PROFESSOR BONGANI MAYOSI MEMORIAL LECTURE
Friday 23 January 6.00 pm
There will be a reception at 7.00 pm after the lecture.
This lecture is FREE but booking is essential to secure a place.
VENUE New Lecture Theatre, Upper Campus
The University of Cape Town hosts the annual Bongani Mayosi memorial lecture at the end of January to coincide with the birthday of the late Professor Mayosi. Professor Bongani Mawethu Mayosi was an outstanding doctor, who rose rapidly through the ranks to become a top cardiologist, recognised internationally as a leading clinician and scientist. He passed away during his tenure as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town.
The annual Bongani Mayosi memorial lecture is an inspirational address in celebration of African scholarship. It seeks to bring African science to the foreground, celebrate Africa’s scientists and their excellence, and showcase an approach to the needs of Africa. This lecture strives to inspire scholars at all levels of the journey of enquiry to realise the dream of finding African responses and solutions to Africa’s needs and the social determinants of health.
In line with its goals since inception in 2020, this lecture has drawn attendance from individuals in all spheres of life who subscribe to the ideals that Professor Mayosi espoused: equality, social justice, transformation, and excellence in the pursuit of knowledge. The aim is to draw the community into the academic threshold, seeking engagement with the legacy of learning and discovery.
Previous speakers include Professor George Mensah (2021), Director, Centre for Translation Research and Implementation Science at The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH); Dr Matshidiso Moeti (2022), World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa (February 2015 to February 2025); Professor Salim Abdool Karim (2023), Director: CAPRISA, University of Kwazulu-Natal and Professor of Global Health: Columbia University; healthcare entrepreneur Dr Vuyane Mhlomi (2024); and social scientist Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (2025), South African National Research Foundation Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma, University of Stellenbosch.
The speaker for the 2026 lecture will be announced in due course.