by Danielle Daniëls
Strong, humble and poised are just some of the words that come to mind after an encounter with Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Templeton Prize.
She was honoured and her achievements celebrated at a gala event on Wednesday 2 October at Webersburg Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. The Winelands event was the last leg of the formal celebrations honouring her – not just a proud moment for her, but also for her colleagues, family and friends in attendance. Previous events were held in London and Cape Town.
Prof Gobodo-Madikizela is the third South African – after Archbishop Desmond Tutu (2013) and George Ellis (2004) – to receive the Templeton Prize. She is the 54th Templeton Prize Laureate.
As professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU) she holds the South African National Research Foundation Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma, and the Research Chair in Historical Trauma and Transformation. She is also the founding director of the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ).
She receives the Templeton for her exemplary contributions to scholarship and advancing knowledge in the field of forgiveness and processes of repair in the aftermath of traumatic violence.