UMP LECTURER APPOINTED TO NATIONAL HERITAGE COUNCIL
The NHC plays a central role in safeguarding the country’s heritage landscape, and Dr Bhuda’s appointment reflects both her academic expertise and her commitment to Indigenous Knowledge Systems and community-based scholarship.
This national mandate aligns closely with UMP’s focus on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, rural development and community engagement, providing a strong foundation for integrating heritage into teaching, research and outreach.
For Dr Bhuda, the appointment represents both an honour and a responsibility.
“It affirms my longstanding commitment to Indigenous Knowledge Systems, which recognises communities whose histories and knowledge traditions have historically been marginalised within South Africa’s heritage landscape,” she says.
She notes that the role provides a strategic platform to contribute to national policy and programmes that shape how South Africa protects and transmits its diverse heritage.
“It is also a continuation of an intergenerational journey, inspired by my grandmother’s sacrifices for my education and by the communities and elders whose knowledge has shaped who I am.”
Dr Bhuda’s appointment also reflects her contribution to teaching and curriculum transformation at UMP, as well as her engagement with communities as knowledge partners.
The work of the National Heritage Council remains especially significant in contemporary South Africa, where questions of identity, memory and representation continue to shape national discourse.
According to Dr Bhuda, heritage plays a critical role in nation-building, social cohesion and restorative justice, particularly in a society still confronting the legacies of colonialism and apartheid.
“Heritage must reflect the lived realities, languages, spiritualities and knowledge systems of African communities,” she says. “It is not only about monuments or archives, but about living practices and everyday experiences that define who we are as a nation.”
Strengthening Partnerships and Youth Engagement
Dr Bhuda’s appointment also opens opportunities for collaboration between the National Heritage Council and higher education institutions.
These include joint research and documentation projects, student internships, policy dialogues and community-based heritage initiatives that bridge national policy with local realities.
Reflecting on the future, she hopes her contribution to the Council will strengthen the recognition and protection of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and rural heritage, while building stronger partnerships between universities, communities and heritage institutions.
“To students and young researchers, heritage is about identity, memory and the future,” she says. “Your work matters deeply because it helps shape how society understands itself and how knowledge is passed on to future generations.”
During her term on the Council, Dr Bhuda aims to contribute towards elevating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and living heritage within national heritage programmes, strengthening community participation, and expanding opportunities for youth engagement through intergenerational learning and innovative platforms.
She also advocates for positioning heritage as a driver of sustainable development, social healing and local economic opportunities.
Through her academic work, Dr Bhuda encourages students to view communities, elders and local environments as valuable knowledge resources, reinforcing the connection between scholarship and lived experience.
Dr Bhuda’s academic and community-based work centres on Indigenous epistemologies, living heritage, and participatory approaches that recognise communities and elders as co-creators of knowledge rather than subjects of research.
Dr Bhuda’s appointment highlights the growing role of UMP academics in contributing to national policy and development, while advancing inclusive approaches to heritage preservation and knowledge production in South Africa.
Story by Cleopatra Makhaga. Picture supplied. Copyright © UMP.