The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) is honoured to announce that the 2026 Ben Turok Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Dr Trevor Makhetha, President of the South African Sociological Association and Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of the Western Cape.

The lecture, titled “Learning for Justice: Rethinking Democracy, Citizenship and the Public Good,” will take place on Tuesday, 15 September 2026 at 17h30 at the Centre for Humanities Research, Greatmore Street, Woodstock, Cape Town.

A Scholar for Our Times

Dr Makhetha is a distinguished scholar whose work critically engages with the intersections of technology, education, and African identities. His research advances socially responsive methodologies and rehumanises knowledge production, exploring how first-generation Black students navigate digital learning across South Africa, Brazil, and the United States. Through his innovative concept of “Audiencious Learning,” he challenges us to reimagine rural schools not as sites of disadvantage but as vital sources of educational theory and transformation. A Visiting Scholar at Portland State University’s Center for Black Studies and an advocate for Ubuntu ethics in research, Dr Makhetha is a vital voice in shaping equitable and decolonial educational futures.

A Critical Dialogue

Responding to Dr Makhetha’s address as discussant will be Professor Emeritus Fred Hendricks, a distinguished sociologist and former Dean of Humanities at Rhodes University. A leading public intellectual, Professor Hendricks is renowned for his incisive critiques of institutional power, most notably his seminal work on the 1968 “Mafeje Affair,” which exposed the collusion between liberal universities and the apartheid state. Currently serving as Series Editor for the African Humanities Series and an Executive Member of the African Humanities Association, he continues to champion academic freedom and the decolonisation of knowledge. His career-long commitment to critical engagement promises a robust and insightful discussion.

Honouring a Legacy

The annual Ben Turok Memorial Lecture is a joint initiative of IFAA and the Institute for Social Development at the University of the Western Cape. It is held in recognition of Professor Ben Turok’s seven decades of political activism, which began in the ANC during the turbulent 1950s, spanned years of exile in Tanzania and London, and included service as a Member of Parliament in South Africa’s first democratic Parliament . Ben Turok will always be remembered as an uncompromising and unrelenting critic of corruption, the abuse of power, and all forms of injustice and discrimination. The lecture aims to preserve his political legacy, which is based on socio-economic development, justice, redistribution and political transformation.

Event Programme

The evening will open with registration and refreshments at 17h30, followed by a formal welcome from Professor Ivan Turok (IFAA Board) and Dr Siphe Madyibi (Institute for Social Development, UWC). Dr Makhetha’s lecture will commence at 18h20, with a Q&A session chaired by Professor Hendricks. Closing remarks will be delivered by Professor Ivan Turok, with thanks by Bruce Kadalie of IFAA.

The event is presented in partnership with the Institute for Social Development (ISD), the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, and the University of the Western Cape.

Register to attend here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13xNZRR40_MwYFkhXi4KxX1jRXql5ylR0Qgk4auFfa68/edit