Inaugural lecture by Professor Boonzaier and other updates

The next lecture in the University of Cape Town's (UCT) Inaugural Lecture series will be presented by Professor Floretta Boonzaier on 11 September 2024. Read more about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. Inaugural lecture by Professor Boonzaier

Professor will present her lecture, titled "Finding Hope and Healing While Researching Violence: Decolonial Feminist Explorations into Gender-Based Violence and Femicide", on Wednesday, 11 September 2024. It will start at 17:30 SAST in the Chris Hani Lecture Theatre, University Avenue North, upper campus.

In this lecture, Professor Boonzaier reflects on the questions that have shaped her two decades of research on gendered and sexual violence. She charts a decolonial feminist path, deeply rooted in her personal history of intergenerational and historical trauma – of silences and erasures – while striving for epistemic justice, hope and healing. Professor Boonzaier offers a decolonial feminist perspective on gender-based violence and femicide, one that encourages the asking of previously unthought questions and centers on dignity, humanity, voice, positionality, geographies, histories, ethics and the pursuit of healing justice.

Professor Boonzaier is a professor at UCT’s Department of Psychology, and co-director of the Hub for Decolonial Feminist Psychologies in Africa. She is noted for her expertise in feminist, critical qualitative and decolonial psychologies and her writing on gendered and sexual violence. She is a widely published scholar.

• Watch the lecture online.

2. UCT to host language indaba

Staff and students are invited to the UCT Language Indaba, which will take place on Thursday, 12 September 2024 at the Leslie Social building on upper campus at 10:00.

The indaba will be addressed by UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela, personnel from Pan South African Language Board, and the Office for Inclusivity and Change (OIC) among others.

It will present an opportunity for staff and students to engage on the proposed language policy and learn how it will affect them.

For more information, please contact Zukiswa Zono.

• View the programme.

3. For women, by women: FemFEST is on in October

UCT’s Commercial Development unit will host FemFEST, an empowering celebration of women, on Saturday, 26 October 2024. The event will be hosted at Protea by Marriott Hotel in Mowbray, from 10:00 to 16:00.

The day will focus on creativity, empowerment and collaboration, offering a unique platform for women to share their achievements and foster meaningful connections.

Attendees can expect a day filled with engaging speakers, interactive activities and unparalleled networking opportunities. Some of the activities include a yoga session and a cooking masterclass.

Tickets are from R300 and can be purchased from Quicket. There will also be prizes to be won. Part of the proceeds will be donated to charity.

For more information, please contact FemFEST.

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