Steve Biko Memorial Lecture at UCT

Judge Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay speaks about the global struggle for human rights to mark the anniversary of the struggle leader’s death


Every year in September people gather at Jameson Hall at UCT to hear presidents, celebrated authors and intellectuals deliver the Steve Biko Memorial Lecture. Last year Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, spoke about Pan-Africanism. In 2012 winner of the Booker Prize, Ben Okri, electrified a packed audience with his lyrical speech. Over the course of the decade prior, former president Thabo Mbeki, Pulitzer Prize-winner Alice Walker and even Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu have stood on the same podium to commemorate the Black Consciousness leader’s life of political activism, courage and leadership - and in 2014, the Steve Biko Memorial Lecture on September 11 will be delivered by outgoing United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Judge Navanethem Pillay. 

South African-born Pillay was acting judge on the High Court in 1995, appointed just after the end of aprtheid, and in the same year was elected judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Her speech will address the question of human rights around the world and the relevance of Biko’s life and legacy in South Africa today.

Steve Biko

Stephen (Steve) Bantu Biko founded the Black Consciousness Movement in the mid-1960s in order to mobilise urban intellectual black youths during the days of apartheid, and his ideals revolved around intellectualism and the liberation of African minds. He was banned by the government in 1973, and four years later was arrested at a police roadblock near Grahamstown. Steve Biko died in detention on 12 September 1977, but his legacy lives on in the people he worked with and the writings he left behind, which were later collected and released as an anthology titled I Write What I Like

Tickets for the Steve Biko Memorial Lecture at UCT

Tickets for the Steve Biko Memorial Lecture are available to the public at no cost (FREE!), but due to high demand and limited seats, they tend to go very quickly. To get a ticket, phone Ms Sharifa Martin on +27 (0) 21 650 5816 to confirm availability, and then head to the UCT Communication and Marketing Department during working hours between Monday, 8 to Wednesday, 10 September to collect.  

The lecture starts at 6pm and takes place at Jameson Hall, Upper Campus. Doors open at 5pm. Arrive early to get a seat, as seats are unreserved and on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Watch the video of last year's event:

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If you fail to get a ticket, stream the lecture online or download it later from the University of Cape Town site. 

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