Leading heritage and legacy specialist to address Unisa CNA Symposium

Bernedette Muthien, an accomplished facilitator, researcher and poet who designs, implements and evaluates projects for diverse institutions locally and internationally, will share her insights during the Feminist, Womanist, Bosadi Theorisations panel discussion.

The Catalytic Niche Area (CNA) Research Symposium, themed Innovating for the Future: Integrating Technology, Sustainability, and Humanity, brings together academics, industry leaders, and policymakers to discuss practical, research-driven solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The symposium takes place from 30 to 31 July 2025 at the Muckleneuk Campus.

Bernedette Muthien

Symposium delegates, postgraduate students and early-career researchers are also invited to join two virtual CNA Round Tables on Friday, 1 August 2025, where they will engage in critical discussions around key research themes discussed during the CNA Symposium.

CNA 9: Feminist, Womanist, Bosadi Theorisations

Date: Thursday, 31 July 2025

Time: 13:55–15:15

Venue: Dr Miriam Makeba Concert Hall

Panellist

Bernedette Muthien

Heritage and Legacy Expert

Western Cape Cultural Commission

Bernedette Muthien has held executive and senior management positions in academia, civil society and the public sector in South Africa and abroad for over twenty years. She is an accomplished facilitator, researcher and poet who designs, implements and evaluates projects for diverse institutions locally and internationally.

She served part-time on South Africa’s Constitutional Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights (2014-2019), where she was responsible for Parliamentary Liaison, Research and Policy Development, and Public Education. She was Deputy Director General: Social Transformation and Economic Empowerment in the Presidency, where she served in the high-level Economic Cluster and its executive Project Management Unit (2015-2016).

She has over 200 publications and conference presentations, some of which have been translated from English into at least 16 other languages. She was the Fulbright-Amy Biehl fellow at Stanford University and holds postgraduate degrees in Political Science from the University of Cape Town (Dean’s Merit List) and Stellenbosch University (Andrew W Mellon Fellow). Her book project, while Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for African Studies at UCT, Rethinking Africa: Indigenous Women Re-interpret Southern Africa’s Pasts, was published by Jacana in 2021, and nominated for several book prizes.

She has served on the Executive Council of the International Peace Research Association and is Co-Founder of the African Peace Research and Education Association. She serves on various international advisory boards, including the international journals Human Security Studies and Journal of Human Security and the International Institute on Peace Education. She has chaired and served on several other constitutional and company boards since at least 2013, including Iziko Museums of South Africa, Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), False Bay TVET College, the National Arts Council, and the social enterprise for disabilities equipment, Shonaquip. Bernedette serves on the Western Cape Cultural Commission.

She is skilled in research and publications, conflict resolution and mediation. She has excellent programme design, development, management and evaluation expertise, as well as financial and business acumen, in addition to extensive marketing, social and other media and public liaison skills.

Click here to find out more about the symposium

Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/iDTtx0818d

* By Mpho Moloele, PR and Communication, Directorate Research Support.