Aluta Continua! The journey continues

The activist in me has been re-awakened. I have been nominated and subsequently, appointed to deliver the keynote address at the upcoming Psychology Students conference. Therein I have to bring in my journey, how far and where I've come with this Psychology and also to bring the rhetoric that abounds re: decolonisation and digital activism such as the #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall. There's so much to read in preparation, but I'm very happy to say it can be done *wink *wink!

This is the initial speech, the one that got me the speaker position:-)

To our honourable Faculty members, distinguished speakers and guests; Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I would like to first congratulate the Psychology Department at Unisa, in particular the office of the Chair of the conference for the excellent arrangements for this gathering and for their hospitality. I'm very much delighted to be part of the 2017 Southern African Student’s Psychology conference being hosted here in Pretoria by the University of South Africa.

The theme of this year’s conference “Psychologies in dialogue: strengthening our African connections” got me excited, and brought to my mind the word Creativity. To quote Jean Piaget, who said, “The principle goal of education is to create men (and women) who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done – individuals who are creative, inventive and discoverers.” This year’s conference calls us to not only position ourselves within the discipline, but also, to help change what we think Psychology is and make it what WE want it to be!

As a starting point, it is worth reviewing past conferences and charting out what the discussions were about. The inaugural conference took place in Botswana in the year 2009, a follow-up conference took place in 2011. I was fortunate enough to be part of the grounds team in 2013 when Unisa collaborated with Wits University. The theme of the conference at the time was Psychology in Action and it called to action student Psychologists to engage and network and find out more about their learning spaces. I mean I had a “groupie moment” when I got to meet a Wits professor whose work I was reading to gain insight on issues of social change, of course I couldn’t wait to ask for a selfie! In 2015 Psychology in Community as a theme took to the Unisa Polokwane campus. I remember a meeting held, in preparation for that conference, with the team of Psychologists from the correctional services who were eager to unpack the term Community. Challenges that they face within that space included the shortage of professionals. In preparation for that conference I was part of the debating team which deliberated on the Health Professions Council registrations. As a group of Research Psychology students we wanted to find out from other students how they understood these registrations and their scope of practice.

Now here we are in 2017, 23 years into democracy and we have to find a way of ensuring that Psychology is relevant and visible out there. In looking at the challenges that face our profession it is worth noting that although South Africa faces numerous social challenges (including violence, poverty, racism and HIV/Aids, to name just a few) we also are well positioned to ensure that the psychology we practice, is thee psychology we want it to be. * It is not about 1 on 1 approach where as a practitioner one waits for clients to come knocking at your office. It is about team efforts, where as professionals we can strengthen the bonds and ensure that we reach wider than our just our backyards. We have to able to think outside the box, really engage Psychology as the “interdisciplinarian” it is. I mean it mixes up philosophy, history, mathematics (stats), neuroscience, environmental studies, You name it, you get it. We need to build internal communities that actively support, and continuously engage in dialogue among these disciplines and sub-disciplines. Maybe even starting within the registration categories, where as Research, Clinical, Educational, Counselling and Industrial Psychologists we can engage and network, to better know each other and to form communities to discuss relevant solutions.

For too long Psychology has relied on Western influence, including  the adaptation of psychological tools and technologies, it is now time to challenge these paradigms using a South African lens to study issues. There is somewhat of a light, there are annual psychology conferences held locally and universities are recruiting more scholars and researchers into the field. With works by Durrheim and colleagues, the focus is more critical and focuses on the indigenous, African psychology and aims to address what the population really needs. The onus is now upon us as students to grow the field and nurture it. We have to be curious, to learn more skills, to network and to be flexible. It is said that, “it is through exposure to difference that we can achieve a critical distance from our own thinking and thus ask fresh questions” (Vermeulen, 2011). This means that, through interacting with each other we’ll be better able to open up fresh areas of inquiry and curiosity. *I do sincerely hope that this conference will provide us with useful insights to contribute to the Psychology dialogues and particularly highlight the way forward in growing and strengthening our African connections. The question then is, how many collaborations/networks will you have by the end of this conference?
Ladies and gentlemen before I finish my speech, please allow me to wish you all the best for your successful deliberation in this conference and particularly wish our distinguished guests from all over Southern Africa a safe, happy and memorable stay in warm Pretoria. Thank you very much!