This year, Stellenbosch University's Matie Community Service – which is housed within the Division for Social Impact – made great strides in forming purposeful partnerships as part of its Mandela Week 2019 activities.

Together with staff and students, members from the community and other stakeholders joined in to help address the pressing food security challenges in the community.

On Tuesday, 23 July, volunteers packed close to 50 000 meal packs that were distributed among NGOs in the Stellenbosch community. This was a collaborative effort between the Division for Social Impact at SU, the international organisation Rise Against Hunger and South African Breweries, who funded the event.

Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief organisation that distributes food and life-changing aid to the world's most vulnerable, mobilising the necessary resources with the aim to end hunger by 2030.

On Wednesday, 24 July members from Volkskerk Stellenbosch, Safe House Stellenbosch and the Stellenbosch Municipality's Disaster Management Unit helped to cook about 400 litres of hearty vegetable soup. This soup was distributed in communities that had been affected by the heavy rainfall over the past few weeks.

“These Mandela Week activities were a practical demonstration of one of the University's core strategic theme, which is to build purposeful partnerships and inclusive networks, while raising awareness about the critical food security needs within the surrounding community," said Renee Hector-Kannemeyer, Deputy Director: Social Impact. ​

​​The Corporate Communication Division (CCD) at Stellenbosch University (SU) launched three of its publications on Friday (2 August) at an event in the University Library.

The event was aimed at informing the campus community about the publications, which are the Annual Integrated Report 2018, Matieland, as well as the new Corporate Profile.

The Annual Integrated Report 2018 reflects on the University's Centenary year and was approved by the SU Council on 18 June. In the past, SU has won several publication awards for its Annual Report, which is edited by Ms Mattie van der Merwe, a publication editor at the CCD.

The latest edition of Matieland, SU's 62-year-old award-winning alumni and stakeholder magazine, has had a “facelift" and is now published in a small, easy-to-read format. With its refreshed content and layout, the magazine is now aligned with the University's six core strategic themes that are set out in the Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024. Dr Wayne Muller of CCD is the editor.

The new Corporate Profile gives readers a concise description of the broader institution, its activities and its people in order to communicate how the University's activities and resources are utilised to serve SU's vision and core strategic themes.

This publication, also edited by Muller, is a small-format 48-page booklet that is targeted at SU's broad stakeholder groups, including prospective and current students and their parents; employees and pensioners; governmental, regulatory and professional bodies; alumni; donors; service providers; and the media.

“The three publications we are launching support the institutional strategic objectives of Vision 2040 through driving a new institutional narrative focus, aligned with consistent institutional messaging – or simply put, the SU story," said Dr Phumzile Mmope, Senior Director of the CCD, at the event.

She added that through these publications the CCD hopes to craft a relevant yet compelling SU narrative that not only differentiates the institution, but also positions the University favourably, and that resonates with all stakeholders.

“At the Corporate Communication Division we believe that the launch of these publications is not the end in itself, but a means to facilitate even closer collaboration to co-create, communicate and amplify a consistent SU story that not only enhances the University's brand image and reputation but positions the brand favourably across our diverse stakeholder groups.

“We hope the campus community will find the publications, especially the Corporate Profile, meaningful and we hope they will enjoy reading and sharing these publications as much as we have enjoyed putting them together," Mmope said.

• All the publications are available in digital and printed format. For printed publications contact Marjorie van Rooy at mvanrooy@sun.ac.za or call 021 808 9923. Go to https://www.sun.ac.za/english/news-media and scroll down to “Publications" to download the digital versions of these publications.
  

​Stellenbosch University (SU) is at the forefront of efforts to establish a continental body that will highlight issues such as student recruitment, admission, registration and curriculum management at African universities.

Registrars and administrators from 16 universities in ten African countries recently met on SU's Stellenbosch campus to take part in a capacity-building workshop co-hosted by SU and the Association of African Universities (AAU). The four-day workshop programme, which was facilitated by SU Registrar Dr Ronel Retief, covered topics such as student records management, examinations and timetabling, graduation, and professional development. Participants included vice-chancellors, registrars and senior administrators from universities in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.

According to Dr Retief, the event – the first of its kind – “was a great opportunity for professional administrative support services environments to contribute to SU's vision, which has a strong focus on Africa. Some 14 SU colleagues participated in the workshop, mainly as presenters on the various topics". In her opinion, the greatest benefit for SU participants was to have had the opportunity not only to showcase their expertise and best practice, but also to learn from the interactions with fellow delegates.

At the workshop, Dr Retief and other delegates expressed a need for a formal forum for the continent's university registrars and administrators. “From SU's perspective, we will continue participating in AAU capacity development opportunities. We would also be happy to collaborate with the AAU to establish an African forum for university registrars and administrators." 

• Th​e Association of African Universities is the apex organisation and forum for consultation, exchange of information and cooperation among institutions of higher education in Africa. It represents the voice of African higher education on regional and international bodies, and supports networking in teaching, research, information exchange and dissemination.  
  

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The long road to Tzaneen

On a Sunday morning, before sunrise, two busses were on their way from Stellenbosch to Bloemfontein, a long drive especially if the bus is limited to 100km/h! As the busses went from town to town, more were picked up along the way and every time someone hopped on, the bus would come alive with chatter about the holiday. The buzz on the bus would never truly die for the two weeks, as friendships and bonds got stronger and time and sleep were exchanged for memories. 

After a long day, we finally arrived at Bloemfontein where a fire was started, and we made supper and chatted around the fire as if we had not spent an entire day together until the fire went cold. This would become the evening norm for the entire tour with more and more classmates becoming friends.

The next morning, on our way to Tzaneen, a phrase stuck and was used for the entire duration of the tour, although neither the exact meaning nor the origin of the phrase is known. It was used as a means of agreement, the infamous “Heyy Heyy Bloemfonteeein".

Then finally we arrived at OR Tambo International Airport where we met up with the rest of the students and left for Tzaneen. On the way emails about rewrite results were received, somehow all who took the rewrite were in the same bus. Some were hesitant to look but before long everyone could not wait anymore and had a look. Luckily everyone passed and it had to be celebrated right then and there, in the controversial student manner. After many stops for bathroom breaks, we eventually made it to Tzaneen.    

The tour officially starts

On the first official day of the tour we visited the Merensky Mill where eucalyptus saw logs are processed, for most of the students it was a first time in a mill that processes something other than pine. The tour of the facility was very informative, and the staff were friendly and passionate about what they do. We also visited the nursery and got a lesson on tree breeding and visited a planting operation.

For lunch we went to a braai facility near a stream under large indigenous trees, with the people working for Merensky, we got to know them and in the end all of us felt reassured about the field of study we chose. The beauty of our surroundings surprised those who had never been in the area before.

The second day we visit the SAFCOL in Tzaneen which has a very big plantation. It has the highest planted eucalypt tree and good conservation areas with waterfalls. Driving around, visiting all the sites it become obvious the foresters most likely work in the best environments.

The next day of the tour we drove to Sabie and stopped at various scenic points, like God's Window and Blyde River Canyon.

When we arrived in Sabie there was still some daylight left so some decided to play a bit of stinger. This made for some nice bruises the next day and become a tradition.

We also visited SAFCOL in Sabie and we saw where they monitor fires and what computer programmes, cameras etc they use as fires are a huge threat. We learnt that the planted species have changed from P. Patula to P. Patula x P. Tech Hi/Low, because P. Patula is affected by fusarium. We found out that the planting of these and other hybrid species are a research project the SAFCOL is working on with other companies, like Sappi.

The weekend

There were no official plans, so we explored our surrounding waterfalls, tourist attractions, rested and those who lived nearby visited their homes. There were 2 birthdays celebrated on the Sunday.

The final week

On Monday morning we visited the York Timbers sawmill and plywood mill in Sabie. As this is the only plywood mill in South Africa this was also a first for all of us. All the people giving the tour were alumni so they were very friendly and answered all the questions we could possibly have had. That afternoon the we were treated to a supper by York Timbers at Ligna Lodge, and we mingled with the alumni.

The next day we went to Sappi Sabie where we visited some of their plantations, got a lecture on tree breeding, learnt some of their trials and walked away with new hard hats and safety vests, excited to visit their sawmill and see the next step of processing, two days later.

On Wednesday we drove from Sabie to the Ngodwana mill of Sappi, first we visited the nursery of where they produce millions of seedlings for some of the plantations, this was very well presented and the scale of operations was impressive, after this we had a lecture about the mill and received a bus tour of the mill. The incredible size of the operations at the Ngodwana mill were very impressive as well as the massive loads of logs, mountains of chips and the huge buildings.

After this we drove to York Timbers in Chrissiesmeer where we spent the last two nights.

The next morning, we went to see some of the York Timbers plantations in the area, we also saw a mechanized harvesting and mulching operations.

At the end of the day two of the people that worked for York visited us as we spent our last night of the tour together around a fire, so we also got to know them a bit better. The next morning, we drove from Chrissiesmeer to Johannesburg dropping off some of the students and then continued until finally reaching Gariep and had one last supper together.

The next morning, we drove back to Stellenbosch, everyone was tired after the tour, but the little sleep was 100% worthwhile as the memories made and the friendships formed and strengthened will last a lifetime.  

As if they don't have enough to deal with, many women in South Africa also lack tenure security because they don't have access to or control over communal land. In her research, Dr Mpho Tlale, from the South African Research Chair in Property Law in the Faculty of Law, highlights this injustice and shows how patriarchal customary norms and practices perpetuate it.

As part of South Africa's Women's Month celebrations, she tells us more about how her work is making a difference in the lives of women.

​Can you tell us more about your research?

My general interest lies in communal land tenure systems of African countries. This is where land is not subject to individual control or use, rather the community jointly owns and uses the land. My thesis examined whether tenure is secure in the rural area of South Africa, where land is used communally. More specifically, the thesis sought to determine whether women have access to or control over communal land. Unfortunately, my findings were that South African women have far less access to communal land than men. For the most part, this lack of landholding can be attributed to the customary norms and practices, which are mostly patriarchal in nature. Customary laws promote men's landholding over that of their female counterparts. Women's landholding is often connected to their relationships with men, namely as mothers to sons, as wives to husbands, and as daughters to fathers. It, therefore, goes without saying that the status quo must change: Women must hold land as right bearers themselves and not in these secondary positions.

Why or how did you become interested in this specific area of research?

I am originally from Lesotho and for as long as I can remember, there has always been a story of a widow, usually an unemployed rural woman, who had been chased from her family property shortly after her husband's death. This did not sit right with me then and it still infuriates me today! Therefore, my decision to study law primarily was to curb this injustice, but this inevitably led to the above-mentioned research interests. As I studied further, I learned that a majority of African women face similar realities. Therefore, researching on women issues is so fulfilling for me.

Why do you think this is such an important area of research for South African women?

There are more women than men in South Africa: In a group of 1 000 people that represents the country's population of an estimated 58 million, 511 are women and 489 men. In other words, women comprise roughly 51% of the total population. This means that in the context of the generally insecure South African communal land tenure system, women bear the brunt of tenure insecurity. Clearly, there is much to be explored here. I would hope that my contribution is adding to the wealth of knowledge in this area.

What would you consider the greatest impact of your research on women in the country?

Nothing would make me happier than helping even just one woman to access and control communal land without her landholding being tied to a man. Stopping at least one woman's eviction, and educating one woman of her property rights, land or otherwise would make all the difference. I truly believe that this will go a very long way in ensuring women's access to and control over communal land, and ultimately securing tenure in that land. As they say, you teach a man, you teach a man. You teach a woman, you teach a generation!!!

Do you have any message for the next generation of women researchers?

Find a research area that you are passionate about and run with it, that way it will never feel like you are working. When you have found it, occupy that space, especially those that are traditionally meant for others different from you

​​The Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University (SU) recently hosted the first ever economics PhD conference in South Africa. It was attended by 23 PhD candidates from eight universities across the country who presented their doctoral research.

According to Prof Andrie Schoombee, Chair of the Department of Economics, “The aim was to provide a forum for PhD students from throughout South Africa to meet, discuss their research and present to their peers."

The keynote address was delivered by Dr Nara Monkam, Director of Research at the African Tax Administration Forum, an international organisation which provides a platform for cooperation among African tax authorities. She discussed her work on property tax and the potential it presents for African countries, a topic that could not have been better suited for the event as many of the PhD candidates from African countries were doing research on macroeconomic policy.

A brief response by Prof Ingrid Woolard, Dean of the Faculty of Economic Management Sciences, was followed by a robust discussion that highlighted the politico-economic and logistical complexities of the issue.

The programme also included presentations on a wide range of topics including trade issues, rational altruism, risk preferences and job mobility, foreign demand and house prices, financial stress indicators and the effect of hyperinflation on asset poverty. PhD candidates who made presentations will have the opportunity to submit their papers to the Studies in Economics and Econometrics journal for consideration for a special conference edition to be published in 2020.

The next conference is set to take place during the centenary celebrations of the Department of Economics in October 2020, and promises to be a highlight. One of the oldest of its kind in Africa, the SU Department of Economics has quite a long history. The first economics professor at Stellenbosch, Johannes FW Grosskopf, took up his position in 1920.

• Our heartfelt thanks goes to the following sponsors whose contributions made it possible for the presenters to be fully sponsored: Dean's Office, SU Faculty of Economic Management Sciences; Research on Socio-Economic Policy (ReSEP); Economic Society of South Africa; SU Department of Economics; and the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) at SU.
• Photo (supplied): At its first ever PhD conference, the SU Department of Economics hosted 23 PhD candidates from 8 South African universities.
  
  

Prof Ronelle Burger, a professor of Economics at Stellenbosch University, delivered her inaugural lecture with the title Amplifying the voices of our communities, on 20 August 2019.

Prof Burger's research examines why vulnerable communities receive such poor public services. Her work has been published in high-impact development and health journals such as Lancet Global Health, Economic Development and Cultural Change and World Development.

She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Development Studies and is an associate editor of Development Southern Africa. She is a research fellow at the Partnership for Economic Policy and the Centre for Research in Economic Development and International Trade at Nottingham University. She has consulted to national and provincial government and also multilateral donors such as UNICEF and the World Bank.

Prof Burger has summarised her lecture as follows:

In this paper I provide an overview of the research conducted by my team and I over the past decade. It addresses the information asymmetries between public officials and the communities they serve. I reflect on the causes for increased social polarisation and breakdowns in information flows between groups and how this impedes government responsiveness to community members and citizens.

I highlight the great responsibility, but also the tremendous difficulty, in telling the stories of others responsibly and effectively to ensure that they inform public debate and influence policy-making processes.

Social media have been a false prophet, promising to amplify the voices of ordinary people and broaden social dialogue, while they have in fact further entrenched and deepened social divides. I discuss policies that could help to restore channels for broader public dialogue and more responsible, dynamic and representative social and public narratives.

• For more information, click here.
  
• To watch a video of the inaugural lecture, click here.
  
• Photos by Anton Jordaan:
  Main photo: F.l.t.r. are Prof Ingrid Woolard, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences; Prof Ronelle Burger; and Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University.
  Photo on the right: Prof Ronelle Burger and her family with her brothers (in the middle in the back row), parents (on the right) and parents in law (on the left).
  

​

Young women and leadership

YOUTH leadership should not be a reserve for challenging times but should be consistent and cultivated from a young age.

This was the message from former Stellenbosch University (SU) student and youth leader Farai Mubaiwa, speaking at the youth leadership event held at Stellenbosch University Museum recently.

The event, in partnership with the Chair of Historical Trauma and Transformation, sought to bring together students, academics and members of the general public in conversation about youth leadership in challenging times. But Mubaiwa said that the focus should be not only on challenging times but that youth leadership should be cultivated throughout.

She said that, on a continent where the majority of citizens are youths, participation of this group in leadership roles should go without saying. Young people should be encouraged to play more leadership roles in every context that they find themselves in, she said.

“There is always something broken in our society. When you see it, step up and fix it," she said to an audience packed with students, who have come to know her leadership achievements both as a student and as a post-university citizen.

Mubaiwa held various leadership positions when she was a student, including being Speaker of the Student Parliament and a member of Sonop House Committee. She was also a member of the Students' Representative Council (SRC). On completion of her undergraduate studies in Accounting, she pursued her master's degree in Political Economy of Emerging Markets at King's College London.

She is now a co-founder of Africa Matters, a youth-led non-profit organisation aiming to empower African youth through capacity building in areas of leadership and social entrepreneurship. Mubaiwa urged the youth to take part and endeavour to make a difference not only in politics but also in academia, the corporate world and everywhere else that they found themselves.

In conversation with Mubaiwa was another former SU student leader Nomzamo Ntombela, who became known as the first black SRC Chairperson when she took the reins in 2017 during her final year of undergraduate studies.

Ntombela will soon undertake her PhD studies in the Michigan State University (MSU) African History PhD Program in the United States of America.

Ntombela completed her Cultural Anthropology honours studies at SU and did not think that she would be accepted to a PhD programme before acquiring a master's degree but she was pleasantly surprised when she was invited to send an application, which was recently announced as successful.

Speaking about her leadership experience at SU, Ntombela said that she came to realise that challenges associated with being a leader did not pertain only to leading people but also to dealing with toxic environments and institutional culture.

“Why is it difficult for a black student to thrive in higher education more than 20 years after the dawn of democracy?" she asked.

Ntombela said that she also realised that those who had been in leadership roles before her were often not willing to be challenged, which made life difficult.

Ntombela's acceptance to the PhD programme came after she took part in the Ubuntu Dialogues Project in 2018, a partnership project between SU and MSU funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation to foster international collaboration.

Left to right: Mr Bongani Mgijima, Ms Nomzamo Ntombela, Ms Farai Mubaiwa and Dr Mosa Phadi.

Two chemists from Stellenbosch University, Prof Peter Mallon and Prof Willem van Otterlo, have been elected President and Vice-President of the South African Chemical Institute (SACI) respectively.

This means that a postgraduate student from the newly-elected president's home institution, in this instance PhD-student Megan Mathews, also becomes the national postgraduate representative on the SACI council. According to Prof Mallon, this initiative was instituted to ensure greater input from younger chemists to the activities of the Institute.  

Prof Peter Mallon, a polymer scientist, acts as the executive head of the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science and Prof Van Otterlo is a organic chemist.

As newly-elected SACI President, Prof Mallon answered a few questions about the role of the Institute in the development of chemists and chemistry in South Africa, Africa and internationally:

What is the role of SACI in South Africa?

The South African Chemical Institute (SACI) is the professional body that represents all chemists in South Africa. Its mission is to promote the development and image of chemistry in different ways, to advise on chemical education and other chemistry-related legislative matters and issues of public and environmental concern, to play a leading role in assuring the professional competence and integrity of chemists and to foster international collaboration as part of the African chemical community. It provides a forum for all chemist in South Africa to engage on these issues at a national and international level.

SACI is also the body that is designated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to award the official Professional Chemist designation (PrChemSA). In addition, SACI publishes the South African Journal of Chemistry which celebrated its centenary in 2018. This is makes it one of the oldest chemical society journals in the world, and it remains an open access publication platform for chemical research.

At Stellenbosch University, the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science help train the next generation of young professional chemists. Being part of, and contributing to a professional chemistry body such as SACI is important in ensuring the integrity of our field in South Africa.

How does SACI ensure its sustainability in a changing world?

The SACI Executive Committee has initiated a review process and we are currently finalising a new five year plan, focusing on inter alia the evolving role of the Institute, membership of young chemists and diversity, education, communication, governance and strategic partnerships.

As an example of strategic partnerships, I recently attended the meeting of the Forum for Presidents of Chemical Societies hosted by Société Chimique de France (French Chemical Society) as part of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry's (IUPAC) centenary celebrations in Paris. At this meeting the Presidents (or their representatives) from 15 chemical societies signed a Joint Framework Agreement on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

SACI is already a founding member of The Federation of African Societies of Chemistry (FASC) and is currently taking part in the discussions concerning the launch of the Federation of Commonwealth Chemical Societies.

All of these partnerships allow South African chemists to take part and to contribute to the global chemistry community. 

How important is the field of chemistry for a developing country such as South Africa?

Chemistry is a central science with impact in many of the applied sciences. It is core to many technological aspects of the economy and plays an important part in developing the expertise needed to move our economy to a more dynamic one. South Africa has committed itself to the United Nation's SDGs and it is clear that, as chemists, we have an important role to play in addressing many of these challenges.

Photo: Stefan Els

At the recent Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) at the CSIR in Pretoria, Mr Johann van Rensburg, Logistics lecturer at Stellenbosch University, was honoured with the award for Best Paper by a Young Professional (under 35).

His paper, Disruptive transport technologies: Forecasting the impact on road-generated revenues in South Africa, won the South African Institution Of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Transportation Engineering Division Award at the annual SATC. It includes a cash prize, books and a certificate.

It is the third time Van Rensburg has won this award in the past five years for a paper submitted for publication and presentation at the conference. All three papers are part of his PhD studies.

Lee-Thomas Smith, a Masters candidate in Transport Economics, of whom Van Rensburg is the study leader, won the student essay competition for a research paper submitted for publication and presentation at the conference.

The essay competition is open to all registered undergraduate and postgraduate students at tertiary institutions. Students had to prepare a five-page essay on the theme of the 2019 conference, namely "Disruptive Transport Technologies – is South and Southern Africa ready?"

Smith also received the award for best student contribution at the same conference.

• For further information about the annual Southern African Transport Conference (SATC), visit https://www.satc.org.za/
  
  

New research has confirmed the extinction of 79 plants in South Africa's three biodiversity hotspots – namely the Cape Floristic Region, the Succulent Karoo, and the Maputuland-Pondoland-Albany corridor.

According to a study published in the journal Current Biology this week, this represents a shocking 45.4% of all known plant extinctions from 10 of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots. Biodiversity hotspots are areas that harbour exceptionally high numbers of unique species, but at the same time they are under severe threat from human disturbance.

South Africa is remarkable in that, for a relatively small country, it is home to three of these hotspots.

An international team of researchers, led by Prof Jaco Le Roux and Dr Heidi Hirsch, affiliated with the Centre for Invasion Biology (CIB) at Stellenbosch University (SU), analysed a comprehensive dataset of 291 plant extinctions since 1700 in ten biodiversity hotspots and six coldspots (such as England, Germany and Russia), covering about 15% of the earth's land surface.

The main drivers for extinctions in South Africa were found to be agriculture (49.4%), urbanisation (38%) and invasive species (22%).

Variability in predictions on the rate of plant extinctions

The results of their analysis of 300 years of data show the extinction rate for plants appear to have settled at about 1.26 extinctions per year since the 1990s. At its peak, however, it was at least 350 times that of historical background rates during pre-human times.

At this rate, they predict that, in the areas they studied, an additional 21 plant species will go extinct by 2030, 47 species by 2050 and 110 species by 2100.

However, these findings stand in sharp contrast to predictions from other studies that as much as half of the earth's estimated 390 000 plant species may disappear within the remainder of this century.

“This would translate into more than 49 000 extinctions in the regions we studied over the next 80 years, which seems unlikely, bar a cataclysmic event such as an asteroid strike!" they argue.

Prof Le Roux says regional datasets provide valuable data to make general inferences around plant extinctions and the drivers underlying these extinctions. There are, however, still many regions in the world without a Red List of Plants, or with outdated lists, such as Madagascar and Hawaii. These 'hottest' of hotspots were therefore not included in their analysis.

“A lack of up-to-date lists prevents us from gaining a more complete and precise picture of what we are losing, and at exactly what rate," Dr Hirsch adds.

They believe the only way to better understand the magnitude of the extinction crisis faced by plants, and biodiversity in general, is to urgently initiate regional or at least country-level biodiversity assessments.

“While our study suggests that modern plant extinctions are relatively low, it is important to keep in mind that plants are exceptionally good at 'hanging in there'. Some of them are among the longest living organisms on earth today and many can persist in low densities, even under prolonged periods of unfavourable environmental conditions. A recent report, for example, indicated that 431 plant species, previously thought to be extinct, have been rediscovered," Le Roux explains. This means that many plant species may technically not be extinct, even though they only have one or a few living individuals remaining in the wild.

Claiming extinction rates for plant species therefore remains a particularly challenging exercise.

“We need comprehensive and up-to-date datasets to make informative forecasts about the future and preservation of Earth's flora," they emphasise.

Lost plant species in South Africa's biodiversity hotspots

The first recorded species to be lost to forestry in South Africa in the 1700s was a type of fountainbush that used to grow next to streams in the Tulbagh region – Psoralea cataracta. In 2008 it was listed as extinct on the Red List of South African Plants.

​The next species to be confirmed extinct was one of the African daisies, Osteospermum hirsutum, last seen in 1775, followed by the honeybush, Cyclopia laxiflora, last seen around 1800. The reasons for their extinction are listed as agriculture, forestry and urbanisation.

More recently in 2012, an extremely rare species of vygie, Jordaaniella anemoniflora, was declared extinct in the wild after losing its battle against sprawling urbanisation and coastal developments around Strand, Macassar and Hermanus.

The Succulent Karoo has seen three confirmed plant extinctions – a vygie, Lampranthus vanzijliae (extinct in 1921, due to agriculture and urbanisation), the legume, Leobordea magnifica (extinct in 1947 due to agriculture and grazing) and the 'knopie' Conophytum semivestitum, lost to urbanisation and mining.

For the Maputuland-Pondoland-Albany corridor, twenty species have been confirmed extinct, mainly due to agriculture and utilisation, and include Adenia natalensis (1865), Barleria natalensis (1890) and more recently, Pleiospilos simulans (2007).

In conclusion

The researchers emphasise that biodiversity loss, together with climate change, are the biggest threats faced by humanity: “Along with habitat destruction, the effects of climate change are expected to be particularly severe on those plants not capable of dispersing their seeds over long distances," they conclude.

On the photo: This delicate vygie, Jordaaniella anemoniflora, was first described in 1924 from plants collected near Hermanus, and it was subsequently introduced into cultivation at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town. Today it is regarded as extinct in the wild. Photo credit: Abu Shawka. Wiki commons

• The article “Recent anthropogenic plant extinctions differ in biodiversity hotspots and coldspots" was published in the journal Current Biology on Thursday 22 August 2019.

Media enquiries

Dr Heidi Hirsch

Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University

E: heidihirsch71@gmail.com

T: +27 (0)218083396 

Prof Jaco le Roux

CIB Fellow and Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

E: jaco.leroux@mq.edu.au

T: +61 (0)484945367

​​When final-year medical student Rosemary Pitsi was selected to attend the Global Engagement Summit in Illinois, in the United States earlier this year, she had no idea that what she learnt there would escalate her dream of starting a reading project into an exciting and way more ambitious reality.

The week-long summit – which took place in April - was a turning point for Pitsi's project, Book Buddies, which arose out of her passion for reading and her strong desire to share books with people less privileged than herself.

The Global Engagement Summit, organized and sponsored by Northwestern University, brings people together from all over the world who have a social project and exposes them to mentors and resources aimed at growing their projects.

“From my plan to simply redistribute books from more privileged to less privileged people, I redefined my goal to create a community library at the Emmanuel Centre in Khayelitsha," said Pitsi.

“I explained my goal to one of my mentors who then said 'why not start a community library?' It was a light-bulb moment! At first I was apprehensive, but then I thought, why not challenge myself. I underestimated the number of people who want to be involved. The project has grown so much in the two months since I returned. I cannot wait to see how it grows."

Pitsi, who was born in Pretoria, always loved reading. “My friends and I would exchange books which gave us great exposure to a range of books. I wanted to offer that opportunity to more people, so I started working on a project in which I redistributed literary resources to less privileged people."

She heard about the Global Engagement Summit and was accepted in December last year.

“The summit – which hosted people from all over the world, including Sudan, India and the US – was opened by Cheryl Dorsey, CEO of Echoing Green, a non-profit organization that helps grow social projects. Her inspiring speech set the tone for the whole conference. Then we were exposed to a range of phenomenal guest speakers and individuals from big companies, like Google and Facebook on how to expand our projects, pitch campaigns, create brands and formulate teams. We also learnt how to critically assess a community so as to be of best benefit for them.

“They gave us one-on-one sessions on how to improve our projects. It was sophisticated, professional and an amazing experience. The turning point for me was taking my project from being a thought process to being a proactive plan that I'm now seeing through."

Plans for her community library are coming along nicely and Pitsi is also planning reading sessions for children in the Emmanuel Centre and helping access textbooks for high-school learners.

“I was there recently with Professor Jimmy Volmink who is involved with the centre. Through his connections, Mediclinic donated a structure to the centre that they can use to do homework. I am hoping to form the literary component of the enterprise. I spent a few hours reading to the children. I remain in communication with the guardians of the centre to assess how to move the project forward.

Once she completes her medical studies, Pitsi hopes to do her internship at the Khayelitsha District Hospital – where she has done a few medical rotations. “I love the working environment and the community. I've always imagined myself serving a community in the townships. That's where I grew up in my early years. Also, an opportunity to stay in the Western Cape is always good."

Asked about her long-term goals, Pitsi said: “I will look at how to leverage my leadership skills and use them alongside my passion for medicine. I might go into medical management. Whatever I do, my heart will always be dedicated to health care."

* Anyone interested in getting involved in Pitsi's project can contact her on rosemarypitsi@gmail.com.

Photo credit: Wilma Stassen

​“It was an incredible experience and I'd go again in a heartbeat."

This was how 4^th year medical student, Tamsyn Gaynor, who recently returned from a two-week extra-curricular medical elective in Rwanda described the experience.

Gaynor spent one week in a teaching hospital, the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Butare in the Huye district of Rwanda's southern province – and then a couple of days of travelling afterwards to visit the University for Global Health Equity (UGHE) in the northern province of Rwanda (the Butaro campus).

In an interview, she said Rwanda came up as an option after she indicated her interest in public and global health. The funding of the trip was through Stellenbosch University.

“I've been impressed with the progress in Rwanda's healthcare system over the past decade so learning more about it first hand was an exciting prospect. I also wanted to learn more about the systems and workings of their healthcare system in comparison to South Africa," Gaynor said.

She worked in the obstetrics and gynaecology department for the week in the hospital.

“Each day I was in a different section trying to learn as much as possible. I worked in admissions, out-patients department, theatre and the wards including the labour ward.

“There was a language barrier as I don't speak Kinyarwanda (the local language) and most of the patients didn't speak English. However, I still had lovely interactions with patients and the little bit of Kinyarwanda I learnt went a long way.

“It was wonderful to see how progressed they are as an African country and I was able to get a feel for what healthcare is like in rural Rwanda.

“The registrars and students that were rotating through the department were great to interact with. The doctors were eager to share their knowledge and the students were hungry to learn."

Gaynor – who visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial - said a highlight of her time in Rwanda was seeing how a nation can unite towards a common goal post the 1994 Rwandan genocide. “This gave me hope for South Africa that when people work together, great things can be accomplished.

“Another highlight would be my visit to UGHE. The initiative and vision for this university inspired me and further instilled hope and excitement in me about global health and community upliftment."

​Gaynor had one weekend to explore a little, and used the time to visit a coffee plantation, called Huye Mountain Coffee. “Rwanda is well known for its coffee and to get a taste of it and the background of it was a privilege."

She travelled to UGHE by motorbike – one of the main forms of transport in Rwanda – past Lake Burera and saw great views of the “Land of a Thousand Hills".

Gaynor said her overall impression of the Rwandan health care system was good.

“There are still few specialists in the country but great effort is being put into training medical students and helping them specialise. Most people I spoke to, including medical students, wanted to stay and practice medicine in Rwanda. It was encouraging to see people proud of their country and wanting to make a difference. Beyond this, the hard-working Rwandans inspired me. They want to see their country thrive. 

“You do see the effects of poor healthcare in rural areas through seeing the patients referred to the teaching hospital from the peripheral/district hospitals. However the standard of care at the teaching hospital encouraged me and my hope is that this filters down to the district hospitals.

“It was interesting to see the effect of the implementation of insurance and community insurance in the country. 92% of Rwanda's population is insured which has drastically increased the number of people receiving health care. I was blown away by the effect of this. The medical care is still often very basic especially in district hospitals but this has still made a big difference."

Asked about her future career plans, Gaynor said: “At this stage I'm not sure of specifics but I am passionate about rural and community health. My heart is to stay and work on the African continent. I'd like to be involved in providing healthcare to the most vulnerable people and those often forgotten about. 

“I would like to add a masters of global/public health onto my degree to augment my knowledge and to benefit the health care of those around me."

Caption (banner): Tamsyn Gaynor at the University for Global Health Equity campus.

Caption (insert): Tamsyn Gaynor at the School of Medicine and Pharmacology of Rwanda at the Huye campus with Dr Charles Muhizi, the dean of the campus.

​“A day of celebration – not only of our achievements and research excellence, but also the positive impact that we have on the world around us."

This is how Prof Nico Gey van Pittius described the 63^rd Annual Academic Day (AAD) of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Stellenbosch University, which was recently held at the Tygerberg Campus.

The AAD is a showcase of the outstanding research done at the FMHS, and at this year's event, nearly 250 research items were presented as either oral or poster presentations. Four State of the Art Lectures and five PhD Lectures were delivered, as well as a Dean's Address and guest lecture by Prof Himla Soodyall, executive officer of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).

Gey van Pittius, who is the Vice Dean: Research and Internationalisation at the FMHS, said that the university is committed to solving pressing health problems on the African continent and unlocking the “incredible potential" of its people. “Our research does have a tremendous and immeasurably positive impact on society, as can be witnessed by the many positive stories of the people that we care for, and the policies, practices and procedures in healthcare which we have been able to influence over the years," he noted.

But 2019 has also been a year of reflection, as research emanating from the Department of Sport Science of the faculty has been widely criticized for perpetuating racial stereotypes, using questionable scientific methods, and drawing unwarranted conclusions, Gey van Pittius added. “This has given us pause to reflect on some of the systemic factors within our institution that may have led to the unintended entrenchment of discrimination and inadequate responses to implicit bias which we have encountered in some of our research. It has posed us with a challenge to continue to actively promote behaviours guided by our Faculty's espoused values of inclusivity, compassion, accountability, respect, excellence and equity, also in our research endeavours."

In his Dean's Address, Prof Jimmy Volmink said that a task team has been formed to look at the use of race as a variable in research from the faculty in order to identify pitfalls and good practice. “While we are finding a lot of interest in trying to explain disparities in health or biological differences in terms of race and genetics, there isn't the same attention being given to other factors that can account for these differences," said Volmink. “It is important to understand that we need to give more attention to exploring the social and economic factors impacting on health. Because some of those factors are what accounts for the race differences we find."

In her lecture, titled: “Genetic ancestry and identity: lessons from southern Africa", Soodyall, a renowned geneticist, emphasised that there is no biological or genetic basis for race. “If we had to use the definition of race in zoological terms, the amount of variation must be more than 15% for them to be defined as a subspecies. No two human populations shows that much variation, and it has been shown that there are more variation within groups, than between groups."

“If you were to look at the mitochondrial tree, everyone living today is a leaf. Your anchor to the tree is through a twig, that twig brings you to a smaller branch, ultimately to a bigger branch, and ultimately to a common trunk. One tree, different branches, many leaves… but it is still one tree," said Soodyall. 

Caption: Prof Himla Soodyall of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) was the guest speaker at the FMHS' Annual Academic Day.

​Photo credit: Wilma Stassen

​​

The award-winning writer, editor, satirist and columnist, Ms Mariann Thamm, has called on the next generation to help uncover untruths. She delivered the eighth annual Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert (FVZS) Honorary Lecture at Stellenbosch University (SU) on Monday 19 August 2019.

The theme of her lecture was Navigating your way in a world filled with untruths. She also encouraged the many young people in attendance to help make society a better place for the generations to come.

“The way to navigate our way through a world filled with untruths is by seeking the truth. We also need to strengthen our institutions of democracy by ensuring a free and accountable media, which subscribes to a code of ethics," said Thamm.

Thamm is assistant editor of the Daily Maverick, a top-selling author, comedian and commentator at large. She has written several successful books, including Hitler, Verwoerd, Mandela and Me and Alison Botha's story, I Have Life.

In his welcoming speech at the event, Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor at SU, praised Thamm for her incredible work. He also said that events like the FVZS lecture would ultimately help empower students to become active citizens in society.

“In 2011 we launched the FVZS Institute for Student Leadership Development, which has since enriched the lives of thousands of students who have benefited from its short courses, series of discourses and other activities – and not only Stellenbosch students, but students from other universities locally and abroad. We hold Van Zyl up as a role model to students because he helped build bridges across the divides – not only in our country, but also at his alma mater," said De Villiers.

The late Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert was a respected politician, business leader, critical thinker and SU Chancellor. The annual FVZS Honorary Lecture aims to stimulate critical and challenging dialogue about our country and the continent. The event is hosted by SU's Centre for Student Leadership & Structures' (CSLS) FVZS Institute for Student Leadership Development, with financial support from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Mr Henning Suhr, Resident Representative at Konrad Adenauer Foundation, expressed how excited the foundation was to have been part of the FVZS lecture over the last few years.

“For many years the foundation has supported the annual lecture of the FVZS Institute for Student Leadership Development. This is an excellent platform for discussing a topic, which is relevant to the actual debate in the country," said Suhr.

He also expressed his delight at the fact that this year's speaker works for The Daily Maverick, whose slogan is 'Defending the truth', something that Suhr believes is important in our society.

“It is important to strive for the complicated truth, rather than the convenient and often untrue soundbite. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is working worldwide for the promotion of democracy and strengthening the free press," said Suhr.

During her lecture, Thamm also reiterated the importance of a free press and believed that it was every citizen's democratic right to help uphold press freedom and eliminate the spread of disinformation.

“Disinformation is designed specifically to cause public harm, to fracture society, to reduce trust in the media and to undermine democratic processes. Seek out those who themselves seek truth and guard the Constitution that is the foundation of our democracy in South Africa," said Thamm.

For more information on the FVZS Institute click here.

Photos by Henk Oets.

​​Dr Henriette Burger from the Division of Radiation Oncology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) recently received an ASCO IDEA award from Conquer Cancer, and travelled to Chicago in June 2019 to receive it. 

The International Development and Education Award in Palliative Care (IDEA) from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) supports the professional development of early-career oncologists in low- and middle income countries around the world. It does this by establishing mentoring relationships between these early-career oncologists, who have a specific interest in palliative medicine, with oncology leaders based in Canada and the Unites States, who are specialists in the field. 

Out of 30 applicants from low- and middle-income countries across the world, five awards were granted in 2019. 

"The award provides medical education in palliative care and includes attendance at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting and a post-meeting visit to the mentor's institution, with the aim of developing a long-term, knowledge-sharing relationship to improve palliative cancer care in the mentee's home country," says Burger. 

Burger's mentor is Professor Eduardo Bruera, Head of the Department of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas. 

As mentioned above, the award is given to early-career oncologists with a specific interest in palliative medicine who stand to become leaders in their field. 

"The recipients stand to benefit meaningfully from the educational and career development opportunities that the award offers," according to Burger. "The main aim of the award is to ensure wide dissemination of knowledge and skills so awardees need to commit to sharing the knowledge and training received through the program with colleagues in their home countries on their return." 

So what does this award mean to Burger on a personal level? 

"This award enables me to build a professional mentorship relationship with Prof Bruera who has a strong interest in the development of palliative care around the world and has extensive experience in palliative care research, teaching and training, publication and policy making on a local and global level. 

"It is recognition for the work I have done in the field of palliative care and motivates and inspires me to continue my work as chair of the undergraduate and postgraduate palliative care modules taught at Stellenbosch University. 

"It also strengthens the relationship that SU already has with the MD Anderson Cancer Centre through the ECHO Tele-mentoring Project in collaboration with the African Cancer Institute. 

When asked about her specific research interests, Burger said that she was currently enrolled for her Master's degree in palliative medicine at the University of Cape Town in which she will be investigating communication preferences for advance care planning in multi-cultural oncology settings. Her other interests include palliative care education and training and palliative radiotherapy. 

​​Dr Henriette Burger from the Division of Radiation Oncology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) recently received an ASCO IDEA award from Conquer Cancer, and travelled to Chicago in June 2019 to receive it.

The International Development and Education Award in Palliative Care (IDEA) from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) supports the professional development of early-career oncologists in low- and middle income countries around the world. It does this by establishing mentoring relationships between these early-career oncologists, who have a specific interest in palliative medicine, with oncology leaders based in Canada and the Unites States, who are specialists in the field.

Out of 30 applicants from low- and middle-income countries across the world, five awards were granted in 2019.

"The award provides medical education in palliative care and includes attendance at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting and a post-meeting visit to the mentor's institution, with the aim of developing a long-term, knowledge-sharing relationship to improve palliative cancer care in the mentee's home country", says Burger.

Burger's mentor is Professor Eduardo Bruera, Head of the Department of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas.

As mentioned above, the award is given to early-career oncologists with a specific interest in palliative medicine who stand to become leaders in their field.

"The recipients stand to benefit meaningfully from the educational and career development opportunities that the award offers," according to Burger. "The main aim of the award is to ensure wide dissemination of knowledge and skills so awardees need to commit to sharing the knowledge and training received through the program with colleagues in their home countries on their return."

So what does this award mean to Burger on a personal level?

"This award enables me to build a professional mentorship relationship with Prof Bruera who has a strong interest in the development of palliative care around the world and has extensive experience in palliative care research, teaching and training, publication and policy making on a local and global level.

"It is recognition for the work I have done in the field of palliative care and motivates and inspires me to continue my work as chair of the undergraduate and postgraduate palliative care modules taught at Stellenbosch University.

"It also strengthens the relationship that SU already has with the MD Anderson Cancer Centre through the ECHO Tele-mentoring Project in collaboration with the African Cancer Institute.

When asked about her specific research interests, Burger said that she was currently enrolled for her Master's degree in palliative medicine at the University of Cape Town in which she will be investigating communication preferences for advance care planning in multi-cultural oncology settings. Her other interests include palliative care education and training and palliative radiotherapy.

​​

Women can help change the status quo if they embrace their feminine strengths.

This is was one of several sentiments expressed by speakers at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) Women's Day Celebration.  The annual event, themed “Against all odds" saw several influential women share their experiences and their journey to success.

Among the keynote guest speakers at the event were Mrs Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola, Aids activist and Director: Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management at SU; Prof Josephine Musango, SA-AFRICA-UK Trilateral SARChI Chair in Mainstreaming Gender for Energy Security in Poor Urban Environments, School of Public Leadership; Dr Mamphela Ramphele, former activist and Vice-Chancellor of UCT; and Ms Colette Clark, Deputy Director-General: Research and Policy Analysis, Department of Public Service and Administration.

Dr Mamphela Ramphele said the world would be a much better place if there were more female leaders.

​“Our ability to manage our emotions, especially under pressure is a measure of our capacity to lead ourselves and lead others," said Ramphele.

“Women across generations have been socialised to be the anchors of essential human relationships and have helped ensure the survival of humanity as a species. The future belongs to those who nurture their emotional intelligence. And a more feminine style of leadership is the way of the future."

Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola said more needed to be done by everyone to stop the generational inequality that was still happening among women.

“We still have big odds against us, because freedom has not yet been achieved in my time for everyone. The generations after us deserve better. We are all compelled to lead struggles wherever we find ourselves and resist against harassment and sexism against women," said Majola.

Prof Josephine Musango also believes the fight against inequality should be everyone's but she also believes that individuals should learn to take chances and develop themselves first, so they can help others in return.

During her speech, she emphasised the importance of women taking care of themselves mentally, spiritually and physically, instead of just chasing success. “It's important to trust the process. When you learn to develop yourself, you can learn to develop someone else. We need to realise that we are more than our success and shouldn't let it define us alone," said Musango.

Like Ramphele and Majola, Ms Colette Clark believes that a change in traditional leadership is necessary.

Clark emphasised the importance of understanding your purpose in life, especially for women who wanted to effect change in society. “A woman knows that she has the capacity to lead the pack. Despite all the challenges women face, we can still make a difference and bring forth the change we want to see in this world," said Clark.

Organiser of the event, Prof Pregala Pillay, EMS Vice-Dean: Social Impact and Transformation, said this year's theme was an important one for South African women who still faced many barriers at this time in our country.

“We have made remarkable strides, but there is still a long road ahead. We are still confronted with this series of barriers and obstacles like; patriarchy, poverty, violations of rights, freedoms, exclusion, discrimination, sexual violence, gender biased, inequalities and alike. At the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, we are committed to giving a resounding voice to the development and progression of gender diversity and equity. This event is a hallmark of our energy and vibrancy to acknowledge the contributions and celebrate women's month," said Pillay.

Click here to watch the speeches from last year's EMS Women's Month event. 

Photo by Anton Jordaan.

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences celebrated Women's Month with the theme Against All Odds at Stellenbosch University's JS Gericke Library recently.

In her opening address, Prof Pregala Solosh Pillay, vice-dean: Social Impact and Transformation, welcomed the guest speakers, Dean Ingrid Woolard and those in attendance.

She said advances in women's empowerment and gender equality in South Africa came about as a result of hard-won battles and sacrifices, but there is still a long road ahead to overcome barriers and obstacles, patriarchy, poverty, violation of rights and freedoms, exclusion, discrimination, violence, gender bias and inequality.

“The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences is committed to giving a resounding voice to the development and progression of gender diversity and equity, and have set goals to achieve them," she said.

Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola, Aids activist and director: Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management, said Women's Month offers a period of reflection on the status of women – where we came from and where we are going.

“My starting point is 1956 when women defied all odds to march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to pave the way and give hope and a voice to many women. These women gave my generation ideas about possibilities of freedom. I am standing on the shoulders of giants and I am yet to reach the heights achieved by my feminist ancestors."

She says feminism for her means equality and freedom for all and she therefore expressed her frustration that equal work, equal pay for women is still an issue in 2019, like it was in 1956.

“What has to happen for women on farms and factory floors who do the same work as men to get the same pay?" she asked.

But even more pertinent for women today, she said, is the right to workspaces that are free of harassment and violence, as well as the right to do what you want with your body and to love who you want.

Dubula-Majola, who has been living with HIV since 2001, said her dream is to see social justice achieved one day.

“This dream gives me purpose to come to work every day. It motivates me to ask myself each day, 'What have you done to achieve that dream?'" she said.

Dr Mamphela Ramphele, a former activist and University of Cape Town vice-chancellor, said the long-term odds are in the favour of women.

“We are swimming against the tide, but the currents are turning in our favour. We may not be as successful as we could have been in a society not dominated by a masculine cultural orientation, yet we have scaled many barriers in our paths. A lot of negative energy has and is being expended not to push for greater excellence, but just to ensure survival. The loser is society, the future and next generations."

However she said dealing with unnecessary distractions present opportunities to learn about how to deal with perceived winners and losers in the transformation process.

Ramphele said in celebrating Women's Month women need to remind themselves that traits that are associated with the feminine in them that have enabled women from ancient times, and over many generations, to lead with purpose, are now sought after in the 21st century.

“These traits have been found to be exhibited by successful entrepreneurs, leaders, organisers, and innovators. They are: honesty, empathy, nurture, putting others before self, inclusive decision-making, patience and capacity for communication and collaboration," she said.

Prof Josephine Musango, Trilateral SARChI Chair holder in Mainstreaming Gender for Energy Security in Poor Urban Environments at the School of Public Leadership, shared her understanding and interpretation of success, which, she said, applies to the Against All Odds theme. This was based on her experiences and contributions in the System Dynamics field, which has guided her to focus on her highest purpose.

She expanded on nine success principles from a new book that she is currently writing.

Colette Clark, deputy director-general of research and policy analysis: Department of Public Service and Administration, reflected on the lack of women in senior positions in the South African public service and how their authority is being undermined by men.

“We cannot become inclusive if our focus is about otherness. We cannot repair anything if we are not shaming the barriers that stop us from doing what we are supposed to do. After 25 years (of democracy) we have no excuses not to bring about the changes we want in our environments," said Clark.

It is clear that these women will continue their concerted efforts to promote change in every facet of life.

• Photo by Anton Jordaan: F.l.t.r. are the organisers of the Women's Day Celebration, Mrs Lesinda Daniels and Prof Solosh Pillay, Vice-Dean: Social Impact and Transformation, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences; with the speakers, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, former activist and Vice-Chancellor of UCT; Prof Josephine Musango of the SU School of Public Leadership; Mrs Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola, Aids activist and Director: Africa Centre for HIV/Aids Management at SU; Ms Colette Clark, Deputy Director-General: Research and Policy Analysis, Department of Public Service and Administration; and the Dean of the SU Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Ingrid Woolard.​
  
  

​In July 2019, Kirsten Wessels (4^th year food science student) and Michaela van den Honert (postdoctoral fellow at CFS) had the opportunity to visit Micreos in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The learnt all about bacteriophages and how they can be used to make food safer for the public in a natural way.​

Bacteriophages are viruses, about 100 times smaller than bacteria, that specifically destroy certain bacterial pathogens, such as Listeria, Salmonella and E. coli. 

                                                                                                                    ​ 

An animation of a bacteriophage

This allows the normal, and often beneficial, microflora to remain intact while the harmful bacteria which can cause foodborne disease are destroyed. This technology can be regarded as 'natural' and 'clean label', as the bacteriophages used are isolated from those which naturally occur in the environment and are not genetically modified. They are typically prepared into a water-based solution consisting of purified phages and salts.

This 'phage biocontrol' technology is applied to food or a food processing environment as a liquid solution via a spray, mist or dip. There are no adverse effects to the taste, colour, texture or aroma of the food.

Did you know?

Bacteriophages can also be used in human medicine as alternatives to antibiotics.

Bacteriophages can also be used to replace antibiotics in animal feed, as they have shown to control the gut flora in animals, reducing the need to use antibiotics to treat diseases.