Magister Artium - MA / This thesis is a critical study of a conservation project on restoration of a Stone Wall at Bluestone Quarry on Robben Island, a world heritage site. The Stone Wall was built by the ex-political prisoners, in the early 1960s, as part of their hard labour. The thesis mainly focuses on the contestations that arose during the twelve year period of the project (2002 to 2014) among the stakeholders that included the ex-political prisoners, the environmentalists, the heritage managers and South African Heritage Resource Agency. Central to this study was the question, when a restoration project of a significant heritage site is informed by oral history and memories how are the concerns of diverse range of interest groups addressed and resolved? The thesis is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of sites of memory, heritage and conservation. The study involved both archival research and oral history as its research methodologies. The thesis shows that during the restoration project of the Stone Wall, the proposed designs had impacts on authenticity and biodiversity of the site. The various stakeholders that were involved debated and sought ways to influence decisions in resolving these impacts. Where necessary compromises were made. The thesis argues that during the project, oral history and memory work, and by extension the ex-political prisoners, had a significant role in influencing some of the important decisions. Among other things, the thesis seeks to provide a critical understanding of issues of heritage and conservation management on sites that are of cultural/historical significance.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / In January 1997, Robben Island Museum (RIM) opened its doors to the public as a tourist destination. This was done without any formal management structure or strategic planning, to cope not only with its mandate as the first National Museum of the new democratic South Africa, but also to meet the demand of the great interest of visitors to see this prison where the icon of the liberation struggle, Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years. This operational take-off without formal administrative management structure and strategic planning was understandable given the social and political transitional climate in the country. The effect thereof as the old adage states ‘failure to plan is planning for failure’ seems to hold true for RIM who is struggling to become a well-managed national heritage site. RIM over the years have been beset with governance and management challenges and enjoyed continual bad publicity. The study’s aim was to bring an understanding of what the major governance and managerial challenges were and to make recommendations to address those. The study was guided by a central research question namely What were the administrative and management challenges of RIM and in what ways did it impact on the operational effectiveness of RIM as a national museum and World heritage site. A number of findings emanated from the study. A key one was that clarity of roles and responsibilities of the council and the management is required. Furthermore, the vision and mission of RIM must inform the formulation of strategies to give effect thereto. This in turn must be the base for the development of an appropriate organisational structure to implement the strategies. A number of recommendation stems from the research. An important one was that appointment must be on the basis of ‘fit for purpose’. This means that staff with the right skills and capacity should be appointed as a matter of priority. In conclusion, the findings of the study could be used by other heritage organisations faced with similar organisational challenges. / Robben Island Museum Training and Development Staff Bursary

This paper aims to explore and understand how locals and tourists perceive authenticity on a truly authentic heritage site. The empirical study was conducted with a sample of Scandinavians and South Africans that had or had not visited the heritage site in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa. The result indicated a correlation between authenticity and heritage experience. The most interesting finding was however when heritage was positioned somewhere else but the individuals' home countries. These findings provide insight into the ways tourists and locals perceive authenticity and the demand for heritage tourism and true authenticity, which highlights the importance of authenticity in tourism destinations.

Consulting to the RIDE from a systems psychodynamic stance is different from other group relations training events. Consultants found it difficult to take up their roles as consultants and containers. They were not prepared for the impact of the island on the event and especially on themselves as consultants. The consultants had to work harder to contain their own feelings and anxieties in order to take up their roles. The symbolically laden setting of the RIDE predetermined that the diversities of race and gender were worked with while other diversities were largely ignored. During the RIDE, the consultants felt more anxious, fearful and inhibited. The consultants had to provide containment for the event as a whole, for the group and their fellow consultants as well as for themselves. The consultants found that they had never experienced a more enriching experience than they did with the RIDE. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Consulting to the RIDE from a systems psychodynamic stance is different from other group relations training events. Consultants found it difficult to take up their roles as consultants and containers. They were not prepared for the impact of the island on the event and especially on themselves as consultants. The consultants had to work harder to contain their own feelings and anxieties in order to take up their roles. The symbolically laden setting of the RIDE predetermined that the diversities of race and gender were worked with while other diversities were largely ignored. During the RIDE, the consultants felt more anxious, fearful and inhibited. The consultants had to provide containment for the event as a whole, for the group and their fellow consultants as well as for themselves. The consultants found that they had never experienced a more enriching experience than they did with the RIDE. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

M.Sc. / Invasive species are a considerable threat to ecosystems globally, especially on islands where species diversity can be relatively low. Understanding the drivers of invasion is the first step towards an adequate management plan. Although Darwin’s naturalisation hypothesis has fuelled our understanding in this regard, several studies provided mixed results, suggesting that invasion success might be context-dependent. The main objectives of this study are two-fold: (1) testing Darwin hypothesis on Robben Island, and (2) investigating the relative role of invasive alien plants on phylogenetic diversity (PD) loss in native community. I sampled extensively the flora of the island, and using a Bayesian analysis, I reconstructed its phylogeny based on two plastid DNA loci, rbcLa and matK. I also surveyed a total of 127 plots of 50 x 50 m (i.e. local communities) where species presence/absence was recorded. Analysing phylogenetic patterns of the native and invasive floras at both regional (phylogeny level) and smaller scales (plots level), I found that invasive species are, on average, more distantly related to the native communities, giving strong support to the hypothesis tested. Furthermore I found that native communities have accumulated lower PD than alien communities; and that local communities are more overdispersed than expected. These findings suggest that competitive interactions might be the major ecological forces shaping plant communities, with the possibility of alien being higher competitors than native, and therefore decreasing native plant diversity. The implications of these findings for the recovery of native plants are also discussed. Key words: Invasion biology - Darwin’s naturalisation hypothesis - Phylogenetic diversity - Community structure - Conservation - Robben Island, South Africa.

"Torture continues to feature as a serious human rights violation in Africa. This explains why, during its 32nd ordinary session held in Banjul, The Gambia, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Commission) resolved to adopt the Guidelines and Measures for the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa (The Robben Island Guidelines (RIG)). This is a new development in Africa aiming at operationalisng article 5 of the African Charter. The RIG are phrased in a seemingly ambitious language, but their implementation by the African states remains doubtful because they are not legally binding. This has to be viewed in the light of the fact that many African countries are states parties to major regional and international human rights instruments, but human rights violations still persist. ... Chapter I has covered the proposal which includes the background to the study, research question, research methodology, limitation of the study, definition of torture, torture as jus cogens, literature review, and the division of chapters. Chapter II covers a synopsis of the international instruments and mechanisms to combat torture. Chapter III deals with the European and American systems' approach to combating torture. Chapter IV covers the African human rights system and torture, and finally, chapter V includes the general conclusion and recommendations. A draft of the recommended African Charter on the Prevention of Torture which has been drafted after looking at international, the European and Inter-American conventions on torture, has been attached as the main recommendation." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Prepared under the supervision of Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen at the Faculty of Law of the University of the Western Cape, Republic of South Africa / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / In January 1997, Robben Island Museum (RIM) opened its doors to the public as a tourist destination. This was done without any formal management structure or strategic planning, to cope not only with its mandate as the first National Museum of the new democratic South Africa, but also to meet the demand of the great interest of visitors to see this prison where the icon of the liberation struggle, Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years. This operational take-off without formal administrative management structure and strategic planning was understandable given the social and political transitional climate in the country. The effect thereof as the old adage states ‘failure to plan is planning for failure’ seems to hold true for RIM who is struggling to become a well-managed national heritage site. RIM over the years have been beset with governance and management challenges and enjoyed continual bad publicity. The study’s aim was to bring an understanding of what the major governance and managerial challenges were and to make recommendations to address those. The study was guided by a central research question namely What were the administrative and management challenges of RIM and in what ways did it impact on the operational effectiveness of RIM as a national museum and World heritage site. A number of findings emanated from the study. A key one was that clarity of roles and responsibilities of the council and the management is required. Furthermore, the vision and mission of RIM must inform the formulation of strategies to give effect thereto. This in turn must be the base for the development of an appropriate organisational structure to implement the strategies. A number of recommendation stems from the research. An important one was that appointment must be on the basis of ‘fit for purpose’. This means that staff with the right skills and capacity should be appointed as a matter of priority. In conclusion, the findings of the study could be used by other heritage organisations faced with similar organisational challenges.

I have read many articles and seen many stories about Robben Island. What I find lacking in these articles and stories is the role played by the church in relation to ministry to political prisoners. Given my own experience as a political prisoner on Robben Island, I am of the view that this subject should be explored and told. As implied in the title, this study will focus on the period covering three decades (1960- 1970, 1971-1980 and 1981-1990). These periods will be considered separately and collectively. Background A brief background information about Robben Island as a maximum security prison will be provided here. Furthermore, the categories and affiliations of political prisoners are explained. Lastly, detail relating to existence of different religions is discussed. Problem Statement The role played by the church in ministry to political prisoners on Robben Island between 1960 and 1990. Methodology This study makes use of oral history by way of interviews and other sources such as questionnaires, records, etc. to generate data from, among, others: 1. Political prisoners incarcerated during the period stated above. 2. Chaplain(s) who served during this period. 3. Prison Official(s) who served during this period Archived material relating to ministry to political prisoners covering this period will be inspected. Findings In the introduction of his book The Changing Shape of Church History, Justo L. González (2002:1) starts by asking the question: "where is the cutting edge of church history?" My expectation is that the findings of this study, as they are stated here, would illustrate the cutting edge of the church history on Robben Island. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Church History and Church Policy / MA / Unrestricted

<p>The results of the multivariate analyses suggest that most of the variation in the composition of the samples was of an intra-sample nature, illustrating large scale patchiness in foraminiferal distribution. There were, however, definite differences between communities around Robben Island and in St Helena Bay, and least variation was found between the control and pipeline sites, and between the stations of each site. When the trace metal concentrations and the percentage nitrogen increased, the richness, diversity and abundance of foraminifera tended to decrease. Sediment grain size positively affected abundance but negatively affected diversity and richness. In both areas mean grain size did not, however, appear to play a very large role in influencing diversity. Cadmium, copper, chromium, the percentage nitrogen and the mean grain size were identified as the most important variables influencing the community structure by the BIOENV BEST routine in PRIMER. The trace metals and percentage nitrogen only had negative effects on the diversity and abundance as well as on the abundance of the dominant genera, whereas the mean grain size had variable effects.</p>