Advancing the Exploration of Engaged Creative-Placemaking Amongst Universities and Communities for Social Cohesion in South Africa

Abstract

This article frames a discussion on how South African universities and communities can co-create university spaces that facilitate repairing the country’s dented social, economic and political infrastructure through engaged creative-placemaking. The first section further explores the concept followed by a discussion of historical issues which have a material bearing on how universities can and should frame community engagement in South Africa. It pays close attention to how post-apartheid nation building is hindered by the remnants from the past and is dislocated to both the present and the future. The article also brings into question the type and role of leadership, in both universities and communities. The final section of the article presents a framework for engaged creative-placemaking delineating the antecedents that are needed by the key stakeholders, namely, public and private enterprises, university and the community to successfully work together in achieving a just society through creative-placemaking. Improving place liveability through engaged creative-placemaking has the potential to stimulate local economies and leads to cultural diversity, civic engagement and increased innovation.

Engaging youth in stakeholder analysis for developing community‐based digital innovations for mental health of young people in Ingwavuma community, inKwaZulu‐NatalProvince, South Africa

“…Exploring interdependency of stakeholders will imply going beyond finding ‘who is important’ to how can the collective strength be harnessed. Interdependency fosters collaboration and success of community engagement projects (Mutero & Govender, 2020 ). Only the immediate beneficiaries participated in the process hence the views of other stakeholders are not considered.…”

Partnership Dynamics in University-Community Engagement:

“…Staying humble also makes it possible to share knowledge and experience we have gained with team members. (Interviewee F) It appears that a humble posture of learning is a pivotal principle in how the team relates both socially and academically (Mutero and Govender, 2020). Humility means that no one individual can be a centre of knowledge and that one can always learn from other people's views (Arthur, 2005).…”

Sewing friendship: Increasing inclusivity through creating shared social spaces for migrant and local populations in Durban

“…Increasing inclusivity through creating shared social spaces for migrant and local populations 3 Inversely, Thusa Batho Sewing for Africa presents an instance where peace and survival are inculcated in fragile contexts through meaningful interaction in shared social spaces (Mutero and Govender, 2019) and education (Lai and Thyne, 2007;Johnson, et al, 2019). The sewing project and the particular study that we conducted operated at the backdrop of the March 2019 xenophobic attacks that erupted in the city of Durban during which over 100 foreign nationals residing in the city sought refuge in a local police station and a mosque.…”

“…Recognizing the value and agency of bringing community members and university actors to work in concert addressing some of the community's intractable problems, Mutero and Govender (2019) proposed the exploration of engaged creative placemaking. Essentially, engaged creative placemaking is when university actors and the various community stakeholders work together to create micro-publics in shared social spaces to achieve both shared and overlapping objectives (Amin, 2002).…”