The CEO of the Inclusive Society Institute, Daryl Swanepoel, attended the inaugural lecture of the Maxeke – Robinson Irish Studies Chair, which is located at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The lecture was delivered by the Tánaiste, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, Micheál Martin, at an event hosted at the UWC’s Greatmore Humanities Hub in Woodstock, Cape Town, on Monday, 17 July 2023.
In his lecture, the Minister recalled the collaboration during the days of Apartheid between the people of Ireland and those that worked for liberation in South Africa. He spoke of the similarities in their shared struggles and the current-day challenges to keep the peace. Reconciliation in Ireland, as in South Africa, has not yet been fully achieved, requiring renewed efforts, to ensure its ultimate fulfilment. He said that reconciliation is not an event, but a process that needed ongoing attention over a period of time.
The lecture was followed by a reception to open the Good Friday Agreement Exhibition at UWC’s Greatmore Humanities Hub.