WITSIES AROUND THE WORLD
“The first time I travelled was across South Africa for the Wits Debating Union in the early 2000s. We visited schools as a result of the NGO LoveLife sponsoring debating (and, indirectly, us),” says Richard Stupart, photographer and PhD researcher in the Media and Communications Department at the London School of Economics.
F
RICHARD STUPART Journalist Location: LONDON & SOUTH SUDAN BSc 2004 (Computer Science), BSc Hons 2005
or his PhD he is researching the discourse and practice of “bearing witness” by journalists in geopolitical conflicts, notably in South Sudan. His interest in the idea was ignited at Wits and through the Debating Union. “It was the first environment I encountered where it was possible to really start to reflect on the world I lived in and develop relationships with people I would never have met otherwise.” On the debating trips around South Africa, he says, he saw “how apartheid spatial planning had been written into every tiny town and large city. This led to long conversations with the other debaters from all walks of life, which were easily as educational as anything I was learning in my formal classes.” After his Honours, Richard ran a small company in software development and hosting for a few years. “The money was good but at some point I had an existential crisis about what I was doing with my life. I
Malakal protection of civilians site in South Sudan Image: Richard Stupart
62
WITS REVIEW AP PR R II LL 220 01199
