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Message of hope shared at annual Russel Botman Lecture
Author: Corporate Communication/Korporatiewe Kommunikasie [Rozanne Engel]
Published: 21/10/2020

“Prof Russel Botman embodied an interfaith pedagogy of hope from the beginning to the end. He lived a life of hope in action and envisioned that this pedagogy of hope be part of Stellenbosch University."

This was the message by Prof Xolile Simon, Professor in Missiology at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Theology, who delivered the online Russel Botman Memorial lecture on 19 October 2020.

The annual Russel Botman Memorial Lecture is hosted by the Faculty of Theology in collaboration with the Curatoria of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa and the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, as well as the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology.

The lecture celebrates the life of the late Prof Hayman Russel Botman, former Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU), and his vision for Theological Justice. The topic of this year's lecture was “Religious Diversity as Social Justice: An Interfaith Pedagogy of Hope in Times of COVID-19 pandemic."

Delivering the lecture, Simon, unpacked Botman's vision of hope, especially with regards to SU becoming a transformative and inclusive university for all. He also celebrated all the work that Botman did throughout his time at SU, specifically focusing on the role he played in creating an interfaith university.

“As much as Botman called for hope he also integrated Ubuntu in his life's work. Russel challenged Stellenbosch University to make Ubuntu real and to embrace all religions. The task now, especially during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, is that SU truly does the work and helps to make Botman's vision of hope a reality," said Simon.

In response to the lecture, Ashwin Afrikanus Thyssen, PhD candidate and tutor at SU's Department of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, remarked that this pandemic has led to a need of Botman's intellectualism.

“By considering Botman's Pedagogy of Hope, Simon reminds us of the difficult and critical work that remains to be done to create a university that celebrates diversity in all its forms. We especially during this pandemic need a multi-cultural and generational dialogue, so that we can take his legacy and vision forward. Simon's lecture also reminds us that we are the hope and Ubuntu that Botman envisioned," said Thyssen.

At the lecture, Dr Beryl Botman, alumna of the Faculty of Education and widow of Prof Russel Botman, also announced the recipients of the Russel Botman Bursary Fund for 2020.

She called on people to donate to the fund, so that Botman's “dream of a just and equal society", where talented students with potential can have the opportunity to engage in higher education, could become a reality.

To contribute to the fund visit, https://russelbotman.com/.  ​