The University of the Western Cape is a national university, alert to its African and international context as it strives to be a place of quality, a place to grow. It is committed to excellence in teaching, learning and research, to nurturing the cultural diversity of South Africa, and to responding in critical and creative ways to the needs of a society in transition.
Drawing on its proud experience in the liberation struggle, the university is aware of a distinctive academic role in helping build an equitable and dynamic society. In particular it aims to: advance and protect the independence of the academic enterprise.
Design curricular and research programmes appropriate to its southern African context.
Further global perspectives among its staff and students, thereby strengthening intellectual life and contributing to South Africa’s reintegration in the world community.
Assist educationally disadvantaged students gain access to higher education and succeed in their studies.
Nurture and use the abilities of all in the university community.
Develop effective structures and conventions of governance, which are democratic, transparent and accountable.
Seek racial and gender equality and contribute to helping the historically marginalised participate fully in the life of the nation.
Encourage and provide opportunities for lifelong learning through programmes and courses.
Help conserve and explore the environmental and cultural resources of the southern African region, and to encourage a wide awareness of these resources in the community.
Co-operate fully with other stakeholders to develop an excellent, and therefore transformed, higher education system.
South African customary law should be understood from the perspective of dissonance between the past and the present.
Members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick up truck, in Mai Kadra, Ethiopia, on November 21, 2020. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting.
Photo by Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images
L’analyse cycle de vie des emballages alimentaires omet souvent l’impact et la toxicité éventuelle des fuites de plastique dans l’environnement. Ce qui donne aux plastiques un avantage injustifié.
Life-cycle assessments of food packaging often omit the impact and possible toxicity of plastics leaking into the environment. Excluding these factors gives plastics an unjustified advantage.
Parts of South Africa’s economy, such as the transport sector, are dominated by a few companies, which raises barriers to entry.
Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The new initiative reproduces the core weaknesses of post-apartheid state land and agricultural policy. These have done little to improve the livelihoods of the poor.
More people are wearing masks and using hand sanitisers.
Fani Mahuntsi/Gallo Images via Getty Images
As lockdown restrictions are relaxed, it is key to continue high-impact non-pharmaceutical interventions that will not impede economic activity, but limit the spread of COVID-19.
Having a social support system is important for mental health.
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The need to keep a physical distance conflicts with adolescents’ natural desire to connect with friends - their regular source of distraction and emotional support.
Some insights into previous outbreaks of human coronaviruses may be useful in explaining the comparatively ‘low’ numbers of COVID-19 infections and mortality in people with HIV in South Africa.
Scientists examining microfossils aim to answer crucial questions to understand past and present climate crises.
Dwayne Cloete