Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka – “An inter-generational struggle for gender equality”

10 August 2022, 17:00 (SAST) / Ubuntu Chambers, Madibeng, UJ Kingsway Campus (map) / Campus map (download)

Join us for the 17th annual Helen Joseph Memorial lecture with UJ Chancellor and former United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka!

Since 2022, the Helen Joseph Memorial lecture has been hosted by the Centre for the Study of Race, Gender and Class (RGC), and speaks to its emphasis on the relationship between Black feminist intellectual and creative praxis and activism. This year’s event presents a unique opportunity for us to gather with, and draw from, a true elder and gender-justice advocate. Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka will be sharing her vision for an inter-generational struggle for gender equality, drawing from her rich experience as former Deputy President of South Africa; former Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women; a member of the African Union panel of the wise; and founder and leader of the Umlambo Foundation.

The Helen Joseph Memorial Lecture has sat in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg since 2005. Named for the British-born anti-apartheid activist, the Helen Joseph Memorial lecture was spearheaded by the Centre for Social Development in Africa and Professor Leila Patel and intended to speak to Joseph’s legacy and that of the wider terrain of women’s movements in South Africa. The lecture is often held in August in commemoration of the 1956 August 9th Women’s March to the Union Buildings against pass laws that Joseph led, along with other leaders of the Federation of South African Women like Lilian Ngoyi. Tried for treason and held under house arrest for over two decades, Joseph was a strident critic of apartheid and a champion of the rights of women, children and families.

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Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka will be joined in conversation by Professor Victoria Collis-Buthelezi. Introductions by UJ Vice-Chancellor Prof Letlhokwa Mpedi. Note of thanks by Prof Kammila Naidoo (UJ Dean of Humanities).

Our keynote speaker for the 2022 Helen Joseph Memorial Lecture was Chicago-based artist and gender-justice activist Scheherazade Tillet. Her multimedia presentation, “Black Girl Play: Re-visioning Freedom”, is available to view on our YouTube channel.