My South Africa Journey
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am looking forward to sharing
updates and reflections about my August journey to South Africa.
I will be traveling over a thousand miles to visit Botswana,
Lesotho and several communities in South Africa including
Johannesburg, Pretoria, East London and Cape Town. My host for
the visit is Professor Maximus Sefotho from the Faculty
of Education at the University of Johannesburg. Similar to UC
Davis, the University of Johannesburg is a major research
university with a public service mission and global reach. The
vision of University of Johannesburg is to be “an international
University of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the
future”.
Professor Max and I first connected in 2016 over a shared interest and passion for facilitating career and employment opportunities for young people with disabilities. I’ve traveled to South Africa twice and he has made several visits to UC Davis to meet with faculty and students in the School of Education and engage with colleagues at the MIND Institute and Global Affairs. Here’s a photo of us during my January 2023 visit to Cape Town. On that trip, Max and I attended the Education Association of South Africa Conference and took some time for a visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years before the fall of apartheid and introduction of multi-racial democracy in South Africa.
Our current project focuses on building capacity for schools and communities to support young people with disabilities in the transition from school to inclusive employment. Youth unemployment is high in South Africa and facilitating successful career transitions will require collaboration with families, schools, and communities. Through multiple meetings, workshops and focus groups we plan to engage professionals, parents, policy makers and young people with disabilities in a discussion of the current status and ongoing needs regarding career transitions. The overall goal is to find space where opportunities can be created for these young people to live productive and meaningful lives.
Please watch this space for my next post after I arrive in Johannesburg on August 5!
Lauren
