South Africans are looking forward to two public holidays. For many, these days off are an opportunity to create yet another long weekend to enjoy the last remaining warm days. But perhaps it’s time to pause and think about why these days are significant and what sets them apart from other days.

Most of the 56 000 students at the University of Pretoria (UP) weren’t yet born when on 27 April 1994, now called Freedom Day, South Africa had its first democratic elections. For the first time, all the citizens of the country were allowed to vote. Queues to polling stations snaked around blocks, yet people were patient. Many had waited a lifetime for the freedom to put their tick beside the name of the person and party that could represent them in government. Hundreds died in the struggle leading up to this day and, amid the joyous celebration, we need to bow our heads to remember them and those who helped us to achieve our freedoms.

In 1994, South Africa joined the democratic nations of the world and apartheid fell away. While there are certainly legacies of apartheid, there are also many thousands of alumni who would not be proud Tukkies were it not for those who fought to create opportunities from which our students can benefit. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a case in point: it may have it challenges, yet the concept of such a scheme did not even exist before 1994.

We now have the right to pursue prosperity and equality, and develop our full potential. Despite the challenges we face today, we must cherish Freedom Day. That is why we need to keep up the struggle, in new ways, and continue to fight for our freedoms – and why UP is at the forefront of raising awareness of human rights and helping to transform people’s lives.

UP is home to the internationally recognised Centre for Human Rights. Both an academic department in the Faculty of Law and a civil society organisation, it combines academic excellence with effective activism, research and capacity-building to advance human rights in Africa. It even played a role in drafting the country’s landmark Constitution. But the centre is not the only part of UP that champions human rights.

The University benefits society because its research strategies are consciously aimed at delivering an impact in the real world. UP conducts research that is relevant to society’s challenges, and promotes transdisciplinary research because it has more potential to address global challenges. And we walk the talk: 33 000 of our students take part in community engagement projects so that UP can live up to its motto and “make today matter”. 

Primarily, we make a difference because we produce quality graduates who can go out into the world and play a valuable role in its development. We could not do this without the contribution of everyone at UP. The success of this institution is not only about academic staff – everyone, both in and outside the lecture halls and laboratories, help to make UP a top African global university.

That is why Workers’ Day, which comes four days after Freedom Day, is such a significant day for UP. Although it has been a commemoration of the rights of workers in many countries since 1891, in South Africa it has been officially observed since 1995.

UP especially values the diversity of its staff and students. We aim to be a transformed, inclusive and equitable university. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in awe of the increasing number of staff members who are continuing to offer great customer experience to our clientele. This gives me immense pride and reassures me that we are all working together towards achieving our goals as embedded in our strategic plan, Destination 2026 and Beyond, enhancing our profile and improving institutional sustainability.

We acknowledge that transformation remains a challenge, but in many ways, we are making progress, especially when it comes to student demographics. This year, 59% of our students are female, and we aim to develop this gender balance further by launching a UP women’s academy that will combine all our programmes that seek to promote women. We are well aware that the higher up you go in many universities, the more male, and whiter, it gets.

Transformation at UP is not just about race and gender. It’s also about sexual orientation and sexual identity. We want to be a gender-diverse university. As such, UP students don’t have to choose only between Mr, Miss, Ms or Mrs, but have the option of a gender-neutral marker, MX.

Our role as a university is to prepare students to be global citizens. It is therefore critical that we equip our graduates with the essential skills and knowledge that they need to function optimally in the future workplace. This includes offering all students a free online entrepreneurship course. And the investment in our Centre for the Future of Work, in which all faculties are participating, reinforces our commitment to contributing to research that connects UP with the public and private sectors, encompassing the concept of society 5.0 where technology and artificial intelligence are human-centric and benefit humanity.

With that said, the University of Pretoria wishes you well over the upcoming public holidays.