Update on VC’s Campus-wide Conversations

Dear colleagues and students

When we launched the VC’s Campus-wide Conversations in December 2024, it was with the hope and aspiration of beginning a collective journey of conversations – one where we could engage openly and honestly with the difficult questions facing our university, and begin to restore the trust, connection and shared purpose that have all been strained in recent years.

The series, facilitated by two independent practitioners – Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo and Ms Nomfundo Walaza – was designed to unfold over multiple phases, with the first running until June 2025. This was meant to lay a foundation for subsequent phases that would anchor the lessons we learn and ways in which we choose to move forward.

I write to first share an update on what has emerged from the conversations that have taken place so far, and to invite you all to continue to engage in the conversations as we embark on this long arduous journey of healing the wounds – old and fresh – of our great institution, and build a people-centred institutional culture anchored in ubuntu.

From what the practitioners have been able to gather in just over 40 weeks of ‘listening’, and notwithstanding the dangers of misinterpretation, misunderstanding and over-generalisation, the most worrying trends can be clustered under the statement: “UCT is not a welcoming place”.

Innocuous as this statement may sound, it clearly affects more people other than the complainants since it goes beyond simple issues of behaviour that can be termed “cliquey” – an adjective that tends to be applied to the City of Cape Town in general – to discrimination, bullying, harassment and entrenched inequality that, in the opinion of the practitioners, represent recognisably illegal activity, especially between senior and junior members of the UCT community.

Also, high up on the list of problematic cultural practices reported by participants in the conversations are lapses in governance and a tendency to adhere to an archaic and outdated bureaucracy. Members of the UCT community shared stories of failings in admissions, registration and accommodation. The practitioners viewed this as a worrying trend given that an institution is judged by how it caters for its critical stakeholders, who in this case are the students.

Further, UCT is also experienced as untransformed despite the #RMF and #FMF movements, which offered a comprehensive set of recommendations on how the university can address transformation. Practitioners were reminded that the Mpati and Mayosi reports contain good sources of information that could assist UCT address its transformation agenda. Those who visited expressed grave concerns about the slow pace of implementation of the proposals contained in these reports.

Practitioners were alerted to the need to ensure that some professional, administrative support and service (PASS) departments adhere to set policies and procedures and are adequately resourced and structured in ways that properly serve the overall purpose of the institution. Practitioners were also told about the confusion regarding the role of the Office for Inclusivity and Change and the UCT Ombud’s Office – two structures that are critical in ensuring a sense of belonging.

Running across the themes was a sense of a university where the Gaza resolutions adopted by Council have laid bare entrenched divisions and polarisation to the point where collegiality is at its lowest point. The words ‘toxic’ and ‘unsafe spaces’ were a constant reference. This climate causes individuals to fear expressing their honest opinions, which has an adverse effect on creative and innovative thinking.

In the thinking of the practitioners, what is regrettable about this outcome is that it obscures a large swathe of commendable achievements in the culture of UCT. It is evident from the above that these tough and honest conversations were not only necessary, but allowed people to share views that are critical of our institutional culture at UCT.

These conversations can lead to a much-needed process of healing, rebuilding and imagining anew. They are spaces where truth can meet empathy, and where our diversity can be a strength, not a fault line. Real transformation takes time. It is not an event, but a process consisting of a series of deliberate and courageous steps forward. This is a platform for all members of the UCT community – staff, students, alumni – to engage in and share their valuable perspectives.

As a common West African proverb reminds us: “It is from a tiny seed that the biggest tree was born.” What we nurture now – through honest conversations and collective effort – has the potential to grow and shape the institution in a bigger way. We will continue working with our experienced external practitioners – Professor Nhlapo and Ms Walaza – who collectively bring rich experience in conflict transformation, law and social healing. Their guidance will remain instrumental as we continue to explore the themes emerging from the community.

• Read the preceding VC Desk for more details, including the practitioners’ bios.
• Watch a video interview with Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo and Ms Nomfundo Walaza.

I invite each of you to remain engaged. Our collective voices are essential to shaping a campus culture rooted in kindness, ubuntu, mutual respect and justice. Let us reaffirm of our shared responsibility to co-create a university where all feel welcome, heard, valued and empowered.

Your voice is vital to the success of this campus-wide initiative. I invite you to:

• secure a session with the facilitators by emailing conversations@uct.ac.za.
• share your insights, questions or suggestions by contacting us through the dedicated mailbox.

I urge you to take part in these conversations – as individuals, colleagues, groups or collectives, units or departments, in closed meetings or town halls – not just as a participant, but as a co-creator of the kind of institutional culture we want to shape for ourselves and future generations at UCT.

Let us continue this journey – not in haste, but with care and commitment – toward a stronger, more united UCT.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements