The Africa Young Graduates and Scholars Conference kicked off at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) on Tuesday showcasing the work of the continent’s freshest masters’ and doctoral graduates – and others who are in pursuit of such degrees.
The conference, which this year is held under the theme Arts, Culture and Heritage: Rethinking, Remaking and Building Africa, continues until Thursday at TUT’s faculty of arts and design in Pretoria.
Started in 2005, it zooms in on efforts by Africans to promote Africa’s arts, culture and heritage sectors through its unique knowledge, cultural codes and ethics in a global world.
Emerging scholars – with masters and PhD degrees that are less than four years old from different parts of the continent including Uganda, DRC, Madagascar and Zambia – presented papers and performances exploring the diversity of what TUT vice-chancellor and principal professor Tinyiko Maluleke described as Africa’s greatest riches.
“The greatest riches of Africa are to be found in the themes of the conference,” he said during his keynote address that opened the conference on Tuesday.
“Art, culture and heritage are Africa’s riches that are inconquerable,” he said in his speech which quoted and referenced respected African writers, academics and artists including Achille Mbembe, Pikita Ntuli, and Gerard Sekoto.
The conference is organised together with the Africa Institute of South Africa in the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), and the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF). The HSRC was represented by executive director professor Charles Hongoro and AWHF by head of programmes Dr Albino Jopela on the opening day.
Adopting a hybrid format, paper presentations are offered at TUT’s arts and design campus and performances at Breytenbach Theatre in Sunnyside.
Wednesday afternoon’s session, which will take place at the Breytenbach Theatre, will feature creative presentations by TUT’s Bryan Mtsweni, who has a master’s degree in musical theatre; Wits master’s graduate Bongani Ngomane, who is the founder and director of Stage Wizard; artist and researcher Thando Mama representing the University of Fort Hare, and Zimbabwe’s Liona Muchenje, a young research fellow at the HSRC.
The conference continues on Thursday.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
