Mandela School aspires to promote strategic public leadership in Africa
THE Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance was launched on Thursday at the University of Cape Town. With the support of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance will function as a living memorial to Nelson Mandela: student cohorts will be an ongoing testament to his values of ethical, equitable and courageous African governance.
UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng is an enthusiastic supporter of the school.
“The Mandela School,” she says “epitomises my vision of strengthening our excellence as a university, driving transformation and ensuring a sustainable future for UCT. Through it UCT is becoming a more African university through its contribution to excellence in leadership and excellence in Africa.”
Founded originally as the Graduate School of Graduate Policy and Practice in 2011, the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance combines academic insight with practice-based public service to promote strategic public leadership in Africa.
As a multi-disciplinary centre, the school and its offerings are designed to make public service at the highest levels of leadership an aspiration for the most talented of the community’s rising generation.
“The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance is committed to cultivating and supporting leadership in African governance. We have built a truly African centre at the University of Cape Town. We are proud and deeply honoured to be associated with Nelson Mandela’s name,” said Professor Alan Hirsch, director of the school.
The work of the Mandela School is undertaken through our innovative part-time Master’s programme for mid-career public servants, our high level dialogues with experts from across the continent, our executive education short courses for government officials and our pan-African youth leadership programmes.
The Mandela School’s student demographics straddle the public and private sector, from civil society professionals to government officials and activists.
The 1 300 alumni of the school, so far, live in more than 30 African countries.
The academic backbone of the school is the cutting-edge professional Master’s degree which is taught part-time in four intensive tuition blocks, making it ideal for those already working in leadership in the public sphere.
The school’s executive short courses deliver cutting-edge insights and practical toolkits directly in the hands of senior public-sector management, supporting robust regional and national policy implementation.
Training the next generation of leaders is the province of the Mandela School’s Building Bridges team, who run an emerging leaders programme as well as enable spaces for policy experts to gather for frank discussions around issues of topical concern.
Their annual Emerging African Leaders Programme selects on average 25 fellowship recipients from 10 African countries for a two-week-long series of intensive workshops where participants are given unprecedented access to public figures who exemplify the best qualities of moral leadership.
These have included the likes of Thuli Madonsela, Nhlanhla Nene, Albie Sachs, Pregs Govender, Thandika Mkandawire, Beatrice Mtetwa, Bantu Holomisa and Achille Mbembe. Honorary professors at the Mandela School include former executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa Carlos Lopes and former minister of finance Trevor Manuel.
Moving towards our new identity is particularly fitting in this, the centenary year of Mandela’s birth.
The Mandela School has a number of global specialists in African economic development and ethical leadership who can be contacted for expert opinion on matters related to governance and development. These include:
Professor Alan Hirsch – Director of the Mandela School. Managed economic policy in the South African Presidency from 2002-2012. Author of Season of Hope: Economic Reform Under Mandela and Mbeki.
Professor Carlos Lopes – Honorary Professor at the Mandela School. Bissau-Guinean development economist, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa from 2012-2016. Member of African Union reform team, led by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Professor Brian Levy – Academic Director at the Nelson Mandela School and Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
Dr Marianne Camerer – Director of the Mandela School Building Bridges programme, specialising in developing emerging, ethical African leadership.
Professor Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela – Adjunct Professor at the Mandela School, Special Adviser to the Minister of Higher Education and former director-general of the Department of Co-operative Development and Traditional Affairs.
Professor Alison Gillwald – Adjunct Professor at the Mandela School, executive director of research ICT Africa. Information communication technology specialist.
Professor Matt Andrews – Mandela School and Harvard Kennedy School lecturer in public policy, specialising in participatory governance and public sector reform, with experience in KwaZuluNatal provincial government.
Dr Lever is the Mandela School’s communications and networking manager