Forum for African Women
Educationalists
South Africa
(FAWESA)
AUSTRALIA-SOUTH AFRICA
LINKS PROGRAMME
About WEXDEV
A report commissioned by FAWESA, A Review
of the Experiences of Women in Higher Education in South Africa (De la Rey, 1998),
drew attention to the poor representation of women in higher levels of management in South
African universities.
The Women's Executive Development Programme
(WEXDEV), an Australia-South Africa Institutional Links Programme, is a joint project
between Peninsula Technikon (Pentech) and the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in
partnership with the Forum for African Women Educationalists South Africa (FAWESA) and
Australian Technology Network (ATN). The programme focuses on the career development of
senior women on the academic and general staffs in South African Universities and
Technikons.
Aims:
The general aim of the programme is to provide
opportunities for women in higher education in SA to enhance professional capabilities in
planning and administration so that they can successfully fill senior positions.
More specific aims are:
- to establish a training and support network
amongst senior women managers in higher education in SA;
- to develop training modules, mentoring
programmes and experiential activities to provide professional development in economic
policy, planning and administration in higher education;
- to establish links for cross-cultural research
and development by senior women in higher education institutions.
Activities:
The programme comprises a variety of
activities such as seminars, workshops and inter-institutional visits.
Coordinators of the WEXDEV project
at national level:
Dr Colleen Chesterman
National Director, ATN WEXDEV, Australia
Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga
DVC, Peninsula Technikon, currently Special Advisor: Education
Prof. Cheryl de la Rey
Assistant Professor, University of Cape Town (UCT) and
Executive Director, National Research Foundation (NRF)
Regional Coordinators:
Dr Thembeka
Mpako-Nutsi (Eastern Cape)
Marjorie Eales (Eastern Cape)
Merle Hodges (Western Cape)
Hloni Maboe-Phike (Free State)
Prof. Engela Pretorius (Free State)
Dr Ruth Teer-Tomaselli (KwaZulu-Natal)
Sheila Tyeku (Gauteng)
WEXDEV Regional Workshops:
The aims of the workshops were:
- to inform institutional delegates about the
Australia-South Africa Institutional Links Project: Women's Executive Development
(WEXDEV).
- to give a delegate from each represented
institution a forum to report on the status of women at her institution.
- to provide a forum to discuss region-specific
needs and future plans for the region within the scope of the larger WEXDEV project.
The programme was launched with workshops in
the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal in 2000. Towards the end of 2000 two further
workshops were held: in the Eastern Cape
and in the Free State.
Other Events:
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