Stellenbosch University (SU) in partnership with the Baxter Theatre Centre will host one of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished public servants and global humanitarian leaders, The Right Honourable Baroness Valerie Amos LG CH PC, as she presents the seventh Annual Social Justice Lecture on Friday 20 February.

The lecture, which will also be broadcasted live on SAfm, will take place at the Baxter Theatre Centre in Rondebosch at 17:00, coinciding with World Day of Social Justice under the theme, Illusions of Stability: Delivering Social Justice in a Period of Polarisation and Global Instability.

SU’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Deresh Ramjugernath, will deliver the opening address and Prof Thuli Madonsela, the Director: Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in the Faculty of Law, will be in conversation with Baroness Amos whereafter she will facilitate a question-and-answer session.

A life of leadership rooted in equality and service

Baroness Amos currently serves as Master of University College, Oxford, a position she has held since September 2020. She is the first black person to lead an Oxford college in its 900-year history. Her appointment forms part of a distinguished career that has spanned local and national government in the United Kingdom and global leadership at the United Nations.

Appointed a Labour life peer in 1997, Baroness Amos served as Secretary of State for International Development and Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council between 2003 and 2007, becoming the first black woman to serve in the British Cabinet. Her tenure at the United Nations as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs placed her at the forefront of global responses to crises in regions such as West Africa and the Middle East.

Throughout her career, she has consistently sustained a commitment to equality and social justice, with a particular interest in education as a force for social change. In 2008, together with her sister Colleen Amos, she co-founded the Amos Bursary, which supports talented young people of African and Caribbean heritage to realise their aspirations in higher education and employment.

Engaging with young people

Baroness Amos said she’s looking forward to her visit to South Africa. “South Africa is a place of activism and ideas. I look forward to engaging with young people and hearing their thoughts about current geopolitical events.” 

She added that she supports the CSJ and Madonsela’s prioritising of dignity, accountability and the restoration of trust in public life as key elements of the social justice agenda. “In the context of current global events we also need to look at the exercise of power as political alliances and interests shift,” Amos said.

She has often spoken about the time she met former President Nelson Mandela and he told her, “You should be in the cabinet” – advice that proved prophetic. She said she is still inspired by Mandela’s example and lists the lessons she took from his leadership style: “Clarity of vision. Know what you seek or aspire to. Understand the other side. Seize opportunities. Build and use alliances. Be flexible and adapt your tactics if it gets you closer to your goal without compromising on values and principles. Stay open to ideas. Lead with humility. Listen.”

Baroness Amos’ career has been marked by a series of historic “firsts”, opening spaces that had long been closed for women and people of colour. Being first carries a weight of responsibility to those who come after you, she acknowledges. “It’s about opening doors and opportunities for others to walk through. Influencing change in people and organisations, advocating for change and accepting the responsibility of being seen as a role model.”

Baroness Amos has also emphasised the importance of involving women in negotiations and peace processes, noting that solutions fail when women are not “around the table”. In current conflicts and humanitarian crises, there are still barriers to women’s meaningful participation, she stressed. “In many conflict situations oppression and rape of women is used as a ‘tactics of war’ – a means by which to claim victory over one’s enemies. Women are not listened to or heard. They have to fight for a place around the peace table. Misogyny has not gone away.” 

Strengthening global partnerships for social justice

This year’s Social Justice Lecture also marks a significant milestone for the University and the CSJ. SU has recently been formally accepted as a partner in the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Global Coalition for Social Justice, a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together governments, international organisations, social partners and academia to accelerate concrete action on social justice and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Under the leadership of Sana De Courcelles, Director of the Secretariat of the Global Coalition for Social Justice, the Coalition focuses on addressing inequality and exclusion, advancing human and labour rights, strengthening social dialogue, promoting inclusive and sustainable development, and reinforcing institutions of social justice globally.

The CSJ will serve as SU’s institutional focal point for engagement with the Coalition, contributing research, policy engagement and public dialogue aligned with its thematic priorities. The partnership strengthens SU’s global academic networks and reinforces its social impact agenda.

A convergence of global and local leadership

Madonsela welcomed both Baroness Amos and De Courcelles, describing this year’s Social Justice Lecture as a convergence of global and local leadership in social justice.

“It is a profound honour to welcome Baroness Amos to Stellenbosch University, an old friend who helped shape South Africa’s Employment Equity Act,” said Madonsela. “Her life’s work reflects a resolute dedication to the advancement of equality as a dimension of social justice and an investment in sustainable development and social stability. Taking place as the world is once again shaken by extreme polarisation at the core of which are concerns over and disparate views on justice, Baroness Amos’ voice as an equal justice advocate is timely. Her lecture also coincides with Stellenbosch University’s formal joining of the Global Coalition for Social Justice thus contributing to the convergence of global and social justice leadership. This is bound to contribute to the emerging global social justice scholarship and advocacy renaissance under the leadership of the ILO whose raison d’etre is the advancement and guardrailing of social justice.” 

Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Internationalisation at SU, congratulated the CSJ for organising the engagement with Baroness Amos as part of its strategy to bring international social justice to the forefront during a time of geopolitical shifts and polarisation. “Universities have a role to play in facilitating engagements, debates and discussions on current issues facing our global societies,” Moyo noted. “One of the actions we have taken as Stellenbosch University is to join the International Labour Organisation’s Global Coalition for Social Justice. This ensures we remain engaged both locally and on the global platform to make the impact we desire.”

De Courcelles’ presence at the seventh Annual Social Justice Lecture, where she will also be recording a video for the Global Coalition for Social Justice, highlights the significance of SU’s new role within the Coalition. Since its launch, the Coalition has convened partners through seminars, thematic webinars and its inaugural Forum in Geneva, shaping a shared understanding of priorities and catalysing collaborative interventions across 14 key areas. The CSJ’s flagship Musa Plan for Social Justice will align with this global platform, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement across SU faculties.

The seventh Annual Social Justice Lecture will be the first event presented by the CSJ following SU’s acceptance into the Coalition, marking a new chapter in the University’s contribution to international social justice discourse.

EVENT DETAILS:

• Registration:https://shorturl.at/FXD6v
• Livestream: https://www.su.ac.za/en/live-web-streaming
• Attendance: Free, registration required

• Participants who register for the Social Justice Lecture will receive a special offer of R180 to see Gregory Maqoma’s GENESIS: The Beginning and End of Time (promo code: Justice26).

ENQUIRIES:

Thembalethu Seyisi

Tel: 072 785 3218

Email:  [email protected]