Page 20 - University of Pretoria RESEARCH REVIEW 2018

Ubuntu –
its meaning and value
James Ogude, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship
The philosophy of Ubuntu rests on the premise that our humanity, and indeed our personhood, is fostered in a network of relationships.
Voices from the South
Continued from page 17
The volume brings together research that reflects on Digital Humanities and selfies from various perspectives as viewed from the Global South. In Part 1 particularly, representations of the self, take centre stage through GIS mapping of selfies and visual activism during the #FeesMustFall student campaign. In Part 2, the contributions provide ways of thinking through Digital Humanities and digital tools. The latter chapters of the book discuss innovative ways of implementing Digital Humanities strategies and methodologies
for teaching and researching in South Africa.
In early 2013, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu received the Templeton Prize for life-long work in advancing spiritual principles, most notably the African philosophy of Ubuntu. In light of the award, the Templeton World Charity Foundation awarded the University of Pretoria
a grant ‘to increase the knowledge and awareness of Ubuntu, and
in the process contribute to the transformation of African communities and societies’.
At the core of the Ubuntu project is a focus on how this concept of connectedness could instil values of compassion, integration, human
dignity and selfless service at the level of the individual, the community and the nation, particularly in contexts of conflict and fragile democracies.
The starting point was to understand Ubuntu in the context of the everyday, especially in post-conflict situations. The project also extended to other parts of the continent, connecting to similar streams of African thought across history and space, and to similar concepts globally. Framing questions included: What does Ubuntu mean in relation to communal ethos? How and why do we use it to reconstitute or restore communities? What lessons can we infer from the
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Julian Müller and James Ogude, Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship.