NOTICE OF DEPARTURE OF IPATC DIRECTOR, PROFESSOR ADEKEYE ADEBAJO, FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG.
Dear friends: Hope all is well and that you are all staying safe. I am writing to inform you of my departure as Director of the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) after five years in this role. I have decided to move to the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (CAS) from January 2022, as a full Professor and a Senior Research Fellow which will give me more time to pursue my own research, as well as do some teaching and mentoring.
In my five years at UJ, I am very proud of what I achieved with my talented and dedicated colleagues. We created – and I directed – two new Institutes: IPATC, and the Institute for Global African Affairs (IGAA), a ten-year collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI) through which a joint Masters course on Development Studies in Africa and the Caribbean has been established, starting in January 2022. IPATC also, during this time, produced six books and 10 policy briefs; conducted ten high-level policy dialogues (including in Barbados and Brussels); hosted over 60 public dialogues/webinars; and published 161 newspaper articles. Furthermore, we established valuable strategic partnerships in Africa, the Caribbean, North America, and Europe.
I thank you all for the robust and constructive engagement in our activities, and for the invaluable feedback through questionnaires and other mediums over these five years. Many of you have been on our mailing list throughout this time, and I want to thank you warmly for your invaluable commitment and support for the Pan-African cause. I hope to stay in touch with many of you, and can be reached on adebajo@yahoo.com from January 2022. Peace and best wishes.
Ms Zoliswa Ntsoko (South Africa) is the Institute’s Administrative Assistant who assists with general administration and research. She is a seasoned professional with a background in Disaster Management. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Management from Milpark Business School, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Management from Regenesys Business School. She also holds certificates in Project Management, and in Disaster Management. Previously, she has worked as a Disaster Management Specialist at the City of Johannesburg – Disaster Management Centre.
Ms Cecilia Lwiindi Nedziwe-Moyo is the Research Coordinator at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation. She previously served as a Regional Coordinator at the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA) in Zimbabwe between 2007 and 2013. She completed her master’s degree in International Studies, Peace, and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland in Australia as a Rotary Peace Scholar. She has just completed her doctoral studies at Rhodes University. Her areas of interest include: gender, foreign policy, regional organisations and conflict resolution.
Ms Thembeka Somtseu is a seasoned professional with a background in the textile and construction sectors. She holds a National Diploma in Business Administration from the Durban University of Technology, and studied Development Communication and Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. She worked as a corporate communications specialist for more than ten years, serving in both local and multinational companies.