A
significant breakthrough in research into tuberculosis
(TB) has been made by a government sponsored innovation
centre in co-operation with leading UKZN scientists
led by Professor Willem Sturm, Dean of the Nelson
R Mandela School of Medicine.
The
LIFElab funded National Genomics Platform (NGP)
collaborated with scientists from UKZN's Nelson
R Mandela School of Medicine on a project to sequence
the entire genome of one strain of Extensively Drug
Resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) from
a patient in KwaZulu- Natal. This strain of XDR-TB
was successfully decoded and sequenced 20 times.
The
purpose of the project was to provide a reference
sequence for further projects involving sequencing
of more isolates of XDR and Multi Drug Resistant-TB
(MDR) from KZN. This sequence information will be
used to develop rapid molecular diagnostic tools
for XDR and MDR-TB. The sequence information will
result in more rapid and accurate diagnostic tests
for XDR and MDR-TB and will assist in the development
of therapeutic agents that target drug resistant
TB. Furthermore, it allows for a better understanding
of how TB bacteria causes disease in man. This in
turn will aid in designing tools to prevent this
disease.
Head
of the research team, Professor Willem Sturm said,
“Through the successful sequencing of the
XDR organism’s full genome, we are able to
analyse the genes based on their structure in order
to develop a rapid test to diagnose the disease
of TB. The sequencing process was extremely successful
in a short space of time but the work continues
with a focus on drug and vaccine development that
will enable clinicians to treat the disease effectively
and without embarking on a trial and error experimental
phase. This research breakthrough has the potential
to eventually finding a cure.”
"We
have made a significant investment in biotechnology
innovation in South Africa, and it is very rewarding
to see such positive results. TB is an enormous
challenge for South Africa, and although the breakthrough
is not a cure, it is a significant step in that
direction," said Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General
of the Department of Science and Technology.
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Professor
Sabiha Essack, Dean of UKZN’s Faculty of Health
Sciences and Associate Professor in Pharmaceutics
in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, has been
selected to represent South Africa as a participant
in the prestigious Africa Higher Education Collaborative
(AHEC).
This
new initiative is the brainchild of the Council
for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), a
division of the Institute of International Education
(IIE), and is sponsored by the Ford Foundation.
The
collaborative aims to contribute to the development
of higher education within the countries of Egypt,
Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa over a two-year-period.
Its goal is to engage a new generation of higher
education specialists in Africa by creating networks
for information sharing and research while enhancing
the regional and global perspectives of participants.
Five
participants from each country will be given the
opportunity to design individual and joint projects
related to issues of access to higher education
in local, regional and Pan-African contexts through
the collective efforts among group members during
a series of seminar meetings.
In
selecting Professor Essack as one of the South African
representatives, the executive director of CIES
and vice-president of the IIE, Mr Sabine O’Hara,
said the selection spoke highly of the Professor’s
past accomplishments and standing within the global
community of scholars. The first seminar is in Cairo
early next year.
Professor
Essack (B. Pharm., M. Pharm., PhD) is a Wellcome
Trust Research Fellow who completed research towards
her PhD at St Bartholomew’s and the Royal
London School of Medicine and Dentistry in the United
Kingdom. Her PhD research involved the molecular
biology and biochemistry of b-lactamase-mediated
resistance in South African nosocomial Klebsiella
pneumoniae isolates. She has received several prestigious
scholarships and bursaries from the Wellcome Trust,
Medical Research Council (MRC), National Research
Foundation (NRF) and the University of Durban-Westville
during the course of her Masters and PhD studies.
Her work has been published in several journals
and has been presented at a number of national and
international conferences.
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Chief
Justice Pius Langa recently addressed staff and students
of the Faculty of Law on "The role of the South
African Constitution in building a more equal and
humane society."
Justice
Langa, who was a guest of the Law Students’
Council, is the Chief Justice of the Constitutional
Court of South Africa. His visit on October 9 attracted
an excellent audience of staff, students and journalists.
Deputy
Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Law and
Management Studies, Professor John Mubangizi, officially
opened the lecture applauding students for inviting
Justice Langa.
Sharing
his wisdom with staff and students of the Faculty
of Law, Justice Langa said the topic focused on
how South Africa could use the Constitution to transform
society. He emphasised that the Constitutional Court
had a transformational goal to remove all remnants
of apartheid laws. He explained that a humane society
referred to a society in which all people understood
the importance of dignity. He then highlighted the
milestone achievements the Constitution had made.
He also placed an emphasis on the socio-economic
disparities and injustices that still posed a challenge
to the country as a whole.
He said he was concerned that the majority of South
Africans lived in poverty and were denied their
right to dignity. “South Africa has 40 percent
of people living below the poverty margin. A person
denied food and clothing is denied his/her dignity,”
he said.
The constitution required communities to go the
extra mile in recognising differences in terms of
diverse culture. “The community has a duty
to promote unity in diversity,” said Justice
Langa.
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Professor
Hoosen Coovadia
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The
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia awarded
Professor Hoosen (Jerry) Coovadia of the Nelson R
Mandela School of Medicine the Herman Gertrude Silver
Award for his groundbreaking work in helping reduce
HIV/AIDS transmission from mother-to-child, especially
through breastfeeding.
Following
the presentation Professor Coovadia delivered a
lecture on “Medical Research in Poor Countries:
The Clash of Science and State” at the children’s
Hospital.
“The
award presented to Professor Jerry Coovadia is a
great honour for the Nelson R Mandela School of
Medicine. It not only recognises the work of Professor
Coovadia but through him also the leading role that
our medical school has in research in the field
of HIV infection and AIDS,” said Professor
Willem Sturm, Dean of the Medical School.
Professor
Coovadia is the Victor Daitz Professor for HIV/AIDS
Research, the Scientific Director of the Doris Duke
Medical Research Institute and Director of the Center
for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN).
In
his lecture, Professor Coovadia recounted how he
continues to strive for scientific breakthroughs
with the help of a small team of dedicated researchers,
the guidance of mentors and support from around
the world.
“I
told of the hardships many medical researchers faced
in South Africa, especially in the apartheid era,
but despite the racist regime we were fortunate
to have relative independence to conduct research,”
said Professor Coovadia.
He
also described his research into reducing the transmission
of HIV/AIDS from mother to newborn child through
exclusive breastfeeding.
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UKZN’s Agricultural Economics discipline has
won several awards at the Agricultural Economics
Association of South Africa’s (AEASA) annual
conference in Midrand.
Master’s
student Mr Greg Sparrow, supervised by Professor
Gerald Ortmann and co-supervised by Professor Mike
Lyne, received second prize for the AEASA Best Masters
Thesis of 2006. He studied factors affecting the
demand for labour on commercial farms in South Africa
during 1960-2002.
Senior
Lecturer Mr Mark Darroch, Master’s student
Mr Richard Lee and Professor Gerald Ortmann won
the prize for the second best contributed paper
at the Conference titled: ‘The Economic Impact
of a Rural Land Tax on Selected Commercial Farms
in KwaZulu-Natal’. This paper was upgraded
to a plenary session paper.
Ms
Michelle Browne, who completed her Bachelor of Science
in Agriculture (Agribusiness) degree summa cum
laude in 2006, won the AEASA Best Student Essay
prize. This essay was based on Browne’s final
year project titled: ‘Expenditure Elasticities
for Rural Households in the Embo Ward, Umbumbulu,
KwaZulu-Natal’ which was supervised by Professor
Gerald Ortmann and co-supervised by Professor Sheryl
Hendriks.
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Population
Studies MA students who attended the
Population Association of Southern
Africa conference in Mafikeng
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Ms
Crystal Munthree from the School of Development Studies
received an award for the best student paper presented
during the annual conference of the Population Association
of Southern Africa (PASA) at the University of North-West
in Mafeking.
The conference is a platform for
Southern African demographers and population scientists
to share their research work and enhance their networks.
PASA also focuses on helping younger researchers
and students to become more familiar with relevant
research issues concerning the field of population
studies and demography.
Fifteen
students from the School of Development Studies
at UKZN had the opportunity to attend the conference.
Students are provided with the opportunity of presenting
their research and receive feedback from population
scientists. PASA also provided training for students
at a one day pre-conference workshop on research
proposal development and tips on analysis of research
results through quantitative statistical packages.
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From left: Mr Harsh Vardhan
Shringla, Consul General of India; guest
speaker, Mr Jaithirth (Jerry) Rao; Mr
Amichand Rajbansi, KZN Minister for
Sport and Recreation; Professor Anesh
Singh, Head of the Graduate School of
Business and Mr Ashok Sewnarain, CEO
of International Bank Vaults |
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Work
which used to take six weeks is now done in six days
thanks to the wonder of the Internet.
This is according to international
IT expert Mr Jaithirth (Jerry) Rao who delivered
a paper entitled "Globalisation: Connecting
with the Global Economy" at the Westville campus
recently.
Mr Rao, who was hosted by the Graduate
School of Business in partnership with the Consulate
General of India, is chairman of MphasiS, an EDS
company with twin headquarters in New York and Bangalore.
Mr Rao, also the vice-president
and general manager of EDS - a global IT services
giant, is a regular writer and speaker on technology
strategy, financial services and the Internet.
He spoke about the power of doing
business on the internet and how it had changed
service delivery for the better. Doing business
on the internet was convenient and reduced costs
and saved time.
According to Mr Rao, work that
used to take six weeks is now done in six days,
recorded, audited and delivered. Technology also
allows for work to be decomposed into smaller parts
and done remotely. The internet made it easier to
run a digitised factory in different parts of the
world with less staff.
“People can access this factory
from all over the world. This shift has yielded
enormous productivity and profitability gains.”
He told delegates he ran a business
which employed 23 000 people and had a turnover
of more than US$1billion a year. Mr Rao pointed
out that through technology the world was heading
for another industrial revolution. He emphasised
that South Africa was an integral part of the digital
industry and had a major part to play in the global
economy. He dispelled the perception that technology
brought job losses, rather the IT industry created
jobs.
KwaZulu-Natal
Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr Amichand Rajbansi
and a number of local business people attended the
lecture.
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The
Engineering Invitation Day was an ideal opportunity
for Grade 12 learners to discover exactly what is
in store for them if they study Engineering at UKZN
next year. About 250 learners who have received firm
and conditional offers for 2008, accompanied by their
parents, attended the event on the Howard College
campus recently.
The programme kicked off in the
Student Union Hall with an address by the Dean of
Engineering, Professor Nelson Ijumba. He emphasised
the Faculty’s commitment to excellence, highlighting
the Engineering Council of South Africa’s
(ECSA) accreditation of all UKZN’s Engineering
degrees. Admissions Officer, Ms Cathi Bond, followed
with an explanation of the logistics pertaining
to the admissions and registration processes. Third-year
Computer Engineering Student, Mr Peter Dawoud, concluded
the formal programme with a candid and somewhat
comical rendition of the life of an engineering
student
Grouped according to their engineering
discipline of choice, the learners then spent time
in one of the five Schools, touring the facilities
and interacting with the academic staff and students.
The morning ended with a light lunch during which
the learners engaged in one-on-one sessions with
the Dean and Faculty staff.
Feedback
from learners and parents indicate that the event
was a resounding success. Numerous e-mails and messages
were received congratulating the Faculty on a well
run and informative day. One parent said she now
feels a lot more confident that UKZN can provide
the education her son requires.
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Ms
Emma Broster receives her Moot Court
Award from Judge Kate Pillay
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Final year LLB student Ms Emma Broster was the winner
of the 36th Ellie Newman Moot Court Competition held
on October 11 at the Howard College campus.
The
Ellie Newman Memorial Moot Court Final is the flagship
Moot Court competition of the Faculty of Law. It
was introduced in 1989 in honour of the late Professor
Ellie Newman who had initiated the competition in
the early 1970s.
The
Moot Court Final takes place as the culmination
of a process that involves all final-year LLB students
at the Faculty of Law, Howard College campus, for
whom participation is compulsory.
Professor
John Mubangizi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Head
of the College of Law and Management Studies, said
in his address that the law profession required
students who were not only armed with the academic
theory and substance but were also adequately prepared
and well versed with the procedural aspects of those
professions. He added that the Faculty of Law ran
highly respected Moot Court programmes aimed at
familiarising students with various aspects of litigation
and courtroom procedure.
One
of the judges, Judge Kate Pillay, said the issues
raised during the moot court were very difficult.
"We found the participants put in a large amount
of work and were able to stay calm and deal with
the pressure. We were expecting the students not
to present their cases like a written and prepared
speech; they had to be ready for attacks and issues
raised, and they had to anticipate the argument
and engage." Judge Pillay said Ms Emma Broster's
efforts were commendable.
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Discipline
of Speech Language Therapy – Winners
of the Community-Based Category and
overall winners of the Symposium with
Professor Sabiha Essack, Dean (third
from right) and Mr Elijah Tjiane, Pfizer
(right)
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The
Faculty of Health Sciences recently held a research
symposium sponsored by Pfizer, for undergraduate students
in the faculty.
Participating disciplines showcased
their top research findings in the fields of Pharmacy
and Pharmacology, Optometry, Speech Language Therapy,
Medical Biochemistry, Audiology, Occupational Therapy,
Sport Science, Nursing and Anatomy. Undergraduate
students presented in the categories of community-based,
clinical-based and laboratory-based research to
a packed auditorium of adjudicators, academics,
researchers and students.
In the category of laboratory-based
research, students from the School of Pharmacy and
Pharmacology won first prize for their research
into Stavudine - a drug that is used extensively
in the treatment of HIV-infected patients.
The study focused on the effects
of incorrect packaging of the capsules. For example,
in Durban, extreme weather conditions of heat and
humidity place additional environmental stresses
on the drug. The research methodology explored the
storage of Stavudine in various types of packaging
to determine the most effective. Results indicated
that Stavudine capsules stored in packaging other
than that used by the manufacturer and under temperature
and humidity conditions that are higher than those
recommended by the manufacturer, showed significant
degradation.
The clinical-based research category produced excellent
research by the School of Optometry which took first
prize for their research on "The Best Moisturiser
For Your Cornea."
First
prize winners in the category of community-based
research were students from the Discipline of Speech
Language Therapy who also took the overall prize
at the symposium. Their research was a study on
the perceptions of first year health students on
the professions of Audiology and Speech Language
Therapy. The main aim of the study was based on
research that there is a shortage of specialists
in these two professions.
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From
left: Dr Liezl-Maret Jacobs and Ms Moira
Kearney
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The
UKZN School of Music paid tribute to one of the doyennes
of South African piano teachers on her 90th birthday!
Ms Moira Kearney was the guest of
honour at a lunch-hour concert presented by the
School of Music at Howard College Theatre on October
8. The celebratory concert featured MMus graduate
Mr Filip Kormúth (piano), current BMus student
Ms Melissa Hoover (flute) and guest performer Ms
Jacqueline Wederburn-Maxwell (violin) accompanied
by current piano lecturer Dr Liezl-Maret Jacobs.
Ms Kearney (nee Birks) was the first person to fill
the post of Piano lecturer at the newly opened Department
of Music at the former University of Natal in 1974
under the headship of Professor Michael Brimer.
A life-long member of the South
African Society of Music Teachers, a UNISA examiner,
UNISA Music Competition panel judge and private
music teacher, she was a prodigious performer who
gave many SABC Studio Recitals and live symphony
concert broadcasts as well as solo piano recitals
across the country.
Her
teaching career spanned 60 years - she joined the
University in her twenties and was still teaching
privately well into her eighties! Former students
have described her most endearing personal attributes
as "a unique smile and sense of humour, an
ability to empathise with the student for the trials
of life that are sometimes beyond one's control,
giving praise for the smallest improvement, always
making sure you left the piano lesson knowing what
needed to be done and how to work on it, and encouragement
to always aim for the best of which you were capable."
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The
new extension to the GMJ Sweeney Law Library has been
officially opened at the Law Faculty. The Faculty
has applied to the University's Naming Committee to
have the extension named after the late Professor
Ronald Louw because of his commitment to the development
of research in the Faculty and to the suitable use
of technology. During his time, he was instrumental
in initiating the first extensions to the Law Library.
This
extension was necessary due to the extra demands
created by the merger in 2004 of the staff and student
population of the Law Faculties from the previous
University of Natal and University of Durban-Westville.
This
extra workload motivated the Library and Computer
Committee in the Faculty under Mr Adrian Bellengere,
along with Dr Reggie Raju, the Head Law Librarian,
and the (then) Deputy Dean at Howard College, Professor
John Mubangizi, to put together a proposal for the
extension of the IT-based research facilities in
the library. The necessity of the extension was
realised by the University and they then provided
the required finance to see the project through.
The
library reduced the space used for shelving and
redistributed the vacant area to create a new research
commons. The research commons will give researchers
the opportunity to engage in research in a more
suitable environment and using the latest equipment
to access ever increasing subscriptions to electronic
material.
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Professors Bernard De Meyer, French
(PMB), Félix Nicodème
Bikoï, President of APFA-OI and
Dean of the Faculty of Human and Social
Sciences, University of Douala, Cameroun,
Miss Nobuhle Zungu, student of French
(UKZN) and Dr Francesca Balladon, French
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UKZN’s
Dr Francesca Balladon and Professor Bernard De Meyer
were invited by the Service de Coopération
et d’action Culturelle (SCAC) of the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in South Africa
and the Association for French Studies in Southern
Africa to attend the APFA-OI (Association des
Professeurs de Français d’Afrique et
de l’Océan Indien) conference
in Lusaka, Zambia in September. French student Ms
Nobuhle Zungu also attended the conference thanks
to the support given by the SCAC and the School
of Language, Literature and Linguistics.
The
theme of the conference, Le français,
une langue partenaire pour le développement
de l’Afrique, (French, a Language to
Partner Development in Africa), promoted discussion
on the relationship between language and development
in general and the French language to partner the
development of Africa in particular.
This is a relevant issue in view of the partnership
agreement signed between France and South Africa
in 2006 which underscores France’s desire
to enlist South Africa’s diplomatic aid to
enhance its influence in Africa, and South Africa’s
stated intention to improve communication with Francophone
countries on the continent.
French
Studies at South African universities, responding
to changing needs, have adapted curricula and are
offering modules in French for specific purposes
which redefine the role of French as a language
of communication in professional life.
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The Six nations were represented on
the food platter |
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The
International Students Association (ISA), together
with UKZN International (Pietermaritzburg), hosted
a cultural food tasting event to promote internationalisation
at the University.
Ten nations were represented on
the programme and many of the students who attended
wore traditional dress. Each of the ten nations
had a representative to talk about their country
and food while music from their home country played
in the background.
The liquid refreshments were Coca-Cola
from America, green tea from China and gluwien from
Germany. Six tasty food items on the plate had their
national flag attached: samoosas for India, spinach
fritters for Zambia, mielies for Zimbabwe, milk
tart for South Africa, chippati with bean stew from
Kenya, coconut from Mozambique while the décor
on the table was from Swaziland
Ms
Marie-Anna Marais delivered the opening address
and Ms Mandy Chibambo was the Director of Ceremonies.
After a lot of dancing and singing the evening ended
with Mr Leandro Macamo, the Chairperson of the ISA,
thanking those who had contributed to the success
of the evening.
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from left: Professor Rajen Naidoo, Ms
Zanele Bikitsha, Professor Mbulelo Mzamane,
Mrs Mzamane, Dr Boyce Baloyi, Dr Lungile
Bhengu, and Professor Nceba Gqaleni
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It
has been 30 years since the death of Mr Stephen
Bantu Biko in a cold Pretoria Central Prison cell.
At that time he was a student at the then University
of Natal’s Medical School, President of the
South Africa Student’s Organisation (SASO),
founder member of the Black People’s Convention
and chief architect of the philosophy of Black Consciousness.
Mr
Steve Biko died cruelly at the hands of the apartheid
police. His contribution to the struggle for liberation
and unity of Black people remains a beacon for the
development of our young democracy.
In recognition of Mr Steve Biko’s
contribution and his roots at UKZN, the Nelson R
Mandela School of Medicine commemorated the anniversary
of his death with a Memorial Lecture delivered by
Professor Mbulelo Mzamane of the Centre of African
Literary Studies of UKZN and Dr Boyce Baloyi, both
personal friends of Mr Biko. The lecture was held
on September 27 at the Nelson R Mandela School of
Medicine.
Recounting the development of the
Black Consciousness (BC) Movement, Professor Mzamane
said: “The value Africans on the continent
attach to African Consciousness and Renaissance
is enormous. President Mbeki mentioned that we deprive
ourselves as we do not honour our own prophets.”
He also quoted Mr Nelson Mandela, who spoke at a
previous commemorative lecture for Mr Biko as saying,
“As we now increasingly speak and work for
an African Renaissance, the thoughts, work and force
of Mr Steve Biko is as strong as when he lived.
That force spoke of radically changing the consciousness
of our people, of the shape of our history and the
rest of humanity.”
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From left: Ms Khethokuhle Nkosi and
Mr Thabo Letsoalo
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Four
Masters students in Population Studies, in the School
of Development Studies were part of a group of more
than 20 young South Africans who attended a study
course at the Michigan University in the United States
recently.
Mr Thabo Letsoalo, Ms Khethokuhle
Nkosi, Ms Crystal Munthree and Ms Lima Mashamba
were all involved in courses in Statistics, enjoying
full study days which began at 8h00 and finished
around 18h00 with an occasional Sunday night lecture.
An opportunity was made for them to meet the widow
of world renowned statistician, Professor Leslie
Kish.
The
students also had an opportunity to take courses
with various academics and professionals from well
know organisations such as the United Nations. The
courses proved to be challenging but well structured
and conducted by statisticians and demographers
from the best universities in the United States.
The students said the experience had enhanced their
demographic skills and equipped them with advance
methods in population studies.
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Past
students and staff of UKUSA, the longest standing
Community Arts Programme in South Africa, joined forces
recently at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the Howard
College campus to take part in two concerts.
The first concert featured students
from UKUSA. The second concert featured the well
known and loved musician Melvin Peters who chairs
the UKUSA Board with Mr Jeff Robinson, member of
UKUSA Board and lecturer at UKZN, and friends, treated
listeners to several hours of great music. UKUSA
was born in 1987, during one of the worst periods
of internal strife and bloodshed in apartheid history.
It was a time of desperation for many youth in our
country.
The UKUSA programme started as a
small local arts outreach project, in a dilapidated
shed of the old Durban Station Building, by offering
a space to township youth to explore their artistic
talents.
More
than 8000 students have attended UKUSA, coming from
all over greater Durban and as far afield as Ulundi
in the north, Port Shepstone in the south, and Pietermaritzburg.
Professor Elizabeth Oehrle is founder and coordinator
of this massive Community project. Many UKUSA students
have gone on to achieve their dreams in careers
of their choice.
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Poetry Africa 2007 participants
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The
11th edition of Poetry Africa, a non-stop week-long
celebration of poetry and poets organised by the College
of Humanities’ Centre for Creative Arts, came
to a climax with a jam-packed mini-festival at the
BAT Centre in Durban.
The Department of Arts and Culture
poetry workshop on Sunday, October 7, was the final
activity of the festival. It was an appropriate
concluding session, nearly four hours long, in which
facilitators Zolani Mkiva, Jessica Mbangeni and
Masoja Msiza engaged with the largely young contingent
of poets at a level of depth and detail, interrogating
and exploring poetry writing and performance.
The festival’s final day at
the BAT Centre comprised poetry writing workshops,
a poetic performance piece by imbongis from different
language-groups entitled Emkhathini neziMbongi (Time
Travel), and the ever-popular Durban SlamJam.
The evening’s notable feature
was the large number of collaborations that took
place between festival poets, resulting in hot-off-the-press
work, and giving audiences a special insight on
the creative process. Ishle (Korea/USA) was accompanied
by Damien Mandrin (Reunion); Habib Demba Fall (Senegal)
performed with Durban's Zorro; and the sweet mbira-playing
Chiwoniso (Zimbabwe) was partnered in performances
with Chirikure Chirikure (Zimbabwe) and Stanley
Kenani (Malawi). The unique Danyel Waro and his
group from Reunion brought the night to a rousing
close with his amazing voice and shamanic rhythms,
packing the dance floor with poets and groovers
alike.
The festival kicked off the previous
weekend with vibrant poetry and music showcases
at the Flavours of Durban and Awesome Africa events,
before settling into a five-night stretch at the
Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. Apart from the evening
performances, a wide programme of day activities
took place at various campuses and community centres,
providing widened access to the array of poetic
voices in action. Particularly popular with the
poets was the schools visiting programme which reached
over 2000 learners at 30 schools.
The
11th Poetry Africa Festival was supported by the
Department of Arts and Culture, Humanist Institute
for Development Cooperation (HIVOS), Royal Netherlands
Embassy, Stichting Doen, French Institute of South
Africa, eThekwini Municipality and the City of Durban.
Poetry Africa in 2008 takes place from September
29 to October 4. For more information and photographs
see www.cca.ukzn.ac.za
and Poetry
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