Now more than ever, it is important for South African institutions like Stellenbosch University (SU) to endorse and adopt movements that promote a greener and more sustainable way of life.
This was according to Matthew Wingfield, a PhD candidate in social anthropology at SU, and the mind behind a working group that aims to get the university to support and later adopt the Climate Justice Charter (CJC). The working group, consisting of Wingfield and five other individuals who are involved with the university, sent feedback on their most recent meetings to SU on 17 August, said Wingfield.
A working group started by Matthew Wingfield, a PhD student in social anthropology at Stellenbosch University (SU), is aiming to find ways for SU to take action against climate change. PHOTO: Nicola Spingies
“We are not trying to blindly adopt the charter. We are trying to get the university academics and stakeholders to engage in it and decide if it’s right for the university,” said Wingfield.
Wingfield told MatieMedia that SU has responded positively to the ideas and requests presented by the working group thus far. If the university decides to endorse the CJC, it could put additional pressure on the Parliament of South Africa to adopt the CJC into law, he explained.
“This is how activism works. When institutional support is gained, it puts pressure on the government,” said Wingfield.
The CJC was the product of six years of campaigning for climate justice by organisations such as the South African Food Sovereignty Campaign (SAFSC) and the Cooperative and Policy Alternative Centre (COPAC), according to the official introductory guide to the CJC. The charter was drawn up in an attempt to bring the urgency of the climate crisis to the attention of various institutions and bodies of authority, according to the guide.
“At the moment, we need to get people talking about this,” said Wingfield. “Climate justice is social justice. It’s living in ways that aren’t exploitative.”
The Climate Justice Charter was drawn up by South African organisations that want to highlight the urgency of the climate crisis in the country, and the necessity of bringing justice to groups that are disproportionately affected by climate change, according to the charter’s introductory guide. ILLUSTRATION: Nicola Spingies
Climate action at SU
At SU, systemic sustainability is a strategic priority, said Martin Viljoen, spokesperson for the university, in email correspondence with MatieMedia.
“With the recent opening of the School for Climate Change Studies, sustainability projects and milestones reached this year, the university is really setting the tone,” said Viljoen. SU recently announced various new initiatives related to transport, waste, water and energy that will pave the way for its sustainable future, according to Viljoen.
Climate action in South Africa
The only South African university other than SU that has responded positively to the CJC is the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), claimed Wingfield.
“The management [of Wits] was extremely responsive [to adopting the charter], but Covid-19 has stalled the conversation,” said Prof Vishwas Satgar, associate professor in International Relations at Wits and co-founder of the CJC movement.
On 16 October 2021, the CJC movement will return to parliament to demand action, a year after initially handing the charter over for consideration, explained Satgar. Members of the movement are planning to demonstrate peacefully, before holding a people’s assembly to discuss the way forward for the charter, he added.
“The South African parliament does not take climate justice seriously, [but] the world and South Africa is watching,” claimed Satgar.
Matthew Wingfield explains what the adoption of the Climate Justice Charter by Stellenbosch University would entail.