By Mafumane Tlhapi and Phenyo Mokgothu

The North-West University (NWU) mourns the passing of Mme Grace Masuku, an expert in indigenous knowledge systems. She was honoured with the NWU Chancellor Award in 2013.

Nkoko Grace Masuku was laid to rest on 18 June 2023, in her village of Lekutung near Moruleng in Rustenburg, North West. The 91-year-old indigenous knowledge holder and practitioner, a former principal and respected elder of the Bakgatla baa Kgafela Royal family, passed away on 12 June 2023.

The Student Campus Council (SCC) on the North-West University's (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus, in conjunction with the Community Stakeholder Engagement (CSE) Council, launched a Soup Drive to help students to cope during the exams and to remain nourished and healthy amidst loadshedding and economic pressures.

The SCC launched the initiative under the slogan "We are the SCC that cares". Sponsored by Student Life and the Finance Department, the drive will continue until the end of exams.

Thus far the Soup Drive has already served more than 400 students.

The North-West University (NWU), in collaboration with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), pledged 100 graduates to assist the local government with a turn-around strategy on 22 June 2023.

This partnership aims to deploy 100 postgraduate students from various fields to assist different municipalities within the North West province.

Manketsi Emily Tlhape, former member of the executive committee (MEC) of North West and current member of the South African national parliament, received her PhD in economic management science with business administration from the North-West University (NWU) on 21 June 2023.

Manketsi's thesis, titled “Development of a strategic management framework for communal property associations in South Africa,” focused on the sustainability of communal property association enterprises.

In anticipation of Mandela Day, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus recently launched a "Hang a Hug" drive.

The idea is to encourage staff and students to donate jackets and blankets and hanging them on designated trees around the campus for those in need to use during the cold winter months.

Launched by the Student Campus Council (SCC) and Prof Linda du Plessis, deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations, the idea was inspired by an initiative called “Baadjies aan bome”, which translates to "Jackets on trees".

In June, South Africans celebrate Youth Month, but the harsh reality is there is often very little to celebrate, especially concerning current and future employment opportunities. This is in stark contrast with the 2023 theme for Youth Month, which is ‘Accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future’.

“It is welcome but not unexpected good news that headline inflation (CPI) for May has continued to show a declining trend.”

In commenting on the CPI, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says that although food costs remain high, the overall downward trend in headline inflation is converging on earlier consensus expectations of South Africa getting closer to the goal of price stability in the months ahead.

He points out that core inflation remains stubborn for now, however.

The African Nutrition Leadership Programme (ANLP) of the North-West University (NWU) is continuing its aim to build tailored leadership capacity on the African continent.
Representatives of the ANLP engaged with the Lesotho Nutrition-Sensitive Platform (LSNP) in Maseru on 15 and 16 June. This follows a leadership capacity building visit to Nigeria earlier in the year (to read more, visit: Impact of nutrition project continues through leadership development | news.nwu.ac.za).

Dr Henriette Hammill, a senior lecturer in biokinetics at the North-West University (NWU) was recently awarded second prize for her outstanding work at the International Federation of Physical and Sports Education (FIEPS) New Leader Congress held in Galati, Romania.

As time passes, words are watered down and phrases lose their meaning. Wisdom passes into obscurity as repetition creates clichés. This is where we are now. Do we still listen when we hear “youth” and “future”? The North-West University (NWU) believes that these two words – together – should not only feature prominently in every vocabulary, but when spoken, they should be heard.

According to Professor Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU, this is seldom as important as when Youth Day is celebrated.