University of Johannesburg: UJ cultivates a need to re-imagine the university as a communal institution in commemoration of Mandela Day 2021

As the pandemic has forced higher education to reinvent itself, many institutions are also meeting this unprecedented moment with a renewed sense of purpose about their role in the community.

In times of hardship it is critical to come together and support each other and those in need especially during Mandela Day 2021 commemoration. The Community Engagement Unit at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), is doing just that when it hosted a webinar on Thursday, 15 July 2021 under the theme ‘The role of Universities in Sustainable Community Livelihoods in the Covid-19 era and beyond’. Initiatives to support communities during Covid-19 range from providing essential medical equipment to designing and producing masks and ventilators to organising food drives and donations.

Mandela Day was first introduced on 18 July 2009, to encourage people to dedicate 67 mintutes of their time to do charity work to make the world a better place.