Friends and colleagues of the late Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert visited the Institute for Student Leadership Development at Stellenbosch University (SU) that had been named after this former SU Chancellor.
The visit took place on Monday, 26 June 2017. They were in town for an event held the preceeding weekend at Spier commemorating 30 years since the Dakar talks in Senegal. At the time, Slabbert played a key role in the Dakar event, which paved the way for the negotiations that culminated in South Africa's peaceful transition to democracy in 1994. Following his passing in 2010, SU honoured him by establishing a structure that would equip youth to make a positive contribution as critical and active citizens.
“We want our graduates to comprehend their role in society. Attending university is about much more than simply obtaining a qualification," the outgoing head of the FVZS Institute, Dr Leslie van Rooi, explained to the visitors.
Some 3 500 young people take part in the activities of the Institute annually. These include short courses, leadership training as well as dialogue on current affairs. The courses are SU-accredited, which offers participants the opportunity to obtain a sought-after qualification from a respected higher education institution, said Folkers Williams, programme coordinator of the FVZS Institute.
Poet, author and artist Breyten Breytenbach, who helped arrange the Dakar talks in 1987, commended the initiative.
“You are empowering a new generation to break free from ideology. If you succeed here, this will enable civil society to mitigate the lust for power among the ruling elite," he said during a briefing on the activities of the FVZS Institute.
Last year, the Institute expanded its activities to the rest of the continent with the Africa Leadership Development Programme, which has already been introduced at seven higher education institutions in Southern and East Africa. Course contents are now also being made available online to reach even more young people.
“Van Zyl was not only an academic, but also a man of the people who concerned himself with societal issues," said Mr Doudou Dia, executive director of the Gorée Institute. This institute based in Senegal is a product of the Dakar talks in 1987. “It is fitting that the Institute carrying his name enables students to be of service to society."
Caption: From left, Mr Doudou Dia, Dr Leslie van Rooi, Mr Breyten Breytenbach, Ms Ayo Obe, Prof Michael Savage, Ms Sindy Mathebula, Mr Folkers Williams and Prof Heribert Adam. Dia, Breytenbach, Obe, Savage and Adam are friends and colleagues of the late Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert, and Van Rooi, Mathebula and Williams are attached to SU's FVZS Institute for Student Leadership Development. Picture: STEFAN ELS
