VC’s Open Lecture put on hold

Dear colleagues and students

Following the announcement of the Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture scheduled for Thursday, 17 October 2024, the Office of the VC (OVC) has received a number of emails from stakeholders – both within and outside the University of Cape Town (UCT) community – expressing their deep concerns regarding this lecture.

Since Monday, 14 October the OVC has facilitated a number of engagements with various stakeholders who have expressed the same concerns. We continue to receive similar correspondence from a variety of stakeholders – staff, students and friends of UCT.

I have been deliberate about taking the time to engage and listen to these voices. When I took office at the beginning of August 2024, one of the ideals that I expressed was to build unity on campus and, related to this, to build consensus whenever possible.

Arising out of these concerns, and following an executive meeting held on Tuesday, 15 October, I write to inform you that the VC’s Open Lecture has now been put on hold. This is due to at least three factors: the need for further engagement, the limited time within which these engagements can be carried out, and the need to reconfigure this particular lecture in recognition of the issues raised.

The conversations that have taken place since the announcement of the lecture indicate, without doubt, that in its current format and at this present moment, the lecture would have had a polarising effect on campus. It therefore became important to pause the event, and allow for further discussions to take place without the time pressure.

As further background context, timing also played a role in this lecture. We announced the lecture only seven days before the actual date, a deviation from our usual ideal lead time. The original speaker was to have been former German President Mr Horst Köhler, who unfortunately had to withdraw due to ill health.

Subsequently, Mr Claudius Senst, who was previously invited to deliver a lecture at some stage, was approached to step in at short notice as he was also scheduled to come to Cape Town. The short lead time did not provide sufficient room for the processes that are typically involved in staging a VC’s Open Lecture to take place fully.

It should be recognised that the university space itself is a place where all ideas should be shared and debated, as we endeavour to uphold academic freedom at UCT. We should also recognise that academic freedom carries a level of responsibility to our community and society.

This has not been an easy decision to make, taking into consideration the impact on our campus community and relevant stakeholders, and all the complex arrangements involved. I express sincere regret for any inconvenience arising out of the lecture being put on hold. We will communicate further updates in this regard at a later stage.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements