Gerwel memorial lecture to look at ‘a new humanism’

THE SECOND memorial lecture in honour of anti-apartheid activist and academic Professor Jakes Gerwel will be held at the University of the Western Cape on Tuesday.

Gerwel died in 2012 after heart surgery. He was 66.

This year’s lecture will be delivered by development economist, author and educator Dr Carlos Lopes.

Lopes is the eighth executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) and will give an address titled: “How does the African continent combine its abundant resources with the best of its cultural and intellectual heritage to forge a new humanism that goes beyond race, ethnicity and artificial boundaries?”

Lopes holds a doctorate in history from the University of Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne and master’s degree from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. He serves on several governing boards, advisory and editorial committees, including the UN University, the Kofi Annan Foundation, and the Unesco Institutional Institute for Educational Planning.

In a statement released by the university yesterday, Gerwel was hailed as having helped “transform UWC into a home of the academic left during his time as vice-chancellor”.

Gerwel served as director-general in the Presidency when Nelson Mandela was in office. He held a number of chairmanships including those of the Nelson Mandela and the Mandela Rhodes Foundations.

In January, the City of Cape Town renamed Vanguard Drive, Jakes Gerwel Drive.

The public lecture in the Great Hall at 7pm will be chaired by former cabinet minister Trevor Manuel and is expected to be attended by dignitaries and corporates.

LEGACY: Professor Jakes Gerwel is hailed as having helped “transform UWC into a home of the academic left during his time as vice-chancellor”.