May | 2012 | FVZS Institute Blog | Stellenbosch University
28 May 2012, written by Sarel van Baalen
Gesprekke met universiteite. Is buite gesprekke nodige?
Toesprake deur en gesprekke met bekende Suid-Afrikaanse figure die afgelope tyd op kampus het my laat wonder hoekom gesprekke met figure wat buite die universiteit staan belangrik is. Hoewel daar ruim verskille is tussen Moeletsi Mbeki (politieke annalis), Piet Mouton (PSG) en Helen Zille (leier van die DA) is dit tog duidelik dat elkeen van hulle ‘n ander verstaan het van wat die plek van ‘n universiteit soos die US in Suid-Afrika is. Hierdie verskille is natuurlik goed en veral belangrik vir studente en personeel aan ‘n universiteit om van bewus gemaak te word.
Die vraag bly egter: moet ons ons bemoei met buite-gesprekke en alternatiewe stemme? Studente en personeel kom tog vanaf verskillende dele van die land en selfs die wêreld. Ons het verskillende verstane van die realiteit(e) van die dag; ons sien verskillende moontlikhede raak; ons kan mekaar aanvul in ons denke en kennis.
Ek dink ons vergeet soms dat ‘n universiteit, en veral ‘n historiese dorpsuniversiteit soos die US, in ‘n baie spesifieke konteks bestaan en opereer. En omdat dit so is, kan dit ook wees dat elkeen wat deel word daarvan ‘dieselfde’ word. Ons kan mekaar dan, na ‘n tyd, eintlik net soveel aanvul omdat ons soos die ander (kan) word. Ek dink hier veral aan hoe ons dink oor die uitdagings van die dag, wat die uitdagings nou eintlik is, watter antwoorde gebied kan word, wat ons nodig het (om te slaag?), wanneer ons met vakansie kan gaan, ens. Veral vir studente is jou tyd op universiteit ‘n baie spesifieke tyd waar jy fokus op baie spesifieke dinge en waar jy maklik opgevang kan word in die gesprekke wat net tussen ons gebeur.
Hoewel ‘binne-denke’ sekerlik nie net by ‘n universiteit gebeur nie, moet ons by ‘n universiteit soveel te meer daarteen waak aangesien dit denke verarm. Dis daarom belangrik dat ons geleenthede verwelkom waar ons gesprekke aangevul en ryker gemaak word deur stemme wat ons nie altyd (kan) hoor nie. Vir ons om vennote van kennis te wees, is dit nodig om ons gesprekke aan te vul en denke te verruim. Ons is het stemme nodig wat realiteit anders verstaan en ander realiteite verstaan, stemme met ander belewenisse, met ander doelwitte en wat ander moontlikhede raaksien.
Ons wil buite stemme hê en ons laat aanvul deur buite-gesprekke – selfs tot die punt wat dit ons ongemaklik laat. Want slegs dan kan ons ons denke tot so ‘n mate stimuleer dat ons in ons kennis van die wetenskap, navorsing en interaksie in die breë gemeenskap op ‘n sinvolle manier leer wyl ons soek na die regte antwoorde op die regte vrae.
18 May 2012, written by Sarel van Baalen
Emerging Maties for contextual leadership
The Emerging Maties course was born out of a desire to see younger student leaders on campus equipped with skills and abilities that would prepare them for leadership across different settings.
Started in March 2011, the programme covers themes such as contextual leadership, effective communication, identity and stereotypes, as well as self-development as a leader. Through involving different students of different backgrounds and fields of study, the programme aims to establish a culture of critical thought among student leaders as well as harness the potential within them to become better and more effective inside or outside of the traditional leadership structures.
So far, a number of the participants have expressed meaningful contentment with the programme in terms of its relevance and value for their own personal lives. Many have said that the themes covered thus far have can be applied practically. This allows for a leadership programme like Emerging Maties to feature in the narratives of their personal lives.
Further expectations of the participants include the opportunity to grow more and become well-rounded individuals that can take back what they have learned and share their experiences with others. On the whole, the programme so far has been enriching not only for the participants but also for the facilitators, existing student leaders and university leaders who demonstrate their commitment to leadership development through their involvement.
This programme will definitely be something to keep an eye on as we equip leaders with relevant and impactful tools for leadership in the South African context.
Lovelyn Nwadeyi – Course Coordinator for the FVZS Emerging Maties Course.
14 May 2012, written by Sarel van Baalen
Leadership through Community Development
As a student I wanted to give back to my surrounds. I was involved in a few volunteer programs, but I wanted to do more. For this reason, I applied to be part of a course titled “Leadership through Community Development”, which was offered by the Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert Institute for Student Leadership Development (FVZS Institute). This experience helped me to embrace the opportunities I had been given this past year.
In the past year I have had the privilege of running our residence’s community project, “Goldfields Somme Blomme Naskoolprogram”. This program aims to develop the mathematical and literacy skills of a class of grade five learners. We also aim to inspire the learners to dream big and achieve their goals. Looking back on the project, I have seen that the skills learnt from the FVZS Institute’s short course named Leadership through Community Development, course have helped us to create a sustainable community partnership.
The short course helped us to gain a practical and theoretical view of how to start and lead a community project in the future. This enabled me to work with our community partner, not for them and not above them. In working with our community partner, we managed to formulate various points of view and ideas on how to expand the project.
A more recent goal of the project was to provide individual tutoring sessions to the children who are struggling in class. We have also started to create a culture of giving back, by asking learners who understand the work, to help explain certain concepts to their peers. We would not have been able to utilise these ideas if we worked above our community partner.
On a personal level, I feel that I have been able to develop my leadership skills by participating in the short course. I feel privileged to have had unique experiences and this feeds my passion to serve. Over the past year our volunteers have become confident in their abilities and they are now excited about giving back. In my opinion the short course has helped us to realise what we should focus on and how to run a community project as a team.
In my own life the course has led to me developing a keen passion to learn. Through my learning experiences I have become a co-facilitator of the short course. This gives me the perfect opportunity to share what I have experienced and how I have learnt from my experiences.
David Hatherell – Goldfields HK 2011/2012
10 May 2012, written by Sarel van Baalen
Stellenbosch Universiteit as ‘n Entrepreneuriese universiteit?
Oor wat die rol van Hoër Onderwys (HO) in ons land is, is daar ’n verskeidenheid van menings. Miskien is die sterkste hiervan ’n mening wat HO – en almal wat daarmee te doen het – huldig as ’n segment van ons samelewing waar navorsing en die uitstuur van geskoolde graduandi kan bydra tot die welwees en ontwikkeling van Suid-Afrika en Afrika. As ’n mens egter die vraag vra of universiteite in ons land, soos Universiteit Stellenbosch(US), bydra tot sosiale entrepreneurskap en die vorming van entrepreneuriese denke en vernuf onder graduandi, is die antwoord nie altyd ‘n direkte ja nie.
Baie is van mening dat universiteite bra min doen om die vermelde denke te stimuleer en dat leer- en onderrig-inisiatiewe by universiteite juis die teenoorgestelde effek kan hê. Verder vermoed burgers dat graduandi eerder sou belangstel in vaste kantoorure en ’n voorafbepaalde salaris as om hul entrepreneuriese opsies te verken. Verder is ’n groot aanklag teen HO dat graduandi eerder probeer om hulself deur hul studies te verryk en dat hulle nie werklik omsien na die belange van vele ander Suid-Afrikaners nie. Een van die dinge wat dan in die slag bly, is die moontlikheid om ’n eie besigheid te begin en om sodoende werksgeleenthede te skep. Of so word daar aangevoer.
Maar is dit waar van universiteite soos die US? Is ons gefokus op die ontwikkeling van jong entrepreneurs? Is sosiale entrepreneurskap vir ons belangrik? Die antwoord hierop word al hoe harder en duideliker – ja! Gedurende die afgelope 5 jaar het die US verskeie strategiese inisiatiewe onderneem om entrepreneurskap op verskillende vlakke te bevorder. Hier kan melding gemaak word van die groei in die Departement van Ondernemingsbestuur se program vir Entrepreneurskap en Innovasiebestuur (Fakulteit Ekonomiese en Bestuurswetenskappe), die GAP-Jaar program vir Entrepreneurskap en Bestuur (US Bestuurskool), INNOVUS (die US se Tegnologie-oordrag Maatskappy), die aktiwiteite van Nucleus (direk ondersteun deur die FVZS Instituut), ensovoorts. Die vermelde groepe het pas bymekaargekom om ’n entrepreneurskapsforum aan die US te vestig. Die idee met die forum is om die vermelde gespreksvennoote bymekaar te bring en om ’n gefokusde en oorkoepelende strategie aan die US te vestig.
Die grooste impak op die moontlikheid om entrepreneuriese denke en sosiale entrepreneurskap te stimuleer en bevorder kan waarskynlik egter gevind word in universiteite se strewe daarna om afgeronde graduandi te lewer wat ’n daadwerklike impak sal maak en deur middel van hul vaardighede en kennisons land en sameweling sal dien. Juis daarom het baie universiteite, soos die US, ’n stel graduandi-kenmerke (“graduate attributes”) wat gebruik word as ’n stel vaardigheidskenmerke wat studente aan moet leer/moet beleef binne sowel as buite die klaskamer. Hierdie kenmerke het veral oor die laaste paar jaar sterk na vore getree en staan al hoe meer sentraal in die leer- en onderrigstrategieë van verskeie universiteite.
En die US het natuurlik ’n goeie klomp prominente entrepreneurs opgelewer wat vandag steeds terugploeg in verskeie studentegemeenskappe op ons kampusse. Hulle sluit in individue soos Koos Bekker, GT Ferreira, Whitey Basson, Jannie Mouton, en Christo Wiese (om maar net ’n paar te noem). Gaandeweg sal ons deur strukture soos die ontwikkelende US Entrepreneuriese Forum moet leer om selfs nog meer klem te lê op die ontwikkeling van ’n kultuur van entrepreneurskap, soos wat vele ander universiteite wêreldwyd reeds doen. Hierdie uitdagende geleentheid kan nie meer beperk word tot die periferie van die US se fokus nie, maar hoort reg in die middel. En gelukkig word daar al meer daarop gefokus.Die FVZS Instituut is opgewonde om deur sy werksaamhede die kenmerke van graduandi aan die US aan te hou bevestig deur middel van ons kursusse, programme en projekte en dat ons ’n vennoot in die Entrepreneuriese Forum is.
Agents of Change explore Stellenbosch’s socioeconomic realities
Students participating in the FVZS Agents of Social Change short course had the opportunity to visit Kayamandi, Cloetesville and Ida’s Valley and to see first-hand both the hardship and the success of individuals from these communities. Regardless of the hardship in most of South Africa’s townships, these communities are infused with the spirit of Ubuntu, ‘I am, because we are’. A palpable feeling that, as our tour guide passionately pointed out, “beats like the heart of continuous hope and freedom for our nation.”
These communities, located a stone-throw away from Stellenbosch campus, represent South Africa’s unique urban planning which is a continued result of our past. During apartheid, Stellenbosch, like many other city and town centres, was declared a white-only community by the local municipality. Because of this, black and coloured citizens were evicted and forced to move into segregated townships. Many of them lived around the university in an area called “die vlakte” which was the centre of the coloured community.
The townships in South Africa were deliberately used in urban planning to alienate communities. Highways, railways and national roads were used to separate white-only communities from townships. Today, in a post-apartheid era, shacks are being replaced by government-subsidised houses, roads in these areas are continuously being tarred, and basic services are slowly being installed.
The Agents of Social Change had the opportunity to visit a local barber shop in Ida’s Valley. Photos and memorabilia cover the walls of Art’s barber shop, conveying the generations of history connected with this unique hair salon and diverse community.
From there the tour headed to Kayamandi, a Xhosa term meaning “pleasant or sweet home”. Kayamandi bears witness to apartheid’s social engineering with the so-called coloured community of Cloetesville across the road, acting as a buffer to the centrally located white population of Stellenbosch. Kayamandi was originally built to exclusively house black male migrant labourers employed on farms in the Stellenbosch area. Women were only allowed to visit their husbands on weekends and were send home by Sunday evenings. The agents visited the renowned Amazink restaurant and community centre in Kayamandi, where community development is achieved through education, job creation and other essential community services.
Cloetesville was the third and final stop of the day. Here students visited Simonsberg Guest House, the only guest house in the Stellenbosch area located within a township. The three star guest house is owned and managed by local entrepreneur Elize Anthony. Elize shared her inspirational story of success, as well as her plans to be involved in the new 360˚ route. This project of the Stellenbosch Tourism Bureau, the local municipality, Cape Town route planners and local Stellenbosch wineries is aimed at uplifting communities and encouraging the production of local products and offering of services.
The group was also addressed by Councillor Valerie Fernandez, who is the municipal councillor for the regional section 16 and portfolio chairperson for housing in the Stellenbosch City Council. Miss Fernandez spoke on how students and change agents can make a difference and shared her personal motto, “Success is a choice”. She reminded the group of the importance of the three R’s – respect for yourself, respect for others and responsibility for your actions – as the main foundation to lay your life on.
The community tour highlighted the conviviality and sense of camaraderie that often underpins South Africa’s working class, despite the harsh circumstances in which they live. Even though the communities in townships face many troubling issues, there is also a lot of hope.
Anika Cook (final year BComm Psych student, Agents of Social Change participant)