Ntsikie Loteni, Director of UP’s Transformation Office, chats to Tukkievaria about the work of the office and its plans for 2024.

Over the past two decades, the University of Pretoria (UP) has been on a transformation journey, with much progress having been made. However, there is also much intentional work yet to be done.

“This is so that we can fully realise the vision of a transformed, inclusive and equitable University community, as entrenched in South Africa’s constitutional principles of human dignity, equality, freedom, non-racialism and non-sexism,” says Ntsikie Loteni, Director of UP’s Transformation Office.

The Transformation Office supports the University’s transformation agenda by, among others, ensuring that UP complies with the legal and regulatory framework related to the transformation of universities within South Africa; facilitating the implementation of UP’s Transformation Strategy and objectives; designing and implementing social justice initiatives and advocacy, awareness and prevention campaigns; and developing implementing diversity and inclusion strategies.

“We recognise that the journey and the issues we need to address are complex, and that honest conversations and self-critique are essential for a collective understanding and commitment to accelerate the change needed for our shared future,” Loteni adds. 

As the new academic year kicks off, the office would like to highlight UP’s Anti-discrimination Policy, which is one of the University’s most important policies. Over the past few years, the Transformation Office has championed various advocacy and awareness initiatives and programmes on anti-discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence, and gender and sexual diversity. This year, it will roll out a workshop on workplace bullying.

“Through these initiatives, we can empower change agents who are then able to facilitate and lead change in their respective spaces,” Loteni explains. “Our initiatives contribute to a bigger vision of shaping a culture of engagement, collaboration and innovation by creating spaces where everyone can freely participate in transformation conversations and dialogues.”

The workshops offered by the Transformation Office aim to conscientise the UP community on the themes covered by the Anti-Discrimination Policy and inform them on how to report incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, sexual harassment and all forms of unfair discrimination. They are offered to both staff and students, and can be combined or curated to meet individual needs.

“Transformation is our collective responsibility,” Loteni says. “The Transformation Office depends on the support of various stakeholders to drive this work, and to ensure we reach out to the entire UP community. As such, we welcome new ideas and initiatives, and encourage anyone to visit our office. Let’s collaborate for change in 2024!”

For more information about the workshops, https://www.up.ac.za/transformation/article/3193727/workshops

For general enquiries, contact the Transformation Office at [email protected] or call 012 420 5863.

To report cases of unfair discrimination, hate speech, harassment/sexual harassment, violence and intimidation, visit the Transformation Office’s online reporting system on your UP Portal home page.