Itumeleng Mothoagae, Excellency Dr Mohammad Ganjidoost, Prof Narend Baijnath, Prof Mokhele Madise and Dr Mostafa Maleki
On 6 June 2012 the Voice and Voicelessness project leaders, together with the Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Narend Baijnath, hosted delegates from the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to discuss future collaboration.
The project leaders of the Voice and Voicelessness project are Prof Mokhele Madise from the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology and Itumeleng Mothoagae from the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies. They met with His Excellency Dr Mohammad Ganjidoost (1st Counsellor, Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran, Research and Section studies) and Cultural Counsellor Dr Mostafa Maleki, also from the Iranian Embassy.
The Iranian Embassy and Unisa plan to collaborate on research and tuition issues over the next five years, and to enhance exchange programmes in which students and lecturers can fully participate. The aim of this collaboration is to explore a wide range of voices, to bring attention to the voicelessness of certain communities and to examine relevant social justice issues in Africa, Asia, South America and the African diaspora. One issue that will be explored is the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) partnership and its policies on economic development in emerging countries, taking into account how the concerns of the marginalised will be addressed and how they will benefit from these partnerships.
Another aim is to have scholars from Africa, the African diaspora, Asia and South America present research and critical perspectives on current issues, and to find the best possible way to influence government policies, policy implementation and curriculum design. Additionally, programmes on Persian languages and Iranian cultural exhibition will be discussed and planned, along with seminars on academic dialogue.
By Kgaugelo Pule
