The Department of Library Services cordially invites you to our Brexit seminar.

Date: Thursday, 4 August 2016  

Time: 09:00–11:30

Venue: Auditorium, Level 3, Merensky 2 Library, Hatfield Campus

Presenters from the University of Pretoria: Prof Christi van der Westhuizen (Department of Sociology), Prof Nicola Viegi (Department of Economics) and Dr John Kotsopoulos (Centre for the Study of Governance and Innovation).

Prof Christi van der Westhuizen: Brexit beyond the economy: a view from the South

Prof Christi van der Westhuizen will be speaking on the implications of economic exclusion for politics, with specific reference to rising racism and other ideologies of injustice. She is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Pretoria and previously held research associateships at the universities of Cape Town, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. Her books include White power & the rise and fall of the National Party and she has contributed articles to various journals. She is a regular political commentator in the media and has been a columnist for the Independent Media group of newspapers and for Media24. She started her working life as journalist for the anti-apartheid newspaper Vrye Weekblad.

Prof Nicola Viegi: The economic consequences of Brexit: a view from the South

Prof Nicola Viegi will be speaking on the increasing uncertainty in the international economy and the implications for South Africa and other emerging and developing countries. He is the South African Reserve Bank Chair in Monetary Economics at the University of Pretoria. He graduated from the Scottish Doctoral Programme in Economics in 1999 with a thesis on the economic policy in the European Monetary union and has held positions at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the university of Cape Town, as well as visiting positions at De Nederlandsche Bank, the University of Newcastle and the University of Milano, Bicocca. His main areas of research are economic policy theory, macroeconomic modelling and economic growth. His recent research includes the influence of international capital flows on macroeconomic policy in emerging countries, labour market dynamics and monetary policy, market structure, and entry-exit of firms in South Africa.

Dr John Kotsopoulos: Brexit: what implications for EU-Africa and South Africa relations?

Dr Kotsopoulos will be speaking on the implications of Brexit for EU-Africa and South Africa relations. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) at the University of Pretoria. He holds a PhD in International Relations (University of Kent), having examined negotiations and decision-making processes between the European Union and the African Union. His current areas of research focus include EU-Africa relations, African governance and institutions, mediation and conflict resolution, social psychology in international relations, and human security. Prof Kotsopoulos previously worked at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre think-tank where he ran the EU-Africa Forum and the European Security and Global Governance programme, with a focus on EU conflict prevention and management initiatives. Prior to that, he was employed in Ottawa, Canada, as a political desk officer working on Caribbean and development issues at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Target audience: University community and external individuals.

RSVP electronically by Tuesday, 2 August 2016.

Enquiries: brenda.nsanzya@up.ac.za or 012 420 3278