Celebrating international relations on Freedom Day
Freedom Day 2022 marked the 28th anniversary of the birth of South Africa’s democracy. To celebrate the occasion, Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng hosted a luncheon for the University of Cape Town (UCT) Semester Study Abroad students at her Glenara residence.
After 46 years of apartheid and nearly 300 years of colonial and separatist rule, 27 April 1994 signified the end to our nation’s collective long walk to freedom. On the day of the first free and fair elections, nearly 23 million South Africans of all races went to the polls to exercise their right to vote.
Speaking to the international students, honorary guests and UCT staff who had gathered on the lawns at Glenara, Professor Phakeng explained that part of the motivation for this celebration is that it would have been near impossible prior to those elections. Not only because of the assorted races and ethnicities of the attendants, but also because of their diverse nationalities.
