Gathered in the very charming auditorium of the Plant Sciences were extra-ordinary guests hosted by the Centre for Human Rights on the special occasion of the German Delegation's visit to the University of Pretoria. Among the German delegates were representatives of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) and other officials of the German government.

Download the Mayor's keynote address

The event which attracted several esteemed personalities from within the University of Pretoria community also featured a lecture delivered by the Executive Mayor of the city Tshwane - Kgosientso Ramokgopa.

His lecture focused on the contribution of science and technology to the realization of human rights and emphasized the need for a demand to be placed on science to serve the majority and not just a few elite.

Being a former graduate and current Doctoral candidate of the University of Pretoria, the Mayor was best suited for the lecture, more so because the City of Tshwane over which he presides has been designated by the Gauteng Provincial government as the hub of research and development.

Dr Martin Nsibirwa, Coordinator of the Centre's LLM/MPHIL in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa, seized the opportunity to underscore how invaluable DAAD's strategic partnership has benefitted the Centre through the years. He acknowledged that in addition to the institutional support received from the Faculty of Law and the University of Pretoria, DAAD's financial support makes it possible to have Africa's best minds obtain Masters' degrees through the Centre's flagship LLM programme.

At the end of what was a stimulating event, both current and past students and DAAD scholars had the opportunity to interact with the German delegation.