Ultimately, the aim is to create a space to imagine and dream of a social reality that is reconciled with its citizens’ hopes, identities, and aspirations, especially in light of our unequal past.
The higher education landscape in South Africa has been significantly shifted by the #FeesMustFall, #RhodesMustFall and other student-initiated and student led social movements in recent times.
These social movements highlight various intersectional socio-economic challenges faced by students from all walks of life and serves as a clear indication that there is a great need for institutions of higher learning to become reenergized and repurposed as intentional spaces for critical engagement, debate, thought production and leadership. Ultimately, the aim is to create a space to imagine and dream of a social reality that is reconciled with its citizens’ hopes, identities, and aspirations, especially in light of our unequal past.
However, it should be noted that this shift does not occur within a vacuum. With technological advancements and the rise of the fourth industrial revolution which has introduced artificial intelligence and the like, people can now create, share and consume information at increasingly fast speeds. The reality is that anyone can publish information publicly, without having grounded their opinion and rhetoric on facts and peer-reviewed research. The consequence of this is that we are more often than not inundated with fake news, which is often shared on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok. The prevalence of social media usage and the resulting move to consuming shorter written content has fueled a culture of uninformed public engagement in our various communities and our country at large. As such, there is a need to ensure that the conversations we engage in are well informed, factual, and productive.
Against this background, Writing for Change is a student co-curricular programme facilitated by the Centre for the Advancement of Social Impact and Transformation in partnership with the Language Centre. The programme aims to foster a culture of informed and nuanced critical engagement and debate by using the medium of writing and publishing of student perspectives around societal transformation and social justice issues from a regional, national, and global perspective. The programme consists of in-person contact sessions and one full-day experiential learning engagement which takes place off campus.
For more information or enquiries, please contact Shanté Neff at shante@sun.ac.za
