Alumni event in Pretoria is hosted by the Royal Dutch Embassy
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On August 24 a lovely dinner hosted by the embassy’s Head of Socio-economic Cooperation, Mrs. Sandra Pellegrom, took place in her Pretorian residence amidst a perfect cool evening, which was filled by the joy and collegiality of those attending it.
During the implementation of the refresher course: Urbanising Africa: the city centre revisited, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, between 16 and 27 of August, 2010, an alumni event was organised in cooperation with the Royal Dutch Embassy in the capital city of Pretoria. The evening was hosted by the Head of Socio-economic Cooperation, Mrs. Sandra Pellegrom, in coordination with Mr. Erik Litver, First Secretary of Research and Education, both representatives of the Dutch embassy. Special guest included Mr. Reinier Erasmus, general secretary of the South African National Social Housing Association (NASHO), as well as other relevant practitioners of the housing sector of the country.
The alumni event served a two-fold purpose. On the one hand it provided with the opportunity for creating a network between the embassy, course participants and other NFP and IHS alumni currently living in South Africa. On the other hand it established the grounds for embarking on the process of creating a National Alumni Association (NAA) in South Africa in particular, and in the Southern African Region in general. The South African alumni were well represented by Mr. Frederick Kusambiza Kiingi and Mr. Michael Makwela, who explained to the guests the strategy to be followed in the creation of their NAA.
Around 30 alumni attended the event, including the participants of the Refresher Course. As a result IHS alumni members initiated the establishment of their associations in their respective countries. The IHS, through its alumni office based in Rotterdam, will provide support and guidance in establishing not only the NAA in South Africa, but also in other countries present during the event such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. The representatives of the embassy also expressed their support to the development of the NAA in South Africa, and their delight of being part of the IHS international community.
