2021 Women Symposium Welcoming address from President of SAC Chapter

It is a privilege to be part of ACUHO-I SAC hosting this symposium.

When we think of Student Housing professionals we can refer to ourselves as the SH squared group. We are the Silent Hero’s of Student Housing. Silent Hero’s are those that makes things work so well that they often goes unnoticed. What is the meaning of making it work?

One element is to make things run smoothly. Think of a road without any potholes. When you drive on it, it makes things much smoother, but you do not even notice it. It is what you expect, but when it is missing things can become dangerous.

Another element is to solve difficult issues. When it is necessary and someone or some system hits a pothole and suffers damage, the silent hero is there to care and to make things feel right again.

It is also to make things better. Student Housing professionals improve systems in the background and the knowledge shared at events such as this symposium helps us to improve things.

And there is also the quality to inspire those around you. It is the lessons that you exemplified that will have a long lasting effect on students. They will unbeknown to you refer to what they learnt from your behaviour that directs them.

There is a significance to Woman’s month as we think back and draw from the woman and events that we commemorate during woman’s month. It is firstly a tribute to those who contributed to us all enjoying more freedom. It is also thought of as a turning point in our history that took us forward. These women also set standards for what the future could be and then organised towards those standards. This they did during a time when circumstances were difficult.

The Eastern Cape region and particularly Shirani, Jay, Pulane, Vuyiswa, Nola, Asanda, Ntokozo and Okuhle put their organising skills to organise the WIHS. This acts as a tribute to the women in housing, may it be a turning point for some that will take our environments forward and enable to set a standard of the way we want to live in the freedom that came about of other’s efforts in the past.

If you say see your way is to be part of this association to benefit and contribute you can take part in the standing committee structure. Currently the executive committee of ACUHO-I SAC consists of 12 members from 11 different institutions, namely Stellenbosch University, North West University, Nelson Mandela University, University of Free State, University of Mpumalanga, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Rhodes University, University of Botswana, Durban University of Technology, University of Pretoria and University of Witwatersrand.

The executive member of a specific portfolio also acts as the head of a standing committee consisting of 5 members of at least 3 universities. You are invited to volunteer yourself to be part of a standing committee that advances the work of ACUHO-I SAC in developing student hosing professionals. In the near future there is the Roelf Visser Student Housing Training Institute by the standing committee for staff development to look forward to and then also a conference with the Private Student Accommodation providers by the standing committee on private accommodation, then the Annual Conference by Research and Development and the Reslife Conference by the standing Committee of Residential Education.

There is also a team looking after the website.

As ACUHO-I SAC strives to make campus home and make you family.

Pieter Kloppers

ACUHO-I SAC President