Optentia Research Unit

03/09/2026

Time is running out, don't forget to register for our colloquium Reimagining Human Flourishing: Capabilities, Ubuntu, and Decolonisation in South Africa! This event will take place North-West University's Vanderbijlpark Campus on 17 September. Follow the QR code for information and to register!

01/09/2026

What does it really mean for human beings to flourish?

While human flourishing has become central to contemporary development discourse, there is ongoing debate about what enables people and communities to truly flourish.

This colloquium explores a critical conversation between Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach and decolonial perspectives, questioning whether dominant, individualistic and neoliberal understandings of flourishing are sufficient.

Prof Morgan Ndlovu invites us to consider an alternative vision of human flourishing—one that confronts histories of marginalisation and coloniality and opens possibilities beyond the limits of the capitalist neoliberal paradigm.

Join the conversation. Rethink what flourishing could mean on 17 September at the Vanderbijlpark Campus. Register to attend: https://www.nwu.ac.za/date/colloquium-reimagining-human-flourishing-capabilities-ubuntu-and-decolonisation-south-africa

31/08/2026

Towards relational flourishing in higher education

Achieving Ubuntu as a central capability

Higher education has the potential to enable human flourishing—but how well are universities creating the conditions for people to genuinely flourish?

In this keynote, Mikateko Mathebula explores Ubuntu as a central capability: a relational way of being that recognises our shared humanity and our capacity to flourish through others.

Drawing on 10 years of research with young people in South Africa, the presentation explores their experiences before, during and after university, and asks:

What would higher education look like if Ubuntu were placed at the heart of human flourishing?

The keynote considers how relational ways of being can:

- enhance wellbeing and human flourishing;
- strengthen our ability to contribute to knowledge as a shared good; and
- create more inclusive and decolonial possibilities within higher education.

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation as part of a colloquium: https://www.nwu.ac.za/date/colloquium-reimagining-human-flourishing-capabilities-ubuntu-and-decolonisation-south-africa

31/08/2026

Please join us on the Vanderbijlpark Campus for a deep dive into this fascinating topic: https://www.nwu.ac.za/date/diversity-inclusion-workshop-prof-jasper-van-assche

27/08/2026

Become part of an ongoing conversation about a topic that greatly impacts South Africans and how we interact with each other.

Why this colloquium, and why now?

What does human flourishing really mean in the South African context?

For Dr Vedhna Dayanand-Lalla, Academic Lead of Reimagining Human Flourishing: Capabilities, Ubuntu, and Decolonisation in South Africa, this question brings together the Capability Approach, decoloniality, Ubuntu and gender justice.

Our freedoms and opportunities are shaped by history, power, inequality, gender, culture and place. So, can we truly understand human flourishing without confronting the structures that constrain people’s ability to live lives they value?

This colloquium creates a space to move from critique to dialogue, evidence and action — asking what needs to change, whose voices need to be heard, and what it would take for every person to have a genuine opportunity to flourish.

📅 17 September 2026
📍 Vanderbijlpark Campus, North-West University
👥 In-person event — registration is required

Spaces are limited. Register here to attend and be part of the conversation:
https://www.nwu.ac.za/date/colloquium-reimagining-human-flourishing-capabilities-ubuntu-and-decolonisation-south-africa

27/08/2026

Don't forget to register for this very important event presented by one of the most eminent researchers in the field.

24/08/2026

24/08/2026

Why this colloquium, and why now?

What does human flourishing really mean in the South African context?

For Dr Vedhna Dayanand-Lalla, Academic Lead of Reimagining Human Flourishing: Capabilities, Ubuntu, and Decolonisation in South Africa, this question brings together the Capability Approach, decoloniality, Ubuntu and gender justice.

Our freedoms and opportunities are shaped by history, power, inequality, gender, culture and place. So, can we truly understand human flourishing without confronting the structures that constrain people’s ability to live lives they value?

This colloquium creates a space to move from critique to dialogue, evidence and action — asking what needs to change, whose voices need to be heard, and what it would take for every person to have a genuine opportunity to flourish.

📅 17 September 2026
📍 Vanderbijlpark Campus, North-West University
👥 In-person event — registration is required

Spaces are limited. Register here to attend and be part of the conversation:
https://www.nwu.ac.za/date/colloquium-reimagining-human-flourishing-capabilities-ubuntu-and-decolonisation-south-africa