Opening

Grußworte
Bernd M. Scherer (Director HKW), Horst Brammer (Deputy Head of Mission), Prof. Dr. Maria Böhmer (Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office), Peter Krämer (Founder of “Schools for Africa”)

Goodbye Sandton, Hello Soweto!
20 Years of South African Democracy and Beyond
Keynote by Njabulo S Ndebele, with simultaneous translation into German, followed by a talk with Barbara Wahlster, and a reception with South African wines

Njabulo S Ndebele is a fiction and essay writer, public commentator, and one of the key figures in South African higher education. Since 2013, Ndebele has served as chairman of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and in 2012 was appointed Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg. As a publicist he is known for his essays about South African literature and culture as well as his precise interventions in political questions. His most well-known publications include the collection of essays “Rediscovery of the Ordinary” (COSAW, 1991), the Noma Award-winning volume of short stories “Fools and Other Stories” (Ravan Press, 1984), his novel “The Cry of Winnie Mandela” (Ayebia Clarke, 2004), and the essay collection “Fine Lines from the Box” (Umuzi, 2007).

Barbara Wahlster is the managing editor for literature at Deutschlandradio Kultur. She previously worked as a freelance author, journalist, and critic for radio and other outlets for several years. She has translated from French to German and recently served as Max Kade Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.