation and would demand paradigm shifts. “Here three trusted friends, the

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UWC has a bilateral agreement with the University of Missouri spanning twentyseven years and the university has been in partnership with Ghent University for eleven years. This collaboration is aimed at strengthening existing partner-ships and the position of the individual institutions in their respective countries through a preferential (although not exclu-sive) partnership for international projects and common initiatives in education, research and institutional management.

The PhD she obtained from UWC in 2012 examined the livelihoods of smallholders in the wake of agricultural commercialisation under the Revitalisation of Smallholder Irrigation Schemes (RESIS) Programme within the Olifants River Basin in Limpopo Province. Her focus was on contractual joint ventures and strategic partnerships implemented from October 2003 to March 2009 in various selected irrigation schemes within two Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP) poverty nodes namely, the Greater Sekhukhune and Vhembe Districts. Tapela found that joint ventures and strategic partnerships had largely fallen short of farmers’ expectations. The promise of higher incomes often remained elusive, while debts and losses of often meagre household assets loomed large. The RESIS Programme was initially conceived as “a comprehensive programme to structure, train and capacitate smallholder farmers to run their scheme profitably and sustainably,” states Tapela. However, RESIS-Recharge partnerships were creating a small class of black “arm-chair” farmers, who played little or no active role and obtained few or no skills in commercial farming but perpetually depended upon agri-business initiatives run by externallybased agents.

Tapela acknowledges that her work would not have been possible without the support of UWC/PLAAS and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, among others. “UWC provided me with the breakthrough I needed in my career. The university’s values and mission resonate with my own values and ethos”.

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UWC hosts the Centre for Disability, Law and Policy Unit

Alumni Profile

A match made in UWC lecture halls

Lack of inclusive schools shocks graduate Edwina Konghot

Social worker and UWC 2013 masters graduate, Edwina Konghot, watched in horror as a child with learning disabilities was victimised as “stupid and a nobody” by his classmates and community.

As a barrier free access co-ordinator at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Disability Services Unit, Konghot is well acquainted with such cases and decided to help the child to transfer to an inclusive school.

She was shocked to find that there were few secondary schools in Cape Town for learners with special needs. This stimulated Konghot to take the matter further. As part of her Masters in Child and Family Studies in the social work programme, she conducted a study on inclusive education at mainstream secondary schools for learners with special needs. In her research, she found that although there was support for children with learning disabilities at primary schools, there was a gap at high schools. “Despite the fact that a white paper on inclusive education in schools was introduced in 1996, there are only two such high schools in the Cape Town district,” said Konghot. As a result, Konghot believes that special needs learners are further disadvantaged by the government due to the lack of inclusive secondary schools. “These learners are, in most cases, ill equipped for university, if they manage to scrape through high school,” said Konghot.

Konghot is planning to investigate the topic further within her upcoming PhD and thanked Dr Nicolette Roman, her supervisor, and UWC for supporting her during her studies.

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Alumni couple Sonia and Morajee Naik fell in love while studying law at UWC.

There were happy memories when UWC alumni couple Sonia and Morajee Naik returned to their alma mater for their son’s orientation programme in January 2013.

Not only did they obtain their law degrees at UWC, but it was here where they fell in love. Although, they come from the Boland town of Wellington, they only started dating while at UWC. “We travelled together in the same train to and from varsity, were pursuing careers in the same field and often attended classes in the same lecture halls,” says Mrs Naik.

Morajee Naik graduated in 1992 and, Sonia in 1997. The couple tied the knot in 1993. Their eldest son, Jevin Naik, who has enrolled at UWC this year to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting, was born later that year.

Even after graduating from UWC the couple were inseparable. They joined the Department of Justice and worked in the same office at the Paarl Magistrate’s Court

until 2012, when Mrs Naik decided to start her own law practice in Wellington called Sonia Naik Attorneys. Working together required them to keep things simple. “Keep work at work and home at home,” says Mr Naik. “We worked in the same office for many years, but we tried to not discuss work at home or vice-versa,” he explains.

When they returned to UWC for Jevin’s orientation, the Naiks noted that they could still relate to the campus. Mr Naik noted that the national anthem was sung in the university’s main hall during mass meetings during apartheid, much like it is today at the opening of mass meetings such as orientation and graduation.

While the Naiks speak highly of UWC and its contribution to society, they believe there are areas for improvement. For instance, they suggested that the orientation programme should be extended from one to three weeks and that six months should be set aside for peer facilitation to allow for lasting support and a proper assessment of the programme. “It is the period when most students find it difficult to adjust from staying at home to varsity life,” says Mr Naik.

Announcement> Ismail Teladia, BA (UWC), BEd (UWC) and MEd (UWC), received the Top Teacher Award in the category of Excellence in Secondary School Teaching in 2012 from the Western Cape Education Department. The award was in recognition of Teladia's ability to motivate learners to rise above their circumstances and achieve their full potential.

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Four of the Vice-Chancellors of the twenty-three higher education institutions within South Africa are UWC alumni

Icon leaves a lasting legacy

UWC rugby goes for gold

UWC alumnus Professor Merlyn Claude Mehl was an internationally recognised icon in business and education.

UWC joined the rest of the world to mourn the death of alumnus, Professor Merlyn Claude Mehl, who passed away peacefully at his Cape Town home at the end of January.

Mehl, who was a senior professor at UWC, was a respected icon in education and business. He completed his schooling at South Peninsula High School and studied at UWC before completing his PhD at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Following an outstanding academic career, Mehl worked at the Independent Development Trust and later became its chief executive.

He also chaired the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa which financially assists deserving tertiary students from disadvantaged backgrounds. As executive chairman, Mehl started the Triple L Academy which provides skills development in the country’s nine provinces to promote his ethos of lifelong learning .

Mehl played an instrumental role in educational circles, promoting skills development and the National Qualifications Framework. He was widely acknowledged as a leading academic with an amazing ability to engage wide-ranging audiences.

He had links with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as other prestigious institutions.

A raconteur of note, Mehl was entertaining, challenging and informative, but an equally a good listener.

Professor Mehl was passionate about improving the lives of people and supported the notion that each human being has unlimited capacity and potential.

He developed programmes to improve cognition through critical and creative thinking and was involved in projects to dramatically improve South Africa’s schooling results.

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UWC’s rugby team started off this year’s Varsity Shield tournament with a bang.

The results speak for themselves. The UWC rugby squad is getting better and better, both on and off the field.

Under the guidance of former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, the FNB UWC team is well on its way to realising its goal of winning this year’s Varsity Shield competition. The tournament includes four other higher education institutions around the country: the University of KwaZuluNatal, the Central University of Technology and the Tshwane University of Technology.

The five teams compete on a home and away basis and the two top teams will go head to head in the final. FNB UWC started off this year’s tournament with a bang, winning all their home games while proudly backed by a vociferous crowd.

The wins include the 42-4 thrashing of the FNB TUT Vikings of Tshwane University of Technology in the opening match which took place at UWC Sports Stadium on 28 January, a win De Villiers described as bigger than the Boks’ triumph over the mighty All Blacks, while he was still at the

helm. This home winning streak was followed by a resounding 38-15 home victory over the fast-improving FNB UKZN Impi of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Prior to the start of the tournament, De Villiers said that he was “very happy” with the fitness levels of his team and that he has turned his focus towards the psychological part of their game.

“They can play rugby, but they have to make it part of their lives and believe in themselves,” says De Villiers. “My vision is to get the players to be the best that they can be and to be the role models in their communities.”

Off the field, the rugby games brought actionpacked entertainment to the ever-growing crowds with dancers, music by the Kaapse Klopse and the Miss Varsity Shield beauty pageant taking place at half-time at each home game.

If the current standard is maintained, FNB UWC can achieve its goal of winning the Varsity Shield tournament.

FNB UWC will face the FNB UFH Blues of the University of Fort Hare in the last home game of the season which is scheduled for Monday, 25 March 2013 at 19h00. For more information, contact the Sports Administration Office on 021 959 2548.

RUGBY THAT ROCKS

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UWC is a research-rich environment: the University's research output, in the form of books, book chapters and journal articles, has increased by 70% since 2005

Alumnus fights for farm worker’s rights

From herd-boy to an academic

The story regarding the farm workers’ protest in the Western Cape in recent months would not be complete without the mention of Nosey Pieterse.

Pieterse, who obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) at UWC serves as the president of the Black Association of the Wine and Spirit Industry (Bawsi) and as the secretary-general of the Bawsi Agricultural Workers’ Union of South Africa (Bawusa), He believes the violent protests, which allegedly claimed the lives of three people and left several others injured, could have been averted if the Human Rights Commission, churches, the government and the media had taken heed of his warnings regarding the potential outbreak of these protests.

“Two months before the strike broke out in November, I asked these institutions to come and witness the atrocities that were committed against my people, but no one listened,” says Pieterse.

In 2011 Pieterse conducted research on sixty-five farms within the Western Cape.

He found that farmworkers were living in poor conditions, were underpaid and that their human rights were being infringed.

The research findings led to a list of twentyone demands being drawn up, which in turn led to protest action by farmworkers in the Western Cape.

With the protests suspended, Pieterse now faces the task of assisting workers who were dismissed for participating in the strike to return to work and is working on the release of those who were arrested.

Pieterse believes UWC shaped his political thinking. “I’m proud to say I’m from UWC,” says Pieterse.

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Luyanda Dyasopu is a third year Bachelor of Science (BSc) student at UWC with amazing drive and confidence.

Luyanda Dyasopu is a third year Bachelor of Science (BSc) student at UWC. His mother passed away when he was in grade six, and his father a year later. Dyasopu and his eleven cousins were subsequently raised by his grandmother.

“It was tough when I grew up,” says Dyasopu. “I was the only one of the children who went to school and even though we did not have food sometimes, I had to complete my household chores, which included herding the cattle and the sheep”.

After matriculating in 2007 from Mzikayise Dalasile Senior Secondary School in Engcobo, Eastern Cape, Dyasopu applied for a student bursary and his application was approved. However, due to financial constraints he could not afford the application and registration fees. “Granny was a pensioner and could not afford to take care of all of us and still send me to university,” says Dyasopu.

In 2010, Dyasopu pursued his quest for a degree again and was accepted at UWC. He managed to raise bus fare, but upon arriving in Cape Town another tragedy struck. “Only a few minutes after I got off the phone with my granny to tell her about

my journey to Cape Town, another call came in to inform me of her passing.”

His first year at varsity was miserable. “I had problems throughout my first year of tertiary education, because I had no money for food, toiletries and no pocket money. Fortunately, I had explained my situation to many people and the Financial Aid Office at the University was able to assist me with my fees”.

Currently Dyasopu is involved in the Achievers Alleviation Programme at UWC, which is aimed at matriculants in the UWC vicinity and offers counselling and advice to prospective students who may be facing a similar predicament.

Dyasopu participated in this year’s orientation programme by volunteering to be a Peer Facilitator (PF) for first year students. “I tell these first year students my story as a means to motivate them, not because I want pity”.

When asked whether he had any advice for those who might be facing a similar situation, Dyasopu responds: “It is not a person’s past that should determine who the person is, but rather the ambitions and the goals they set for themselves”.

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UWC is the first university in South Africa to incorporate a 3D Highly Immersive Visualization Environment (HIVE) lab

Meet the Members

ON THE MUSIC FRONT

of the Alumni Association

Meet the Members of the Alumni Association

South African and Indian musical fusion Art and History in the form of sound UWC has played a pivotal role in the production of an audio masterpiece in the form of a musical collaboration between various South African and Indian artists.

Dr Petra Abrahamse (PhD in Psychology, 2000) Dr Petra Abrahamse is a modern day good samaritan.

At age sixty-five, Abrahamse, who obtained her PhD in psychology at UWC in 2000, is still very active. She practices as a psychologist for children with learning challenges and adults with family and marriage problems in Mitchells Plain and Rondebosch. She also volunteers her services to the Cape Town Child Welfare Society. “My purpose is to assist people in dealing with the reality of their situations by removing the obstacles blocking their path towards selfactualisation,” says Abrahamse.

Abrahamse is assisting and encouraging families to re-establish old-fashioned values within their homes. “I advise families to sit together and chit-chat over dinner.

I tell them about the negative effects of television and that children learn by listening to older people talk. That is where all our common sense comes from”. Born in George, Abrahamse studied and worked at various institutions around the country.

She came to UWC to do her internship for her masters degree before enrolling for her doctoral studies in 1994. Due to apartheid, Abrahamse says that she had never felt at home at other universities until she came to UWC. “When I came to UWC I really felt it was where I belonged and I decided that I’ll never straighten my hair again,” jokes Abrahamse.

Her advice to UWC students who crave success was to remain focused on the task at hand.

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Insurrections, a CD comprising of twelve compositions put together by fifteen musicians and poets from both countries, was produced by UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) and South Africa History Online (SAHO). It was launched by the School of Cultured Creative Expressions of Ambedkar University in Delhi (AUD) on 30 January 2013. The Dean of the Faculty of Cultured and Creative Expressions at AUD, Professor Shivaji Pannikar, spoke about the importance of such collaborations and commended the project for fusing individual and collective creativity.

The CD was created out of a performance by members of the Insurrections Ensemble, during the Lineages of Freedom Festival, held at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town, in October 2012. Ari Sitas, Sazi Dlamini, Neo Muyanga, Sumangala Damodaran, Tapan Mullick, Claude Cozens, Tina Schouw and Malika Ndlovu are some of the artists and poets responsible for creating this musical sensation. At the launch Sitas, a popular South African sociologist, writer and one of the curators of the project, spoke about the aesthetic and social importance of the project. “The project tried the difficult route of moving beyond language, solidarity and defiance in order to create compositions that spoke across barriers,” said Sitas. “It showed that another world is possible and that it will most certainly be about music too”.

Wiseman Gabavana (BA in English, 2008) Wiseman Gabavana, who obtained his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English at UWC in 2008, has published two books.

His first book, Kazi kungenxa kabani na (Whose fault is it) was published in 2009 and was so popular that it was adapted to a stage production that was performed by UWC students at the Ithuba Arts Festival in 2010 as well as at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown a year later. In the book, Gabavana, who works for the City of Cape Town, argues that parents should distribute their inheritance equally among their children instead of practicing the old-fashioned belief of leaving everything to the eldest son.

Gabavana explains that he had a tough time publishing his first book and had to resort to self-publishing because no one took him seriously. “A human being is like a spring,” he says. “If you push it down and keep suppressing it be careful, because once you stop it will spring open”.

His second book, Umahluko (The difference), was published in 2012 and demonstrates that there should be a difference both in the actions and thoughts of a boy during the transformation process from a boy to a man.

This year, Gabavana, is finalising his third book and is working on the translation of all his published works, so that they could be made accessible to everyone. While at UWC, Gabavana, who hails from the Eastern Cape town of Tsomo, was a Student Repre-sentative Council (SRC) member responsible for of community outreach.

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UWC Alumnus Christo Davids debuted his first solo performance at this year’s Suidoosterfees.

Christo Davids, in his first solo performance, brought Steve Hofmeyr’s bestselling short novel, Vier Briewe vir Jan Ellis, to life in a stage adaptation of this phenomenal story.

The performance concerns a postman, Jan Ellis, who spent thirty-five years in prison for an offence he never committed.

He was arrested and imprisoned before being able to deliver four letters. The production centres around how the lives of four families were altered, because they never received the letters. Another focal point of the production was how the character, Jan Ellis, accepted his circumstances and forgave who was responsible for his arrest and moved on.

“Thirty-five years is a long time to spend in jail for something you never did, but at the end of the day the character is prepared to forgive,” Davids explains, adding, “Is forgiveness not the greatest love of all?”

The award-winning Davids, who is wellknown for his role as Errol in the Afrikaans soap opera 7de Laan, says that the Suidoosterfees is about cultural diversity

Celebrity Corner

UWC Alumna Marlene le Roux is one of the directors of the Suidoosterfees and is the author of the popular book, Mitchell’s Plain: a place in the sun.

and that, as the first “jol” of the year in Cape Town, it lays the foundation for coming events. Davids, who is a UWC LLB graduate, says: “Being a UWC alumnus is one of the things I am most proud of in my life, not only because of its (UWC’s) history, but because of its nature and what it stands for. I come from a university where giants have worked”.

Marlene le Roux, another UWC alumna, who has been one of the directors of the Suidoosterfees since its inception ten years ago, says that the festival is about nationbuilding and using language to tell untold stories. At the festival, Le Roux’s popular book, Mitchells Plain: a place in the sun, was adapted for stage in a production called ‘n Plekkie in die Son. Le Roux adds that UWC played an important role in the festival as all the visuals used in the production were sourced from the University’s Mayibuye Centre’s archival material. The festival was also dedicated to former UWC rector, the late Professor Jakes Gerwel, who was the founder and chairperson of the Suidoosterfees.

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When comparing the accumulative research output of South Africa's universities during the last five years, UWC is positioned 7th nationally

Forgiveness takes centre stage at Suidoosterfees

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American Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker delivered the Freedom of the Slaves Lecture at the Convocation commemoration of the Freeing of the Slaves at the UWC Library Auditorium on 1 December 2012.

JOIN THE UWC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION! Get your free UWC Alumni T-shirt and much more for only R150 per annum (or R50 for the first two years after graduation)! To join, download and complete the Alumni Membership form at www.uwc.ac.za/alumni Contact us at email: alumni@uwc.ac.za or tel: 021 959 2143 if you have any questions.

STAY CONNECTED! Your alma mater wants to keep you updated with the latest UWC news, events and information. Update your contact details at www.uwc.ac.za/ alumni or send an email with your details to alumni@uwc.ac.za. Contact us at email: alumni@uwc.ac.za or call us at tel: 021 959 2143.