NRF-Embassy of Sweden Nobel-Inspired Lecture in Literature
Channel: National Research Foundation (South Africa)
Date: 28/10/2019

On Friday, 11 October 2019, the National Research Foundation (NRF) in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria and the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), held its annual Nobel Inspired lecture at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

This year’s Nobel Inspired Lecture in Literature was delivered by South Africa’s award-winning author, poet and storyteller, Dr Sindiwe Magona, on the topic of “the Meaning and Purpose of Literature in post-apartheid South Africa”.

Dr Magona stressed that the stories we tell in post-apartheid South Africa matter! Writers play an important role in upholding a mirror that reflects back to society. As such, the stories we tell need to help society, to affirm, to trigger imagination and inspire a growing South Africa.

The keynote was followed by responses from the acclaimed scholars and authors Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola, Dean of Research at the University of Fort Hare and Professor of Practice at UJ, Sylvia Vollenhoven.

This lecture is one of many initiatives by the National Research Foundation that aims to acknowledge research excellence in South Africa and the importance of science and technology in addressing real challenges that are confronting communities.