Professor Enyinna Nwauche’s highly anticipated book on traditional cultural expression in Africa has been published.

GBS Mutual Bank has donated R600 000 to Rhodes University for educational purposes this year.

The Social Innovation (SI) Hub is an exciting new project run by Rhodes University’s Community Engagement Division that promises to bring innovation, creativity and improved digital literacy to the Makana community.

Social change begins with you - the people of Makana with rich histories, complex struggles and formidable resilience. Tapping into this deep well of stories and lived experiences is the core purpose of Rhodes University’s new Social Innovation Hub - a multi-faceted digital storytelling lab launched by the Rhodes University Community Engagement Division on the chilly evening of 25 June.

As part of the Common Good First Digital Storytelling initiative applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for the following post from 1 September 2019 to 31st December 2019. (Full time (8h00-16h30)).

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division (RUCE) is encouraging citizens of Makana to join its Vuka! Makana initiative in honour of Nelson Mandela’s birthday this week.

This past weekend, one of our flagship initiatives, Nine Tenths Mentoring Programme, held its midyear mentor training. The training’s aim was to recap on the year’s activities and prepare mentors for the remaining mentee contact sessions for the year.

Fikizolo Primary in Makhanda (Grahamstown) came second in the nation for its innovation in advancing the National School Nutrition Programme (NSPN), winning R275 000.

With this year's women's month theme - “25 Years of Democracy: Growing South Africa Together for Women’s Emancipation”, RUCE urges Makana citizens to take action.

Songqwaru believes that Rhodes University is a good space for one to discover their full potential, both personally and professionally. She says the University provides opportunities for networking and collaboration institutionally, locally (community), nationally, regionally and internationally, which is critical for global citizenship.

With August being Women’s Month, the Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) Division acknowledged and celebrated recently retired Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chrissie Boughey, with an interview in its Engagement in Action podcast.

Thandi Matyobeni is a digital content producer/journalist and a lab manager in the Rhodes University Social Innovation Hub, which is one of three digital storytelling labs in Makhanda.

The latest episode of Rhodes University’s Community Engagement Division’s Engagement in Action podcast features Professor Tally Palmer, Director of the Institute of Water Research and winner of the 2018 VC’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award.

Sindi Dingana is a young woman with a passion for her community. The awards which line her walls are a testament to the Makhanda born’s commitment to helping out the young people of her community.

You can apply or nominate students and organisations that have done exceptional Community Engagement work this year.

The Community Engagement Division is very excited to announce the FINALISTS for the 2019 Community Engagement Awards. The Gala Dinner and Awards evening will take place on the Wednesday 2nd October where the category winners will be announced by the DVC, Dr Monnapula-Mapesela.

CM Vellem Health Promoting Primary School received the 2019 Community Partner of the Year Award. The school is a key partner to several programmes in the Community Engagement Division.

2019's Student Researcher of the Year award went to the Sustainable Land Management GEF5 Team, a group of three Rhodes University postgraduate students.

Samantha Sammy-Zee Ncula & Mandilakhe Valela made history as the first volunteers to jointly win the Student Volunteer of the Year award

Rhodes University’s growing number of engaged research outputs has positioned the institution a national leader in the scholarship of engagement discipline.

Some of the highlights and achievements of this year's RUCE programmes.

Earlier this month, the digital platform for the global project, Common Good First was launched at a Social Innovation for Digital Storytelling Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rhodes University English Language and Linguistics students handed over personal libraries to Samuel Ntsiko Primary School learners after their Linguistics and Community Service-Learning module recently came to an end.

Representatives of the Makhanda community call upon Rhodes University to start taking action towards a more sustainable future.

Salimisa Bikani, Sibabalwe Tsili and Athule Daniels are beneficiaries of the Transnet Foundation and Kingswood College partnership programme.

According to the National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC) 2015 Guidelines, “All REC members should have documented proof of research ethics training, refreshed at least once within the period of appointment”. To meet these requirements, an accredited training session was held for all members of Rhodes University’s Human Ethics Committee in October.

On Friday 29 November the Mrwetyana family launched its Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation. The foundation is named after the Rhodes University Director of Student Affairs Nomangwane Mrwetyana’s daughter, Uyinene Mrwetytana.

The Masincedane soup kitchen is run in the Xolani community. One of the priorities is to make it completely self-sustainable, and we have started various projects in order to achieve this objective. The Rhodes CE office has been intrinsically helpful in starting and maintaining these projects.

Grant Griesel and Julie-Anne Lothian, members of the Inkwenkezi Society, visited the Lebone Centre in Currie Street, project of the ICDP Trust, at the beginning of the 2010 and volunteered to be involved specifically in our supportive reading programmes. At the stage we wanted to extend the Love Reading Club to include literacy programme that would address the current low literacy levels of Children in the three surrounding schools.

Community Engagement (CE) at Rhodes University (RU) still has the potential to grow and have a greater impact on the community as well as the student body. In order for this to be achieved, a strong network needs to be built between the student leadership at RU and the Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE). Once this is achieved and the student leaders understand the importance and nature of CE, we begin to encourage and influence greater student participation in CE.

Upstart is as local youth development project based at the Grocott’s Mail and aimed at young people in Grades 8 to 10. This project was founded in 2008 as a way to responding to the low levels of literacy which were evident in school performance and the poor Matric pass rate, and was established by Shireen Badat with the help of Rhodes University Post-Graduate Journalism students and a few other key partners. The young people produce a 16 page full-colour newspaper that comes out eight times a year.

What happens when a group of well-meaning students go into the ‘community’ with the intention to save individuals from the myriad of problems they see in the area? They start a vegetable garden- despite the fact that there are at least dozen other vegetable garden projects in the area. Redundancy, disinterest, a lack of communication and collaboration, are some of the problems encountered by those involved in community engagement programmes in Grahamstown. Something had to change; it was clear that Grahamstown needed a better approach to co-ordinating community engagement.

The Director of Community Engagement at Rhodes, Di Hornby, recently addressed the ISASA (Independent Schools Association of SA) Conference for School Librarians in Grahamstown. She proposed the following framework for thinking about Community Engagement, which consists of three different models that can:

Ever wonder as a parent or guardian what the future holds for the youth of today? It is every parents hope and dream to see that their child is well off but for some that fate is out of their control.

Amongst the Grahamstown community and predominantly in the townships we are all faced with pollution, daily. However, a cause of it– severely undermined and barely spoken of–are the non-biodegradable sanitary products.

A vibrant orange-and-white colour scheme and African-themed décor marked the occasion of the annual Community Engagement Awards held in the Oppidan Dining Hall last Thursday evening.

The Community Engagement Office would like to congratulate all winners of the 2012 Community Engagement Awards. The following students, residences, societies and community partners have made excellent contributions to community engagement this year and we wish to commend them for their excellent and worthy work.

RHODES University’s Professor Alfredo Terzoli has won the 2012 Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Technology award in the human resource development category.

The Rhodes Student Volunteer Program will be accepting applications from perspective volunteers from 11 February – 22 February 2013.

It is with great pleasure that we announce MS ALEXANDRA SUTHERLAND from the Drama Department as the recipient of the 2012 Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Award for Community Engagement.

It’s that time of the year again, when Rhodes University and Grahamstown gear up to participate in Trading Live for Mandela Day. In 2012, over 40 student organisations, departments and community organisations participated in the institutional community engagement initiative and made it a phenomenal success.

The trading live for Mandela Day list of trades is now available.

The trading live for Mandela Day list of trades is now available.

The final trade list is available for download here:

Mapula Maponya wins 'Student Volunteer of the Year' at the 2013 RUCE awards.

Saba Marzban wins Engaged student researcher of the year award at 2013 RUCE awards.

Legal Activism and Inkwenkwezi win 'Society of the year' at RUCE awards 2013

Little Flower Pre-School wins 'Community Partner of the Year' 2013 RUCE award

Courtney-Latimer Hall wins 'Hall of the Year' at 2013 RUCE awards

Michelle Ellis; Mapula Maponya; Khanyisa Nomoyi; Luvuyo Leon Kiti; Nosiphiwe Ngqwala; Thobeka Mhlongwe; Nathalia Von Witt; Gorata Chengeta; Amirah Kolia; Andile Hlanti

Thousands of Grahamstownians are expected to join hands, to reflect on the legacy of late former statesman Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela and bridge the class and race divide that is prevalent in Grahamstown through the Human Chain event on 21 February 2014.

PORT ELIZABETH. – ’n Menseketting teen verdeeldheid word vir Grahamstad beplan om wyle oudpres. Nelson Mandela se droom van gelykheid te eer.

THE late former president Nelson Mandela's vision for a united South Africa is set to be realised by residents in Grahamstown when the city hold engagements on population divisions which still exist in the city.

Thousands of Grahamstown residents are expected to take to the streets on Friday in an effort to unite the city by forming a 5km human chain in memory of Nelson Mandela.

On Friday 21 February The Human Chain event aims to gather 5000 Grahamstown residents, students and scholars along the streets of the town to join hands.

The Human Chain which has previously been used as a powerful symbolic gesture of forging links across social divides, is an attempt at honouring Nelson Mandela’s legacy.

THOUSANDS of Grahamstown residents braved wet and rainy conditions yesterday (Friday, 21 February)

Twitter will connect people in a conversation about the concept of the Human Chain, what it means to them, and how they are continuing Mandela's legacy.

The Masibambane community engagement project is co-ordinated jointly by Mrs Agata Runowicz from the Department of Health and the Association for People with Physical Disabilities, and Dr Lisa Saville Young from the Psychology Department at Rhodes University.

Yesterday, Rhodes Community Engagement Director, Di Hornby and Trading Live for Mandela Day Coordinator, Nosipho Mngomezulu, attended the launch of the Nelson Mandela International Day Campaign 2014 at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. The event signified the commencement of the Foundations’ global call to action for public service. As we remember the late iconic public servant, Nelson Mandela, the message is clear – each individual has the ability and responsibility to impact positive change every day.

The Rhodes Community Engagement Division has launched a podcast series aimed at bringing to life the many ways in which the university interacts with communities around it.

Professor Jacqui Akhurst started her career as a teacher, became a school psychologist and then a full-time academic. Starting in KZN, moving to the UK in 2004 (York and York St John Universities) and then to Rhodes in 2015, her research focus has long been community psychology.

Nosiphiwe “Nosi” Ngqwala arrived at Rhodes to do a masters in biochemistry. She became a student volunteer but realised there was no organisation focusing on what she felt was the most important job of all - teaching the next generation of South Africans how to look after their environment.

It is with great pleasure that we announce Professor Jacqueline Akhurst, from the Department of Psychology, as the recipient of the 2017 Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Award for Community Engagement

RUCE invites interested individuals to apply for a digital storytelling short course. This short course is aimed at facilitators and teachers who wish to use the methodology in their workplace

"Every single human being on the planet lives in a catchment." When you look at it like that, studying water is probably the ultimate in community engagement. We know that water is one of South Africa's biggest challenges. In the latest Engagement in Action podcast, Professor Tally Palmer, Director of the Institute of Water Research at Rhodes, talks about how she thinks we can meet it.

“Things are really cooking,” said Community Engagement (CE) Director, Di Hornby, in reference to the various activities of the upcoming CE Week, which has a distinctly international flavor this year.

"He said, 'Email! I've heard of that'. This is a man who has been a teacher for 20 years and has never sent or received an email." In our latest 'Engagement in Action' podcast, listen to the remarkable story of the man who has discovered how unlocking the secrets of technology for schools can become the key to social change.

As part of Rhodes University’s Community Engagement Week (CE Week), delegates from 23 different universities gathered at the National English Literary Museum (NELM) in Grahamstown for the 4th annual Community Engagement & Social Innovation Symposium, done in partnership with Durban University of Technology

Professor Jacqueline Akhurst, 2017 recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Community Engagement Award, presented a lecture on Community Based Service Learning (CBSL) as part of Rhodes University’s Community Engagement Week on campus last night.

It is that time of the year again, when Rhodes University and Grahamstown gear up to participate in Trading Live for Mandela Week. Over 140 events took place in 2017 where student organisations, departments and community organisations participated in the institutional community engagement initiative and made it a phenomenal success.

Just kilometers away from some of the most expensive and well-resourced schools in the country, are schools that are crumbling, teachers who are not coping and a system that is failing an entire generation of learners. In his inaugural speech in 2015, Rhodes Vice Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, vowed to do something about it.

It's that time of the year again! Second semester applications are now open for the Engaged Citizen Programme. See poster below for more information, and email b.bobo@ru.ac.za for application forms! Note: current volunteers need not re-apply!

One of RUCE's student volunteer leaders and last year's Volunteer of the year award winner, Sanele Ngubo, spearheaded a leadership project for Grahamstown's Inkululeko Programme.You can find the whole story in today's Grocott's.

Trading Live is a uniquely Rhodes initiative that seeks to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela and build the community of Grahamstown. It involves a week of activities that pairs up a range of different actors and organisations in the town through the sharing of time, skills and other assets.

The Rhodes University High Impact Supplementary School (HISS) programme, done in conjunction with GADRA Matric School (GMS), helped six learners obtain Bachelor-level passes this year.

Our Trading Live for Mandela Week programme has been finalised. This time next week we will be having our town abuzz with one of the biggest weeks on our calendar, boasting 155 events in a space of 6 days.

For this year’s Nelson Mandela centenary celebrations, Rhodes University’s Community Engagement division has seven full days’ worth of activity planned in honour of Madiba’s birthday.

A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Makhulu Funiwe Jane Mahlakahlaka who is celebrating 100 years today, sharing a birthday with Tata.

Rhodes University recently commemorated two exceptional individuals – Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and Jane Funiwe Mahlakahlaka, on their 100th birthday.

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division reported a very rewarding Trading LIVE for Mandela initiative, which continued well beyond its initial allocated week.

The final phase of mentoring is complete. With session 8 complete we look forward to our last, celebratory session – the culmination event (in mid October).

It's that time of the year where we celebrate and acknowledge the outstanding work done by our partner organisations and the student body. Nominations for this year's awards are now opened.

Babsy started being involved in Community Engagement in 2012 when she joined a community project run by Stenden SA University. The project was based in her home town, Port Alfred. She volunteered in a computer center opened by the University where she taught computer skills. She says that she saw this as an opportunity to contribute and be part of a programme that would make a difference in people’s professional careers. After her involvement at the center she came to Makhanda and joined GADRA Education in 2014, where she now works as the Administrative and Advocacy Manager.

Professor Caroline Khene is a co-director of MobiSAM, a citizen engagement initiative that began as a research project investigating the use of mobile phones for increasing citizen participation in local government, as well as tools for social accountability monitoring

Rhodes University master’s student, Thandiswa Nqowana, is tackling the Grahamstown water issue and uplifting the community at the same time.

Dr Nosiphiwe ‘Nosi’ Ngqwala has charted an inspiring personal, professional and academic journey at Rhodes University thus far. Dr Ngqwala has a PhD in Pharmaceutical chemistry. She is also a Hall Fellow at Hobson House and a Faculty advisor for Enactus Society. In 2014, Dr Ngqwala founded Children of the Soil (COTS) – a Non-Profit Organisation – as a directsolution to some of the challenges she has identified in Grahamstown.

32 Nine Tenths Mentoring Programme mentees from Nombulelo Secondary and Mary Waters High School have qualified to apply to Rhodes University for the 2019 academic year. The learners handed in their application forms with such jubilation and excitement.

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division held its annual Community Engagement Awards and Gala Evening where it celebrated those who have , this year, had meaningful contributions towards Grahamstown community engagement inititatives.

Rhodes University has become a leading engaged university, as was evident with the remarkable individuals and community organisations celebrated on 4 October at the Community Engagement Gala Dinner.

Kim Weaver spoke at the National University of Hurlingham in Argentina about the initiatives that are being carried out at Rhodes to bring technological scientific research closer to communities.

The Eastern Cape Department of Education named Usiphile Gazi as the top matric 2018 learner from a historically disadvantaged institution (HDI) in the Sarah Baartman District on Friday 4 January, at an awards ceremony in East London.

Thandiswa Nqowana, a Rhodes University master’s degree candidate, has been involved in Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) programmes since her first year at Rhodes University in 2013. She, at last year’s Community Engagement Awards, was recognized as the 2018 Student Researcher of the Year and one of the 10 Gold Award recipients.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award is a prestigious and competitive annual award which recognises meaningful and committed partnerships between the members of the university and community partners in the areas of teaching, learning and research, where human and material resources of the University have been combined with assets found in local communities in order to contribute to sustainable human and community development.

Many volunteers might join Rhodes University’s Engaged Citizen Programme (ECP) because they want to help ‘the community’, but it is as one of the student leaders for the programme writes boldly on his purple shirt, “I do community engagement because I am a part of the community.”

After a well attended Nine Tenths mentor training this past weekend, new and returning mentors commenced their volunteering this week. Last year the programme saw a 100% improvement in mentees’ marks and a resounding increase on strong passes when compared to 2017 matric results.

In partnership with the EU Digital Storytelling project, Rhodes University Community Engagement Division is setting up a community lab for community members to use as a space to create and share stories of their innovation and solutions to local issues.

It is with great pleasure that we announce Prof Tally Palmer from the Institute for Water Research (IWR) as the recipient of the 2018 Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Award for Community Engagement.

GBS Mutual Bank has entered into a partnership with the Makhanda ECD Forum.

Every year Kingswood College hosts a memorial lecture in honour of Neil Aggett.

Snippets of some of young people's stories in Makhanda. It is life stories like these that will soon be captured in our digital sotorytelling lab sponsored by the EU Erasmus+ Project, led by Glasgow Caledonian University.

We invite students and community partners involved in Community Engagement to submit a summary on their experiences of Social Innovation they would like to share.

South Africa’s public schooling system is riddled with problems. Drop-out rates are high, pupils lack proper support and mentoring, and the transition from school to tertiary education is often overwhelming.

Transnet has been awarded the overall winner within the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA) sector and received the National Skills Authority Silver Award for Best Practice in Skills Development for 2017/18.

D.D. Siwisa will soon be officially opening their new library, this is thanks to Dr Anna Tshuma Nkomo who undertook her PhD research at the school.

An appeal for the support of the greater Makhanda Community with a mass clean-up of the St Philips Anglican Church and grounds in Fingo Village. The clean-up takes place this Saturday morning 6 April 2019, 8:30am – 4pm.

On Thursday, 11 April, Professor Tally Palmer received her 2018 VC’s Distinguished Award for Community Engagement.

GADRA Matric School celebrated the achievement of over 30 students who completed their degrees and graduated at this year’s Rhodes University graduation ceremonies.

Rhodes University in partnership with local high schools held two graduation ceremony screenings for learners in Grades 11 and 12. The first ceremony was screened at Nombulelo Secondary School on Thursday 11 April and the second one at Mary Waters High School on Friday 12 April.

Rhodes University, through its Community Engagement office, is involved in a Common Good First project. This project is led by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and is funded by the EU Erasmus+ programme with additional investment from the Scottish Government. The project is a network of 12 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), half of these are South African and the rest European.

Around the world, governments are trying to bridge the perceived gap between science – what is being studied and discovered in universities and research laboratories – and the public.

The annual Rhodes University Community Engagement week will run from Monday 6 May to Friday 10 May.

On Thursday, 9 May 2019, a day after the national elections in South Africa, a Rhodes University initiative with other social partners rebranded itself under the new name of Vuka! Makana, formerly known as Trading Live.

Professor Palmer and her team are inviting people to experience engaged research with them. This is research for people, with people. The Vice Chancellor’s Community Engagement Award Workshop will take place at Makhanda City Hall on Thursday, 30 May 2019 from 17h00 to 19h30, where the IWR team will facilitate a process of Makhanda residents collaborating to collectively focus on our water crisis.

Nine Tenths pairs Rhodes University students with matric learners in three Makhanda schools for the year.

A call out for stakeholder inclusion in identifying research priorities for matters related to Education & Social Work in the Eastern Cape.

Eight academically-deserving students, who fall out of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) threshold, from Rhodes University have been awarded a R200 thousand worth of bursary from GBS Mutual Bank. The students received the good news during a cheque handover event that took place at Rhodes University’s Alumni House today. The jubilant students all hail from Makhanda and are from the faculty of science.

Professor Palmer, who has been working with the IWR since 1989, held a workshop at City Hall on the evening of 30 May, with the tagline: Makhanda: Water Works for Everyone.

The impending closure of the only Eastern Cape Drama company, Ubom! threatens to put an end to 11 years worth of community service. However, one actor refuses to let this stop him.

The potential for universities to play an increasing role in their communities and broader social contexts continues to receive widespread attention.

I am one of the teachers in the School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) at Rhodes University who teaches Writing and Editing (W&E).

The School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) at Rhodes University has built its teaching project around the way we (lecturers) envisage the graduates that we would like our students to become.

Studying Journalism at university is a thrilling experience. One of the things I especially enjoyed was being given the freedom to take control of my own learning.

Excitement and anticipation fill the air as the 10 high school learners invade the Rhodes Music Radio (RMR) studios to prepare for another installment of their weekly show.

Grahamstown's Human Chain event organisers have reported receiving strong support from community organisations and city officials.

Rhodes University academics and local Non-Governmental Organisations debated the role of the partnership between universities and the community

When representatives from the Mandela Foundation heard at a meeting earlier this year how Rhodes University Community Engagement

A Rhodes University collaboration that employs disabled Grahamstown people to raise insects that are released into the wild to fight invasive alien water plants has earned widespread praise.

Community engagement is increasingly playing a key role in university life in South Africa, but the concept itself remains underexplored.

The contemporary South African academic community has a rare opportunity. Unlike many other places around the globe

Nelson Mandela Day is about celebrating Tata Madiba’s life and it is also a call to action for people to identify their skill to have a positive effect on others around them.

Social entrepreneur Thina Maqubela is odd for a South African: at 24 years old, she’s currently working on a PhD and is a Statistics lecturer at Rhodes University.

Grahamstown is a city known for its churches, its arts festival, its student life, and even its donkeys, but what about its own people?

The fifth Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health was placed on the international agenda and endorsed by global leaders at the Millennium Summit held in 2000.

“It’s like I am walking in Heaven’s streets,” said proud father, Mr Mzukisi Madakana after taking his daughter Sinazo Madakana on tour of the Rhodes University campus

A cheque to the value of R272 000 was handed over to Dr Sizwe Mabizela, Vice Chancellor at Rhodes University on behalf of the South African Breweries (SAB) by Corporate Affairs Manager, Zukiswa Gaqavu and Corporate Affairs Specialist, Pumlani Njobe as a donation in support of the Assumption Development Centre (ADC).

Assumption Development Centre (ADC) launched its model of socio-economic development on 12 April in Joza.

The idea is that the Grahamstown community offer to trade their skills, talents, hobbies and interests with interested parties for 67 minutes from 25-29 July 2016.

We are pleased to announce the programme for Trading Live.

We got off to a reasonable start with TRADING LIVE yesterday, unfortunately the rain affected some events but they have been rescheduled.

RHODES University is clocking up the hours to keep Nelson Mandela’s legacy alive by doing more than 267 hours of community upliftment instead of the usual 67 minutes.

Led by Thulethu Nelani the Media councillor of the Rhodes University Student Representative Council (SRC), the SRC took to Archie Mbolekwa Higher Primary school to talk to the pupils there about general life skills.

Prof Tally Palmer from the Institute for water research, took to the botanical gardens a number of young adults from the Oasis centre to find live bugs in the river that runs through the botanical gardens. This was a contribution to the trading live initiative by her and other colleagues from the institute.

Mr Royi a former teacher at Nathaniel Nyaluza secondary school, made his mark for the Nelson Mandela trading live at Umtathi centre. He did Photography and Videography as hobby when he was still working as a teacher, he then took it upon himself to make the best of this hobby and perfected it through practice.

Oasis is an organisation that is based in Grahamstown. The director of the centre Niels and his wife Charis visited the Fikizolo Primary school to teach them how to use reusable materials to make a mat.

Dr Rosa Klein a lecturer at the Rhodes University chemistry department and a number of her students ranging from first year all the way to honours, went Assumption Development Centre for the Mandela trading live initiative.

Prof Dave Sewry the Dean of the faculty of commerce at Rhodes University, went to Nombulelelo Secondary School to do a presentation on career opportunities in the commerce faculty as a contribution to the Nelson Mandela trading live week.

South Africa is a rainbow nation and as such has different cultures and languages, 11 languages to be precise. IsiXhosa is one of the 11 official languages and is dominantly spoken here in the Eastern Cape.

The annual Community Engagement Awards evening is an annual celebration of the hard work, dedication and commitment by students, staff and community partners towards building partnerships for sustainable human and community development across Grahamstown.

Community engagement serves as one of the core purposes of higher education, transforming traditional teaching and learning as well as research practices in order to break down the boundaries between institutions which were isolated from the societies in which they should rightly have been embedded, and making them more responsive to those contexts. Community engagement is also a crucial way to transform individuals who are involved, changing people’s ways of being and perceiving each other and the world around them, undermining biases and prejudices, and cultivating criticality, reflexivity and civic values.

Tyhilulwazi Pre-School recently opened its new classrooms donated by Old Rhodians

Welcome to all our students – 2017 is the year to make a difference. Sign up to volunteer this year in one of our programmes. All information on our various programmes is available on our website and can be found on www.ru.ac.za/communityengagement/volunteerism. Applications for all our programmes are now open.

Congratulations to the Rhodes Nine Tenths Mentors who worked with Grade 12 pupils from Mary Waters and Ntsika last year. Your Mentees did you proud and performed well.

On Monday 30 January a new initiative was launched at Rhodes, conceptualised by Prof Sunitha Srinivas from the Faculty of Pharmacy focussing on health promotion for the Support staff at Rhodes.

Join the Student Volunteer Programme - 2017 is the year to make a difference! Applications are now open and can be found online on: https://goo.gl/forms/set7XZ9FbhkBHfAM2 Be the change you want to see.

Throughout our lives we hear stories about people and places from all over the world, we have never seen them, but they are given meaning through the stories we hear. We might never set foot in these places, but we already have certain expectations of how they would be because of these stories. Some stories are told over and over again, monopolising how we see a group of people or a particular place.

Exciting news is that Rhodes University and Durban University of Technology have teamed up for a Community Engagement Conference which will be held in Durban in May 2017 and in Grahamstown in 2018.

On Friday 17 February 2017 the Barratt Lecture complex of Rhodes University was the scene of the sixth annual ‘Rhodes University Mathematics Experience’ (RUME). Around 275 learners from 17 schools in the Grahamstown District spent a busy afternoon solving mathematics problems and engaging in ‘serious fun’.

The blissful chaos of the year has begun and energy and enthusiasm is high among the selected mentors. It is pleasing to announce that all three schools (Nomubelelo, Ntsika and Mary Waters) have mentors. The programme began in ernest this weekend in Eden Grove, training our mentors

Over 600 Rhodes University students opened the new academic year with an intent to be more than just academic students but to actively engage in the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge to the greater Grahamstown community.

The Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award is a prestigious and competitive annual award that recognises meaningful and committed partnerships between the members of the university and the community.

This week we had 30 school learners from 5 different Grahamstown schools joined the Science & Pharmacy Faculties for their first week of the RU Science Internship Programme. The learners were selected through a selection process from the application forms they sent in and were placed across the Science and Pharmacy Faculty as Interns working in the various Departments and/or Research Groups.

Congratulations to these two teams, who established mutually respectful and beneficial relationships between University students, researchers and community stakeholders as they jointly tackled and found solutions to complexed local issues. The Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Education must also be acknowledged for creating enabling environments where innovation and engaged research can flourish.

Empowering parents to support their children’s education and development is not only a nice thing to do; it’s essential. Without it, it’s like trying to build a puzzle with a piece that’s missing

During the morning graduation ceremony on Thursday 20 April, the WRC Amanzi for Food Research Programme team received medals for being one of the two research groups that won the 2016 Vice Chancellor's Distinguished award for Community Engagement.

We celebrated the partnership at the RU Sports Bar which included stakeholders: HKE staff, Makana Municipality, Rhodes student Volunteers, CE office, Sakulutsha staff and soccer teams. Rhodes Student Volunteers were thanked for their dedication and commitment to the partnership.

Ten young people from Grahamstown are running a pop-up restaurant at the Joza Youth Hub during the National Arts Festival.

Rhodes University Community Engagement are participating in a unique international EU funded Common Good First digital project. Diana Hornby and Sharli Paphitis have just returned from project team meetings in Norway and Scotland.

Trading Live for Mandela Week is on its way and we had Grahamtown's BUCO Hardware Store together with Luzuko Pre-School starting their trade early.

Grahamstown-born Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti and Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela will kickstart Trading Live a week early today, Friday 14 July, by spending time with the youth of Joza as part of the Nelson Mandela Day initiatives.

Rev Tim Marshall from Kingswood College gave an outstanding talk on leadership to the Grade 8's at Mary Waters. Leadership is about influence, not titles, not positions. We must be conscious of developing our character and surrounding ourselves with positive, thoughtful people because they shape us.

It has been a few years since the technology-savvy Dr Peter Clayton camped on top of the water tank at Nombulelo High School in Joza, Grahamstown.

"We are challenging the Grahamstown community to go beyond the notion of giving, a one way gesture, to something more significant and sustainable, - that of sharing which requires giving and receiving – an exchange of equals."

As part of their campaign to raise environmental (particularly water) awareness, the St Mary's DCC cubs planted trees and Mountain club members taught water related lessons. All in all a super fun afternoon in the sun.

I wish to commend the Director and staff of our Community Engagement Office for organising yet another successful Trading Live Week to honour the founding father of our nation, uTata Nelson Mandela. I am so deeply grateful to all students and staff of this great university who set aside time to reach out to our local community to make a tangible difference in the lives of those with whom we share this time.

Six days, 140 events, 336 groups, 70 partners and a spirit of Ubuntu made up this year’s Trading Live campaign by the people of Makana held from 24 to 28 July, 2017.

Rhodes University’s Faculties of Science and Pharmacy will engage 450 local Grade 9 learners in over 20 science and maths related activities during an Open Day this Saturday, 5 August. The much-anticipated event forms part of the 18th National Science Week starting from 05 to 13 August 2017.

Professor Jacqueline Akhurst presented a thought-provoking Inaugural Lecture about the re-repositioning of community psychology (as a branch of psychology) as it is at the helm of change within the psychology profession and communities in South Africa and beyond last week.

On Saturday, the 5th of August we had 300 Grade 9 learners from surrounding schools attend our National Science Day RU Open Day 2017. Our Science and Pharmacy departments and research groups along with SAIAB, Albany Museum and Amakhala Game Reserve offered 20 interactive activities to the young learners with the aim of promoting science and maths as subjects and career options. Thanks to all the departments who offered fun activities.

During the preparation for Trading Lives 2017, The CSD toy Librarians requested assistance from Community Engagement for our Joza Toy Library to be painted inside and outside. The organization asked for donations and we received paint from Cash Build as well as paintbrushes, thinners, sand paper and sugar soap to clean the container. v

Last Saturday, the Faculty of Science and Pharmacy hosted its joint annual Open Day. The event was attended by 300 Grade 9 learners from our local schools who attended over 20 activities offered by RU, Albany Museum, SAIAB and the Amakhala Foundation.

Rhodes University has a number of staff members without matric certificates. However, this is set to change with the introduction of a programme through which staff can obtain this qualification.

In a ground breaking move, the Rhodes University Business School this month launched a television channel, which offers lectures in Economics I, Commercial Law, Entrepreneurship and financial planning.

Could free lectures on their phones inspire young people to start businesses, grow the economy and employ more people?

Calling the Rhodes community and our Community Partners to recognise and affirm those who serve our community by nominating them for a Rhodes University Community Engagement award!

On Tuesday 5 September, the 2017 Rhodes Business School MBA students spent the afternoon with their partners which are 4 local businesses from Grahamstown East.

Rhodes University presents Professor Di Wilmot’s Inaugural Lecture titled Transformative Teacher Education in a time of crisis on Thursday, 7 September 2017 at 18h30 at the Eden Grove Blue Lecture Theatre.

Anna Talbot has been selected as one of Africa's 100 Brightest Young Minds this year! This year 1700 people applied, 17 African countries are represented.

For a city that is home to a respected university and some of SA’s leading private schools, Grahamstown’s educational challenges are conspicuous.

This year’s Environmental Awards honoured scholars working in the line of water conservation, an especially socially relevant area, with Grahamstown currently experiencing a water crisis, as well as the greater South Africa.

The Community Engagement Division is very saddened to inform the Rhodes community that one of our most dedicated community partners, Ms Mary Humphreys passed away very suddenly yesterday. Mary was the Director of the Raphael Centre, a progressive NGO focussing on Asset Based Community Development.

The Rhodes University’s Community Engagement Division hosted a momentous Community Engagement Awards ceremony last night to honour and recognise student volunteers and community partners for their contribution towards building a more just and caring Grahamstown.

Following the Community Engagements Awards earlier this week, where student volunteers and community partners were honoured and encouraged for their efforts towards actively seeking social change and justice within the community, here are some highlights of the work by Rhodes University and the Grahamstown Community.

The Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre is offering a free course on rainwater harvesting and water conservation for people training small-scale farmers and subsistence gardeners.

Rhodes University is launching its Centre for Biological Control (CBC) in the Department of Zoology and Entomology. The Centre builds on the existing capacity within the institution and facilitates partnerships with other organisations locally, regionally and internationally.

Widely regarded as the number one Entomology research unit in the country, the Department of Zoology and Entomology launched its groundbreaking Centre for Biological Control (CBC) on Thursday, 2 November 2017.

Throwing a single stone in a pile appears to have little impact at face value; however, a pile is made up of single stones thrown by multiple people.

Nine Tenths is a mentoring programme geared towards equipping matric students in selected local schools to cope with their final year of school and to pass to their full potential. Pupils are given one-on-one attention from a Rhodes University student through nine guided and structured contact sessions.

Phumezo Dukashe, Nomthandazo Mgqobele and Luleka Mhleli are three of seven parents who have become literacy development vanguards in their communities. They, at this year’s Rhodes University Community Engagement Awards received certificates of recognition for their tireless efforts.

It has been an exciting year for both the Student Volunteer Programme and the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Residence Programme. We saw a big growth in numbers for the Student Volunteer Programme, which saw the introduction of 7 new partners.

The MEC for the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (DSD), Nancy Sihlwayi and Rhodes University hosted an emotional graduation ceremony for over 168 young people who completed a three-year National Youth Service skills programme in level 4 Community Development on 30 November 2017 at Rhodes University.

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division and the Durban University of Technology, in partnership with the Common Good First project, invite you to a Symposium on Community Engagement and Social Innovation to be held at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa.

Student Volunteer Programme (SVP) is now Engaged Citizen Programme (ECP)

Aphelele Jezi, Ntsika Secondary School matric class of 2017, was named top learner in the Sarah Baartman District. In 2017 Aphelele was part of Nine Tenths, a mentorship programme designed for matric learners in three historically disadvantaged Grahamstown schools.

Third year Politics, Journalism and Media Studies student Kyran Blaauw is one of four South African undergraduate students selected to participate in the highly competitive 2018 cohort of the Study of the US Institute for Student Leaders Programme.

Rhodes University in partnership with Gadra Education kicked off the 4th year of the 20-day High Impact Supplementary School earlier this month to ensure that matric learners from under-performing local schools who failed or performed poorly in Matric have another shot at furthering their education.

Research shows that mentees generally perform better than students without mentors. The three Grahamstown schools that were part of the Rhodes University's Nine-Tenth Mentorship programme in 2017 are testament to this sentiment as they have received a record of 52 bachelor passes - and with that a passport to embark on their higher education journey.

This initiative aims to read aloud to 1 million children! "78% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language"

Rhodes University is committed to play a significant role in revitalising public schooling in Grahamstown. The extent of its commitment is underlined by the fact its Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, personally heads up an institutional programme aimed at coordinating all efforts in this regard.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award is a prestigious and competitive annual award which recognises meaningful and committed partnerships between the members of the university and community partners in the areas of teaching, learning and research, where human and material resources of the University have been combined with assets found in local communities in order to contribute to sustainable human and community development.

“The 9/10ths mentoring programme is like an extended family, a family we didn’t choose but we are glad they are part of our lives. They want the best from and for us; they helped us learn how to care for one another’s progress,”

According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2016 results, South Africa’s pupils were ranked second last out of 48 countries for grade 4 mathematics and grade 8 mathematics.

Masters in human kinetics and ergonomics student Micheen Thornycroft was this week recognised as the world’s most inspirational rower.

The Rhodes Community Engagement Division has launched a podcast aimed at bringing to life the many ways in which the university interacts with communities around it.

The podcast series kicks off with the Environmental Learning Research Centre’s Amanzi for Food project. More episodes from other departments will go up every Tuesday for the rest of this term.

Digital storytelling is a growing movement across the world. Using simple digital tools, it helps people from all walks of life tell their own stories - to heal, to share, to be listened to.

The annual Community Engagement Awards celebrate the successes of top achieving student organisations, sports clubs, residences, departments, engaged research work by students, members of the student volunteer program (SVP) as well as 9/10ths mentoring program and our community partners over the past year.