{"id":102379,"date":"2026-08-14T10:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T08:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/?p=102379"},"modified":"2026-08-14T10:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T08:47:20","slug":"spu-chancellor-recognised-as-african-heritage-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/spu-chancellor-recognised-as-african-heritage-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"SPU Chancellor recognised as African Heritage Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"102379\" class=\"elementor elementor-102379\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-620ded3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"620ded3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60527a6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"60527a6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The Africa World Heritage Fund, the African Union and UNESCO have recognised Chancellor Thebe Ikalafeng for his commitment to preserving and promoting African heritage.<\/strong><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sol Plaatje University (SPU)<\/span><\/a> Chancellor Thebe Ikalafeng has been recognised as an African Heritage Champion by the <a href=\"https:\/\/awhf.net\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Africa World Heritage Fund (AWHF)<\/span><\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/au.int\/en\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">African Union<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesco.org\/en\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">UNESCO<\/span><\/a>.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The award was presented during celebrations marking the AWHF\u2019s 20th anniversary, in recognition of his commitment to preserving, promoting and advancing African heritage and culture. The keynote address at the ceremony was delivered by Dr Naledi Pandor, Chairperson of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nelsonmandela.org\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Nelson Mandela Foundation<\/span><\/a>.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Accepting the recognition, the Chancellor said he was \u201cdeeply grateful for this recognition and humbled to stand alongside so many committed custodians of Africa\u2019s story, identity and heritage.\u201d<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reflecting on its meaning, he added: \u201cOur heritage is more than a record of our past. It is the foundation of our identity, the source of our dignity and a gift that we hold in trust for generations yet to come.\u201d<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Born and raised in Kimberley, he was inaugurated as the University\u2019s second Chancellor in March 2026, succeeding Justice Steven Majiedt. His career in branding and the advancement of the African narrative spans more than three decades.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Africa World Heritage Fund, the African Union and UNESCO have recognised Chancellor Thebe Ikalafeng for his commitment to preserving and promoting African heritage. Sol Plaatje University (SPU) Chancellor Thebe Ikalafeng has been recognised as an African Heritage Champion by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/spu-chancellor-recognised-as-african-heritage-champion\/\" class=\"read-more\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":102385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,180],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"coauthors":[286],"class_list":["post-102379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-success"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SPU Chancellor recognised as African Heritage Champion - Sol Plaatje University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Africa World Heritage Fund, the African Union and UNESCO have recognised Chancellor Thebe Ikalafeng for his commitment to preserving...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SPU Chancellor recognised as African Heritage Champion - 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