Barriers and Enablers for Community University Partnerships in Makhanda from a Partners Perspective

Monica Canca, Learning Trust
Community-university relationships is the foundation for higher education community engagement in democratic South Africa. While the national environment for the development of such relationships is an enabling one, there are also barriers that are prevalent.
These barriers require committed attention and effort from both parties so that the mutual benefit that is meant to accrue the community and university are made possible. In this presentation, I first describe the context of Makhanda and the historical relationship between Rhodes University and the communities of Makhanda.
The element of trust is fundamental for strong, healthy community-university partnerships and building this trust is a process. Rhodes University Community Engagement’s process to change the prevailing context to one which enables a relationship that benefits the previously disadvantaged communities of Makhanda, students and academics is examined from a social justice and social change theoretical framework.