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2.2 inclusivity and change unit: university of cape Town
dr Sianne alves
director: inclusivity and change: university of cape Town (ucT)
The ucT’s framework for implementing Transformation seeks to connect the institution’s academic programme, which focuses on developing new knowledge, ways of thinking and pedagogies, to the university’s social project, which seeks to promote human rights, address issues of privilege, and foster understanding of oppressions. The first pillar provides intellectual depth and the second the human element. in tandem, the two may be leveraged to help forge a number of interdependent strategies to implement transformation. The goal is to produce an integrated kind of praxis, rather than one which is merely compliance-led and disconnected from the university’s intellectual and social pillars.
at ucT, the tasks of implementing decolonisation and multilingualism are managed under separate portfolios. The office for inclusivity and change, which is responsible for disability services, cultural change and addressing issues of sexual harassment and assault, is located in the university’s institutional forum. This body oversees two other fora: one on transformation, which is attended by the Vice-chancellor and key advocates from the various faculties and departments, and which grapples with issues of inequality and power in an effort to implement systemic change; and another on employment equity. in addition, a number of institutional working groups have been established across the university to advise on and promote transformation.
The work of transformation at the university is guided by a number of key questions formulated by andré Keet. These include: • The importance of understanding one’s complicity in perpetuating toxic cultures, which have dominated much of recent South african history; • The need to understand how behaviour is influenced by received prejudices and norms, and to question ourselves accordingly; analysis of how bias may be bypassed and intentionality to achieve change may be achieved; • The development of appropriate yardsticks to measure transformation.
at ucT, systemic implementation of transformation has entailed analysis of the university’s approach to governance, including relevant policies and procedures, and identification of the capacity and resources required to operationalise change. Six interrelated areas of focus have been identified to implement the university’s transformation framework around issues of: • Place and space, which includes concerns relating to language; • Naming, symbols, artworks and identity; • Owning an African identity; • Staff and student access, support and success; • The institution’s response to incidents of discrimination, harassment and violence; • Community engagement; and • Curriculum support.
The work of transformation is not localised within one unit at the university, it is institutional, and diverse sectors on the campus are engaged to resolve matters. other approaches adopted across the institution to promote transformation include: • The launch of an inclusivity survey which will inform the implementation of tailored interventions; • The development of a tool to identify unconscious bias and racism; and • Improvement of the system to respond to, and prevent, genderbased violence. • The university has also identified a need to work with academic partners to improve responses to systemic racism and raise the profile of work to promote institutional cultural change. in addition, it is seeking to implement monitoring and evaluation to measure quantitative and qualitative progress in achieving transformation.
informed by ucT’s experience, the Transformation development learning network (Tdln) being established by cPuT may find value in considering: • The structures and processes that are most responsive to systemic racism; • Increasing the focus on new kinds of intervention to counter genderbased violence on campus; • The extent to which compliance with the rubric on equity genuinely produces demographic change and a greater sense of inclusivity and belonging within institutions; • How African traditional practices may best be accommodated in a modern context in a way that does not compromise traditional practices but also ensures safety; • The extent to which students and academic colleagues from the african diaspora are being included and made to feel welcome; and • The extent to which South African universities are responding to sub-Saharan challenges, including the prevalence of xenophobia in
South africa.
