“It was very important to just create a space where you have a sense of what it is that you want to do, but you have to let every single participant configure that space in the way that they see it, and then contribute what they contribute. And in that way if you don’t manipulate and control and try to offer people a narrative of this thing, you end up with such a rich diversity of responses.”
About this episode:
My friends and colleagues, Prof. Andrea Hurst and Dr. Belinda du Plooy, sat down with me to discuss the unique and ground-breaking university engagement event that we call a water pilgrimage. An eye-opening discussion in that it shows how dynamic things can be in the university context – we end up referring to the ‘the Sacred’, and contextualise it a manner that might seem unusual but also appropriate considering the need across contexts to re-connect with each other and our environment.
There will be an exhibition at the Nelson Mandela University’s Bird Street Campus in Port Elizabeth, from 18 – 22 November, where contributions from the 33 pilgrims will be displayed. Performances and presentations will occur on the opening evening.
Andrea is the South African Research Chair for Identities and Social Cohesion in Africa, hosted at Nelson Mandela University – see here.
Belinda manages the Engagement Office at Neslon Mandela University – see here.