On Thursday, 21 October 2021, the Stellenbosch University (SU) Transformation Office hosted its 5thAnnual Transformation Indaba since its inaugural indaba in 2017. The event was held as a hybrid event with guests who opted to attend in person being hosted at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), and other guests attending virtually.
The Transformation Indaba is an annual event of the SU community in which an opportunity is created for the whole University to engage collectively on matters of transformation and to assess the progress that has or has not been made in the past year. The event is usually preceded by a Student Transformation Indaba, which is planned and organised by the Student Institutional Transformation Committee (SITC) under the auspices of the Institutional Transformation Committee (ITC).
The 2021 Transformation Indaba was different however, as it was a closed session in which only members of the university's transformation structures participated. Dr Zethu Mkhize, Head of Transformation explained that this year's shift was in order for the institution to strengthen its transformation structures, with these three themes as its focus: (i) Reflections on and proposals for a more effective ITC; (ii) Viable ways of establishing and sustaining the SITC; and (iii) The role of faculties and responsibility centres in advancing transformation.
The 2021 Transformation Indaba keynote address titled “What does inclusivity mean in the context of decolonisation?", was delivered by Prof Rozena Maart, an internationally esteemed decolonial scholar, writer and activist who is an associate professor in the School of Social Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Guests were also treated to a special performance by award-winning writer and poet, Sibongile Fisher.
