South African Human Rights Day, celebrated annually on the 21st of March, commemorates the killing (of 69 people) and wounding (of 180 people) of unarmed protestors against the oppressive pass laws by the South African police. The day honours the sacrifices made by those who fought for fundamental rights and reaffirms the nation’s commitment to those rights.
In commemoration of this important day, the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC) a centre of the University of Johannesburg, hosted two webinars on important topics relating to fundamental rights.
Webinar 1: 18 March – ‘Exploring the Tension between Freedom of Expression and Privacy: Reflecting on Botha v Smuts’
This webinar explored the complex relationship between the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression, particularly in the context of advocacy against behaviour by private individuals that evokes moral outrage.
The case the webinar focused on involved an individual who took another to court over the usage of his image with his child, along with their personal details and their location, which had been shared on a Facebook g and WhatsApp platforms.
The webinar dissected the case, examining in particular what the judgement and the High Court’s order mean for users of social media platforms. A robust discussion took place during the webinar, highlighting the rights and responsibilities of people who use social media platforms, and addressing how information, whether personal or otherwise is treated.
Participants in the webinar included practitioners of the law, individuals from the Law Faculty and SAIFAC.
Watch the webinar here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WKku_NYTwyyrIlEFacer1NMyUl84qAQV/view
Webinar 2: 25 March- ‘Autism and Access to Education: What does Reasonable Accommodation Require?’
The second webinar explored what a human-rights based approach to those on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) would entail and examined barriers to accessing education, policy gaps, and strategies to enhance support, inclusion, and intervention in South Africa in relation to this underserved group.
Dr Tracey Kanhanga, a Postdoctoral Fellow at SAIFAC said in her opening remarks the seminar was held ahead of Autism Awareness Day, which is celebrated annually on April 2. She also paid homage to Professor Charles Ngwenya; “Professor Ngwenya’s scholarship profoundly shaped the discourse of disability rights in Africa and beyond. His contribution will remain an enduring legacy,” she said.
Professor Ngwenya was a professor at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights.
Participants in the webinar came from both the education and legal fields, with a panel made up of:
-Professor Nokhanyo Mdzanga, Language Education at University of the Western Cape who discussed the Autism teacher education gap, focusing on the question: Why every child deserves a trained teacher to deal with their unique abilities.
-Prof Dominic Griffiths, Philosophy of Education at Wits University
-Dr Tanya Bekker, Inclusive Education at Wits University
-Moleli Nthibeli, PhD candidate whose thesis dealt with ASD and ADHD in Higher Education
-Dr. Diana Msipa, Manager of the Disability Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights
-Professor Willene Holness, Associate Professor of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Dr Kanhanga shared that having an inter-disciplinary webinar of this kind was vital for SAIFAC because of the centre’s mandate to raise awareness on critical issues (speaking to societal impact) as well as promote collaboration with other institutions. To emphasise the importance of the interdisciplinary nature of the webinar, she noted: “Law is a necessary but insufficient condition for change. Real change requires all hands-on deck.”
Watch the webinar here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H_lXn5EfTIvGKhQSDgL_nOiBjKscgN4B/view
