You are invited to a seminar on Tuesday 23 July from 16:00 to 18:00 on the topic:  Culture, Democracy and Governance in Africa: Towards an understanding of the impact of culture on governance in Africa.

The 2018 Mo Ibrahim Index on Governance in Africa indicated that there has been an overall decline in democracy and governance in the previous year.  Western countries often pressurise African countries to act democratically, with democracy itself being a political and cultural construct.  There are many different forms of democracy on the continent and South Africa has experienced challenges to its democratic project.  To what extent do cultural factors impact on the understanding and practice of democracy on the African continent? 

A presentation by Mike van Graan, artist-in-residence at the University of Pretoria, will be followed by responses from Hedda Krausz, Counsellor for Culture at the Swedish Embassy in Pretoria, Lebogang Ngwatle, Development Specialist at Wits University and Shane Maja of Gauteng’s Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (both Lebogang and Shane are engaged in the master’s programme in Cultural Policy and Management at Wits University).   

The seminar will take place in Conference Room 1 at the Future Africa Campus from 16:00 to 18:00.

RSVP to [email protected] by 15:00 on Monday 22 July 2019. 

Future Africa is a new campus at the University of Pretoria (which opened officially on 29 March) where it is envisaged that “scientists and scholars from across the world and from a broad range of disciplines will come together to leverage the benefits of transdisciplinary research to address the grand challenges that face Africa and the world”. 

Directions: Take the South Street entrance to the University of Pretoria Sports Complex, pass through a second boom to the Experimental Farm, and follow this road to the Future Africa Campus on the right (about 1,5km from the second boom).  Signs will direct you to the venue.