On behalf
of the Faculty of Education at the University of
Pretoria, South Africa's premier institution of higher
education, I warmly welcome you to the continent's
newest democracy. This joint 6th Conference of ALARPM
and the 10th Congress of PAR represents the best
ideals of partnership and collaboration in
development. Just nine years ago, millions of South
African's snaked around polling booths to vote for the
first time and to seek, through this simple act, a
better future for all its people. But we have since
become more and more aware of the tremendous
challenges of redressing the gap between sweeping
visions and action situations. And central to our
learning in post-apartheid South Africa is the
observation that the complexity of global problems can
no longer be addressed through isolated initiatives,
single disciplines, and theory-bound initiatives of
individual groups, organizations or nation states. As
crucial, we have come to realize the importance of
finding creative ways of resolving intractable
problems facing both developing and developed
countries. So your choice of South Africa is a good
one, not because we face unique problems, but because
we grapple with them under new conditions facing a
shrinking world. I sincerely trust that the idealism
and enthusiasm of our new democracy will bring out the
best in the creative and curious minds of delegates as
you seek to change a world that is confronted again
with new challenges (such as fresh waves of
immigration, changes in weather patterns, and stagnant
education systems), and some old ones too. Welcome to
South Africa. Welcome to the University of Pretoria.
Welcome, home, to the cradle of humankind.
