Breaking Down the Ivory Towers

This is a reminder to all club members that there is NO MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, it being a fifth Wednesday.
     For all those who read only the opening paragraph of the blog, if you pitch up at the Parkview Golf Club on Wednesday morning, it's on you!
    We're having a social outing on Sunday instead of the Wednesday meeting. It will be at Canteen @ Arts on Main in the Maboneng precinct.
     So far Linda and I will be going, Paul Kasango, Carol and Nick Stier will be there and our injured DG, Jankees, says he'll definitely be going as well.

Bionic Man Jankees with Judy on their stoep in Craighall Park

     Jankees says he was walking their dogs last week when a car came from behind, he stepped into a hole on the pavement and went down, tearing all the ligaments in his left knee.
     He had an operation to fix the ligaments on Friday at the Milpark Hospital and was home by Saturday, although his movements are obviously somewhat limited.
     If nothing else, the injury will definitely prevent him dancing at his Discon in July!

Lunch under the olive and citrus trees at Canteen @ Arts on Main is a rare treat

     President Carol has sent out a WhatsApp message about the function on Sunday, as we'll have to reserve a table, so please let her know Asap whether you can make it. It'll be an informal occasion where everyone pays for themselves. Canteen does a carvery meal on Sundays, which is very popular and this is an ideal opportunity to visit the Maboneg precinct for those members who don't often get a chance to do so, or who haven't been yet.
     Parking especially during the daytime is not a problem, although many people feel safer using Uber there and back.

Professor Peter Vale talks about his Institute at UJ

Speaker
     Peter Vale gave one of the most inspiring talks the club has had when he spoke about his Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies at the meeting last week.
     The Institute, of which Professor Vale is the founding director, seeks to "foster high-end deep thinking through breaking down the silos that have formed around traditional subjects and philosophies. It also wants to see and interpret the world through the global south," he told the club.
     In practical terms the JIAS houses about a dozen students at a time for four months at their premises in Melville, in what used to be the landmark guest house A Room with a View.
     The third group to gather there to undertake deep study and debate and discuss topics with their fellow students, are currently staying in the house. For the next group more than 1000 applications from all over the world were processed for the available places.

     The current class counts students from South Africa, Kenya, India, Taiwan and the USA. Apart from research and reading on their chosen topics, the Institute affords academics the opportunity to explore new ideas gleaned from the people they meet there.
         The JIAS is a partnership between the University of Johannesburg and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where Professor Vale also enjoys a visiting professorship.

     This partnership, he said, allows the JIAS, almost uniquely among the more than 800 Institutes for Advanced Studies worldwide, to unite African and Asian thought and research in both the human and natural sciences.
     The Institute differs from think tanks in the sense that there is no particular agenda, rather "we want to break down barriers and are trying to understand the complexities of the world we live in," he said.

The New Dawn contingent at the meeting last week

     Peter Vale is of course a well-known commentator on current affairs in the South African media and in thanking him for his talk, Ian Widdop also gave a personal word of thanks for the role that Peter played in forming his (Ian's) opinions and feelings about South Africa and South African politics as a relative newcomer to this country.

President Carol Stier with Lee Ann Masilela

Visitors
     Our AG, David Bradshaw, was a visitor at the meeting and no doubt will be considering Peter as a speaker at his Rosebank club. Visiting emeritus professor Koop Lammertsma, who recently spoke to the club on his subject of rare minerals, also attended.
     Another visitor was Lee Ann Masilela, who is looking for a sponsoring club for her to apply for a Rotary International scholarship for her studies for a PhD in clinical medicine at Imperial College, London.
     President Carol Stier has undertaken to help Lee Ann with her application for global funds, promising full support from the club.
     Induction: Invitations to the Induction Dinner on Friday, 29th June at the Parkview Golf Club, have already gone out. Please respond as soon as possible and please also feel free to pass the invitation along to friends and family and any other prospective Rotary members. The induction is a showcase for the club, so please do attend.
     A Thought for the Week: A nation of sheep will soon have a government of wolves. - Edward R. Morrow (1908-1965)