Prof. Roseanne Diab, Executive Officer of ASSAf;
Prof. Cheryl de la Rey, Vice Chancellor and Principal at the University of Pretoria;
Dr Ebrima Sall, Executive Secretary of CODESRIA;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen:
Let me start by offering a warm welcome to our guests from various parts of the world and thanking you for the invitation to come and speak at this important gathering.
In the science and technology sector, a conference of this nature is unprecedented and I encourage you to find ways having this type of discussion on a more regular basis.
It also pleases me to note that there is a sense in which the theme of the conference, "Living the world, reading the world, understanding the world – the humanities reach out", resonates with an observation made in the National Development Plan:
South Africa has the potential and capacity to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality over the next two decades. This requires a new approach – one that moves from a passive citizenry receiving services from the state to one that systematically includes the socially and economically excluded, where people are active champions of their own development.
The overarching significance of this conferences lies in the fact that, among other things, it affords us not only the opportunity to perform a critical appraisal of the path that we have travelled as a country and people since the dawn of democracy in 1994, but also to assess how our continent and the world has changed since then.
In the South African context, a conference such as this one will be of little value of it is merely one of those reflection-for-the-sake-of-reflection-type gatherings and is not geared towards producing innovative and sustainable solutions for the myriad challenges with which South Africa, and the whole of humanity, are grappling. Looked at in this sense, this conference of the humanities assumes an extraordinary importance.
For this and other reasons, we must not be afraid to ask tough questions of ourselves, our government and our country. In my view, these questions should include a few like:
- To what extent has the participation of black people and women in the humanities increased?
- How does South Africa's production of new knowledge in the humanities compare to that of countries with similar development profiles as South Africa?
- How has our investment in science, technology and engineering affected the growth of the humanities in our county?
- In how they frame and organise public discourse, are universities and research institutions perpetuating the exclusion of the previously marginalised, or are they challenging and changing it?
- To what extent are academics in the humanities, especially black and female researchers, ensuring that critical reflections on the transformation of higher education, research institutions and the socio-economic structure of our society are not conveniently side-stepped? Or, if they are voiced, do such considerations receive more than superficial treatment?
- To what extent do we ensure that, in our quest to become leaders in science, technology and innovation, that this development approach does not result in us neglecting to nurture other aspect of national development such morality, social cohesion and the values that must underpin the kind of country we aspire to become?
- To what extent are the groups who, not so long ago, were excluded from participation in such gatherings, represented at this conference?
These are some of the thorny questions that provocative themes such as the one you have chosen demand that you consider. As people who work in the knowledge production environment, you are in a slightly better position to interrogate your quality of life and that of those around you critically, and therefore have more of a responsibility to ask such questions. You understand far better than most how poverty and exclusion are inextricably linked to the quantity and quality of information to which one has access (sometimes called information poverty).
You may recall that the National Planning Commission's Diagnostic Report of June 2011 stated that, in spite of South Africa's many commendable achievements, we still have to resolve the following development challenges:
- Too few people have work.
- The standard of education for most black learners is of poor quality.
- Infrastructure is poorly located, under-maintained and insufficient to foster higher growth.
- Spatial patterns exclude the poor from the fruits of development.
- The economy is overly and unsustainably resource intensive.
- A widespread disease burden is compounded by a failing public health system.
- Public services are often of poor quality.
- Corruption is widespread.
- And, South Africa remains a divided society.
The humanities have a special place and role in the evolution of humanity because they concern themselves with issues that are common to all humanity, such as feelings, fears, aspirations, and experiences and, above all, our individual dreams about the future. It is therefore not surprising that the humanities must take most of the credit for producing and inspiring some of the most celebrated humanists of our time.
Given where we find ourselves as a country and continent, it is my sincere hope that, in addition to the many complex policy and scientific questions with which this conference will be grappling with- it will also produce outcomes that rekindle our belief in the simple, yet powerful, statement that tomorrow will be better than today.
To help us understand our development context better, I wish to share a remark that was made by the former Tanzanian President, Mwalimu Nyerere. Once, when cynically asked why he invested so much in the education of rural Tanzanians, he calmly replied: "Others try to reach the moon; we try to reach our villages."
Arising from Nyerere’s assertion is the realisation that, while it is critical that we become globally competitive in the areas of science, technology and innovation- it is equally critical that we ensure that, our pursuance of these development goals results in a world that is more equal, just and humane. I have no doubt in my mind that, because of the themes that you have chosen your conference will bring us closer to realising this noble goal.
I wish you fruitful deliberations and look forward to seeing the outcomes of your conference.
Thank you.
