The Southern African Hub of the BRIDGES Sustainability Science Coalition in UNESCO’s Management of Social Transformations Programme is anchored at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship on the main campus of the University of Pretoria.
The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship is a transdisciplinary research entity, founded with the intention to host projects that emphasize multi- and trans-disciplinary inquiry on topics of social, economic and environmental importance. Current projects focus on topics ranging from agriculture and food security, African urbanism, human and digital economy, to environmental humanities. These projects span disciplines that include, but are not limited to, environmental science, English and African literature, agricultural and natural sciences, anthropology, visual arts, and music. In its formation, the Centre’s core focus has always been collaborative knowledge production and academic inquiry that transcends disciplinary boundaries, with a specific focus on the humanities and the social sciences. In the area of sustainability, social and environmental research, the Centre has a history of engaging topics that actively focus on understanding and addressing complex systemic and environmental challenges, while drawing on indigenous perspectives and rooting research in sound scientific practice.
The Centre’s flagship project on the Poetics and Politics of Extraction is an environmental humanities project that seeks to engage various environmental publics, or rather those academics or practitioners that work outside the domain of institutions of higher learning. It is an example of the Centre’s commitment to engaging communities and spheres of knowledge production outside the university landscape.
The Centre’s ongoing engagement with community leaders is consonant with the BRIDGES Coalition’s mission to strengthen humanities-led and community-engaged sustainability science initiatives. This is one of several reasons why the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at University of Pretoria serves as an excellent focal point for BRIDGES activities and collaborations in the specific regional context of Southern Africa, and also as a site for developing work with highly relevant thematic foci, regionally and globally, on economies, politics and cultures of extraction, food systems, disease ecologies, climate change, climate justice and environmental movements.
The BRIDGES Hub at University of Pretoria seeks to build on the global efforts of the coalition to strengthen the reach and impact of humanities, arts and social science-led sustainability science in partnership with non-academic communities of knowledge in Southern Africa and internationally, through strategic cooperation with other BRIDGES hubs, member organizations and international partners.
Blog Posts:
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Reflections on the social justice Jam: Spaces for change
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Bridging Disciplines in Academia: The Role of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Advancing a Just Transition in Africa
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Director of the BRIDGES Southern African Hub based at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria, of which he has also been the Director since 2017.
Deputy Director of UNESCO Bridges Hub at the University of Pretoria and Environmental Humanities Co-ordinator at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship.
Melanie Jean Murcott, Associate Professor, Department of Public law, University of Cape Town, collaborating with the University of Pretoria, and a research affiliate in the Sothern African Hub of BRIDGES.
Author: Vasiliki Kioupi. The Social Justice Jam: Spaces for Change took place from the 10th to the 12th of June 2024 and it was the culmination of collaborative efforts that started in early 2024 between the University of Leeds, the University of Pretoria, Mothing African Heritage and ls14trust.
Author: Professor James A. Ogude. Addressing the multifaceted challenges of achieving a just transition to sustainable energy systems in Africa necessitates a strategic focus on interdisciplinary collaboration. The integration of diverse academic perspectives and expertise is essential for addressing the complex socio-economic, environmental, and policy-related issues inherent in energy transitions.
The Southern African Hub of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition is anchored at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship on the main campus of the University of Pretoria. The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship is a transdisciplinary research entity, founded with the intention to host projects that emphasize multi- and trans-disciplinary inquiry on topics of social, economic and environmental importance.
In an interview with Business Partners magazine, posted on the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce website, Professor James Ogude, Director of the Southern African Hub of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition at the University of Pretoria, reflects on how the current global business landscape can be reshaped through applying the values of the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu, ‘that emphasizes our interdependence not simply as human beings, but in relation to the totality of our environment.’
The University of Pretoria (UP) has been recognised with the Most Improved – Sub-Saharan Africa Award at the QS EduData Summit 2024, held on 4 June 2024 in Washington for its remarkable achievements in the QS World University Rankings. This award is conferred to institutions that have demonstrated the most significant improvement in their ranking over a five-year period, underscoring UP's commitment to academic excellence and continuous progress.
