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FMHS Africa Day talks call for dialogue between generations
Author: Jackie Pienaar-Brink
Published: 31/05/2017

​Dialogue between different generations needs to be continued as a matter of urgency. This wish was expressed during the Africa Day celebration at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) at Stellenbosch University.

A symposium entitled "Africa universities – dialogue across generations regarding decolonisation and activism", was presented on 25 May to commemorate the founding in 1963 of the Organisation of African Unity, precursor of the African Union. The speakers varied from experts in the fields of decolonisation, higher education and co-operation on the continent, to staff members and student activists.

Prof Usuf Chikte, Head of the FMHS' Department of Global Health, drew an analogy between the morning's misty weather and the initial hazy vision of what an African university and decolonisation ought to comprise and the way in which activism ought to be utilised. As the mist gradually disappeared, this vision also became clearer.

Prof Elelwani Ramugondo, special transformation advisor to the Rector of the University of Cape Town, emphasised that many parents in traditional societies no longer feel a connection with their children and cannot identify with the way in which they play. This compelled her to research children's games across the country – something that is apparently innocent, but to her a mirror through which the community can view itself.

During the course of the day this disconnection was traced to almost every university level and the concomitant wish was expressed that the necessary spaces for dialogue should be created – not only between generations, but also amongst contemporaries.

Ramugondo emphasised that dialogue should take place within the decolonisation framework. She referred to herself as a member of the transitional generation – the generation who was too young for the 1976 protests, but too old for the current protest actions at higher education institutions and who is caught between the two struggles. The ageing activists attach value to things such as a negotiated constitution, while the young activists don't necessarily feel the same and want to know whether the older activists were not also merely captured.

Ramugondo reminded young people that activism on social media is not enough; there is also work to be done on the ground.

Young activists, some of them from other African countries, mentioned the unwelcoming, Western culture they experience at SU, partly due to the demography of the staff. Questions were asked about the apathy amongst white students during protest actions and disagreement amongst staff about what they should do during such actions.

A future African university was portrayed as an institution where the focus is not solely on knowledge, but where problematic issues are introduced in the lecture hall and discussed.

Requests were put forward for research about endemic medical practices in order to prevent traditional medicine from remaining on the periphery, as well as for the packaging of medical terminology in an African context to ensure more meaningful hospital consultations with speakers of black languages.

The small number of accredited universities in Africa (only some 620) was emphasised by Prof Ahmed Bawa, chief executive officer of Universities South Africa. Many of these are very small institutions.

He highlighted several challenges, such as that universities in Africa are chronically underfunded and are not accessible as places where social problems can be solved. Language is also a critical issue. "We don't afford enough consideration to the question why universities are English, French or Portuguese. It is a fact that if Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho are not used for academic discourse, it will only be a matter of time before they will deteriorate."

Another critical question is the manner in which African universities can enter the global knowledge system on their own terms. According to Bawa local context is very important in this regard, but the standard has to be such that it can form part of the global content.