This important event marks a collaboration between the Transdisciplinary Institute for Mandela Studies (TIMS) and the Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation (CriSHET).
The indaba invites the university community and broader society to reflect on Mandela University’s journey since its official name change in 2017 — a decision that carried significant symbolic and practical responsibilities.
At the time, then-Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted the “great responsibility” the University was assuming by aligning itself with Mandela’s name. In response, the University has taken various steps to honour this legacy, from launching socially focused academic projects to developing campus artworks and public dialogues..
This week’s indaba builds on the 2019 colloquium Dalibhunga: This Time? That Mandela? – which aimed to establish a scholarly approach to understanding Mandela not just as a historical icon, but also as a social figure symbolising justice, equality and transformation.
Six years on, the 2025 Indaba returns to this intellectual terrain, challenging the university community to ask: What does it mean today to be Nelson Mandela University?
“The indaba offers space for collective reflection on how the university has lived up to its name,” said a TIMS representative. “It’s not about nostalgia — it’s about grappling with the Mandela who makes trouble, who provokes, who challenges.”
The title itself references two aspects of Mandela’s identity: his ceremonial name Dalibhunga and his birth name Rolihlahla — often translated as “troublemaker”. Organisers argue that embracing this more complex and provocative aspect of Mandela’s legacy is necessary in today’s world of persistent inequality, global instability, and environmental crises.
The event will feature a mix of plenary sessions, creative expressions and critical conversations. A key focus will be the draft Embedding Mandela institutional resource document, which TIMS has developed to prompt meaningful discussions on how Mandela’s values can continue to shape the University’s work and identity. This document will be shared ahead of the Indaba to guide engagement.
Importantly, the indaba will also include contributions from voices outside the University, whose provocations are meant to challenge participants and deepen reflection on Nelson Mandela University’s purpose in a changing world.
“This isn’t about canonising Mandela,” said a CriSHET spokesperson. “It’s about using his complex legacy to question our assumptions and expand our imagination. That’s what transformation really demands.”
As Mandela University continues its work within a rapidly shifting higher education landscape, this indaba serves as both a milestone and a moment of reckoning. It asks the university community to reflect, engage and be willing to “make trouble” in pursuit of justice — just as Mandela did.
All members of the University community are invited to participate. RSVP here
Engagement & Transformation Portfolio