(Uhuru is the Swahili word for ‘freedom’; it is a term used throughout Africa.) Equality, freedom and justice are ideas that are central to any understanding of human emancipation. This was the case for the European Enlightenment, for the American, French and Haitian revolutions and during the struggles for national liberation and freedom in Africa [...]
On South Africa’s southern Cape coast we find Blombos Cave. No ordinary cave, it is one of the cornerstones in the detective puzzle of modern human thinking. She walks along the shoreline collecting small shells and humming ‘she sells sea shells by the seashore’. Every couple of paces she stops, picks up a shell, examines [...]
But the mismatch was real and, instead of Braamfontein being a place of vibrant student and business activity, it had slumped, with growing signs of inner city decay. In this atmosphere of neglect, only the very brave were investing. One such person was Wits alumnus Andrew Bannister, who bought a building in De Beer Street [...]
McCain is one of the largest buyers of potatoes worldwide. In South Africa, McCain is actively looking to build long-term, sustainable growth opportunities, both locally and into Africa by developing new channels for potato and vegetable farmers in the formal and emerging markets. The Managing Director of McCain South Africa, Rob Stevens, is excited about [...]
“I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and unattractive.” These are the words of Harry Potter heroine [...]
Like a pair of odd shoes, that’s what Braamfontein was to Wits University ten years back. It did not make sense because Braamfontein and Wits are one. Braamfontein is to Wits what Greenwich Village is to New York University or what Bloomsbury and Camden is to the University of London. But the mismatch was real, [...]
They’re young, they’re unskilled, they don’t have jobs, most are not well educated and they are sitting at home not knowing what to do. Lisa Garson has a plan. Lisa Garson graduated from Wits with her BSc in 1989 and BSc Hons in 1990. There are millions of very frightened young South Africans who are [...]
When we talk about shale gas mining and fracking, we are not talking about one little well in the middle of the Karoo. We are talking about 60% of South Africa’s land surface being targeted for production. In this feature we journey through almost three years of the shale gas controversy, and question whether this [...]
“It feels fantastic to have an inner city and a place that you can go to with an ease that has not been here for many years,” says Wits alumnus William Kentridge whose studio is in the Maboneng precinct on the east side of Joburg’s inner city. […]
Sex symbols, protest marches and mother’s little helper. It was the era of the split personality. You had silver screen love goddess Rita Hayworth in black satin, performing a one-glove striptease as the ultimate femme fatale. This was taken to a sociopathic level when the bombshell’s image was featured on an atom bomb. […]
