Programme Director;
Chairperson of the South African National Commission for UNESCO, Professor Iron Rensburg;
Secretary-General of the South African National Commission for UNESCO, Mr Carlton Mukwevho;
Dr Phil Mjwara, full-time Ambassador Extraordinaire for South Africa to UNESCO designate;
Chairholders from Universities and research institutions from around the country;
Chairpersons of the respective UNESCO sector Committees;
Distinguished participants.
It is a privilege for me to address this important Forum- the Annual South African UNESCO Chairs Forum. This Forum is important in many ways.
It serves not only as a platform for Chairholders and Associates at South African Universities to meet in-person and share best practices and challenges Chairholders face.
But it also serves a platform to look back and reflect on what has been achieved; including efforts to reshape the higher education landscape and fostering intercontinental collaboration.
As the world continues to face multiple sets of emerging technological, social, political, and environmental challenges, UNESCO Chairs are needed more than ever before to assist in producing solutions to these pressing multidimensional crises and to anticipate future challenges and in particular pandemics.
For this reason, the Chairs we host should act as Think Tanks and bridge-builders between the various stakeholders such as academia, civil society, local communities, research and policy making, thereby strengthening UNESCO’s research-training-policy-society nexus.
As they build these bridges, the Chairs must also be responsive to local challenges; including assisting government in responding to the key priorities that were announced by the President as part of the programme of action of the seventh administration.
Our Decadal Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation recognises that, in order to create a stable economy, South Africa will have to significantly enhance is knowledge creation, exploitation and technological innovation capacities.
There is therefore a need for proper coordination of these Chairs to make sure that they respond to the national and emerging challenges facing the country.
As you may be aware, interdisciplinarity has been the cornerstone of UNESCO Chairs since its inception. In addition to this, the Chairs should also seek to encourage a transdisciplinarity approach.
They should further seek to address the inequalities that exist in the fields of knowledge production, such as academia and the private sector.
These inequalities remain particular pervasive in South Africa’s the higher education landscape.
Looking into the future, there is a need to reflect on how the new Chairs could also be used to bridge the gap between previously advantaged and disadvantaged institutions, thus helping to deepen the transformation agenda of the higher education system.
As the Department of Science and Innovation, we will continue to provide support to universities or research institutions wishing to be designated UNESCO Chair. Our position is informed by our Decadal Plan’s internationalisation strategy which is anchored on the renewed vigour for supporting the development of STI capacity in South Africa and Africa.
Expanded internationalisation also calls upon interventions that are aimed at promoting the inclusion of HDIs and individuals such as women and black people as active participants and beneficiaries of South Africa’s investments in science diplomacy.
In conclusion, notwithstanding the progress that has been made, I would like to urge this forum to reflect on the extent to which the programme has been utilised to its full potential.
There is also a need to evaluate the extent to which the quality of our Chairs can measured against the best in the world. The National Commission should play its role in providing the necessary support and guidance.
As we deploy the Permanent Representative in UNESCO, the Chairs must be used as an additional source of advice for both on their specific area of expertise and on UNESCO and to advance national priorities.
I wish this Forum fruitful deliberations and look forward to your insights on how both the Government of South Africa and UNESCO Chairs can work together to generate knowledge and develop human capabilities needed to better the lives of ordinary South Africa.
Thank you all for listening.