??The ceremonial inauguration of the two newest United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Chairs at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) is a significant boost for inter-university cooperation and global collaboration.
Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 International (SUI) recently hosted two days of successful activities related to intercultural competence that culminated in the official launch of the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competence on the succeeding third day.
“Collaboration in higher education is becoming more important and global networks are so essential in helping universities realise their goals. Universities must look beyond their borders to achieve a greater good," said Prof Hester Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC): Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs at the recent ceremonial launch of the Chairs that was attended by several international Chairs and representatives of UNESCO, as well as some of SU's global partners, along with SU colleagues and students.
The naming of the respective Chairs in Complex Systems and Transformative African Futures, and Intercultural Competencies in recent months brings global visibility to Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票. Klopper noted that “these Chairs are aligned with SU's Vision 2040 [to be a leading research-intensive university]. We want to strengthen interdisciplinary research and deepen knowledge so that we can influence and change the world around us. But we want to do so collectively." These two Chairs will deepen Stellenbosch's reach across the continent and globally.
Some 900 institutions in over 120 countries form part of the global UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme.
UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competencies
The UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competence, which was awarded to Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) earlier this year, will be housed within the Africa Centre for Scholarship (ACS) in SU International. An SU affiliated distinguished fellow from the USA, Dr Darla Deardorff, will be the Chairholder with Co-Chairholder Professor Sarah Howie, Director of the ACS.
The Chair will promote intercultural research, publishing, and application, as well as community engagement with partners from around the continent and globally. It is awarded for a four-year renewable period from 2023 to 2027.
Its goal of developing a more inclusive society will be achieved through a focus on research and practice of intercultural competence in education, through interdisciplinary projects, through the collaboration within regional and global networks and through institutional development at institutions within South Africa, including SU.
The premise is that quality education is a pillar of sustainable development and vital in creating opportunities and promoting more inclusive societies. As such, it will facilitate collaboration between high-level, internationally recognised researchers and teaching staff of SU and other institutions in the region and in other regions of the world.
In her acceptance speech, Deardorff noted that while there has been sixty years' worth of scholarly work related to intercultural competencies emanating from Europe and North America, very little has come from Africa. Howie added that Africa, as the second largest continent, is home to as many as 2 000 languages. Yet, four languages tend to dominate. Africa also has a disproportionately expanding youth population which will place increased pressure on higher education soon. These challenges make the naming of this Chair in Africa particularly significant. “Intercultural competency points to our shared humanity," added Deardorff.
The Chair will convene a global network of researchers and practitioners to develop joint projects on intercultural competences within Africa, exploring the intersections of intercultural competence with gender equality, climate action, and peacebuilding on the continent.
UNESCO Chair in Complex Systems and Transformative African Futures
The UNESCO Chair in Complex Systems and Transformative African Futures has been awarded to two Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) researchers, Associate Professor Rika Preiser and Tanja Hichert, an academically qualified futures and foresight practitioner, who are both based at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST). The Chair will run for four years until March 2026 and forms part of UNESCO's Global Futures Literacy Network.
Preiser specialises in theories of complex systems, while Hichert, who is a research fellow at CST, specialises in the practice of futures studies and foresight. This Chair therefore offers a unique integration of theory and practice. Its work will draw on the expertise of the two co-chairholders to integrate in-depth knowledge of complex systems, combined with the conceptual and practical applications of futures studies.
These theories and practices of 'using-the-future' will be applied by conducting research and facilitating multi-stakeholder engagements that address the urgent need to develop more inclusive, critical, and participatory processes for convening and training students, researchers, and decision-makers. The Chair will also develop a regional hub for African experts to engage and share insights to better respond to global sustainability challenges.
Explaining the significance of the Chair in her acceptance address, Preiser referred to a quote by writer Joseph Campbell: “The familiar life horizon has been outgrown: the old concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand." The Chair will allow for a “crossing of thresholds and questioning of assumptions".
Global relevance
Prof Ruksana Osman, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the 中国体育彩票 of the Witwatersrand and UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education for Diversity and Development concluded during her message: “These Chairs came at a timely time for how knowledge is being disseminated, not only for Stellenbosch and South Africa, but globally."
MORE ABOUT THE CHAIRS
UNESCO Chair in Complex Systems and Transformative African Futures
Prof Rika Preiser completed her PhD in Philosophy by exploring how the conceptual development of complexity and a deeper understanding of the features and dynamics of complex adaptive systems can inform a more integrated way of thinking for understanding what it means to be human in a complex world. Together with Profs Paul Cilliers and Jannie Hofmeyr, she was a founding member of the Centre for Complex Systems at SU in 2009. This Centre merged with several other research hubs to form the CST, where she is permanently employed. Within this interdisciplinary setting during the last 13 years, her work has focussed on developing conceptual foundations and practical approaches for applying the implications of complexity science to sustainability challenges and various other domains of societal (economic and political) relevance.
Tanja Hichert, who is a CST fellow, is an academically qualified, highly experienced, futures and foresight practitioner who specialises in; applied systems thinking, scenario planning, horizon scanning, strategic foresight, risk management and facilitating strategic conversations, that provide clarity and direction for organisations and institutions faced with complexity and uncertainty. In addition to running the Hichert & Associates futures/foresight consulting firm for the past 18 years, Tanja holds a position as Strategic Foresight Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme.
She has been part of the evolving Futures Literacy and Anticipation community for more than a decade and has a passion for expanding and building the practical application of future studies on the African continent.
UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competencies
Dr Darla K Deardorff completed her doctorate in Higher Education Administration at North Carolina State 中国体育彩票, USA, with a focus on international education following a Masters in Adult Education. She is the executive director of the Association of International Education Administrators and Founding President of the World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence. In addition to her affiliation with Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票, she holds several academic appointments at universities around the world including as Research Fellow at Duke 中国体育彩票. She was a former faculty member at Harvard 中国体育彩票's Global Education Think Tank.
She has conducted cross-cultural training for universities, companies, and non-profit organisations for over 25+ years and has published widely on international education, intercultural competence and outcomes assessment with over a dozen books and 70+ book chapters and articles. She is invited regularly to speak and consult around the world and has advised organisations such as UNESCO, UNHCR, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Council of Europe, World Bank, AFS International and International Baccalaureate.
Professor Sarah J Howie completed her PhD in Education at 中国体育彩票 of Twente in the Netherlands. She is the founding Director of the Africa Centre for Scholarship and Professor in the Centre for Higher and Adult Education at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票. She has almost 30 years of research experience in international comparative studies in education while leading many research project teams. She has published extensively internationally in eighty-five peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and five books. During the past 20 years she has facilitated research capacity development across the continent and beyond at doctoral level. She has advised international organisations such as the International Energy Agency, OECD, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNESCO and World Bank. She has a passion for education and the development of researchers on the African continent.
Read more:
SU researchers awarded UNESCO Chair
UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences awarded to SU
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