The annual Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award, with a monetary value of R2 million, is ranked as one of Africa’s most prestigious research grants. The award recognises scholarship of the highest calibre across various academic and research disciplines. It is a flagship award by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. The Trust, which dates back to 1958, has grown to become a significant funder of education, arts & culture and civil society organisations. Over the past five years, distributions made by the Trust have ranged from R100 million to R130 million annually, with roughly 60% allocated to higher education as part of a sustained effort to build local academia.

Prof Gobodo-Madikizela, whose accolades include the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship, the Alan Paton Award, the Christopher Award, the Distinguished African Scholar Title at Cornell University’s Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Award, was honoured to be selected for the 2020 Oppenheimer Fellowship Award.

“ It is a tremendous honour, which I accept with deep gratitude....”

On receipt of the award, she stated: “Being awarded this prestigious fellowship simply overwhelmed me. It is a tremendous honour, which I accept with deep gratitude. I believe that few topics stake a more compelling claim on humanities research than the legacies of violent histories and their enduring traumatic effects across generations. An opportunity to advance new intellectual frontiers in this field and to be able to involve young scholars as partners on the project is a rare gift.”

“Prof Gobodo-Madikizela is the torch bearer of truth and reconciliation and leads the charge from Africa.” 

Acknowledging the impact made by the Fellowship Award, and expressing the visions of the Trust, Chair of the Trust, Jonathan Oppenheimer, stated: “Prof Gobodo-Madikizela is a globally recognised scholar, a luminary in a fractured world in desperate need of healing intergenerational wounds. Her research is timely, interdisciplinary and tackles transgenerational trauma in new and relevant ways, to open up global participation. Prof Gobodo-Madikizela is the torch bearer of truth and reconciliation and leads the charge from Africa.”

Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor at Stellenbosch University, said “Prof Gobodo-Madikizela’s immense contribution to re-thinking historical trauma, her continuous engagement with complex issues of the past and the urgency of her research, make her more than deserving of this prestigious honour. Stellenbosch University is proud to have Prof Gobodo-Madikizela within our ranks and we look forward to seeing where this important project will lead.”

Applications for the 2021 Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship are now open and applications close on the 31st October 2021. Please see the following link for guidelines. https://www.omt.org.za/the-harry-oppenheimer-fellowship-award/guidelines/