Prof Tshilidzi Marwala of the University of Johannesburg is moving to Japan to become rector of the UN University.

Chair of the UJ council Mike Teke said Marwala, the university’s vice-chancellor, will stay on at UJ for the next eight months to ensure there is a smooth transition as it undertakes the search for his successor.

The UNU is a global think-tank with 13 institutes in 12 countries, supporting efforts to resolve global challenges of human development and welfare that are the concern of the UN.

Marwala will be the first African to assume the role at the Tokyo-based university, said Teke. “We congratulate Prof Marwala on this outstanding achievement, and we are proud that one of our own has attained such an honour.”

UNU praised Marwala as an accomplished scholar and thought leader with multidisciplinary research interests that include the theory and application of artificial intelligence to engineering, computer science, finance, social science and medicine. “He has an extensive track record in human capacity development and is committed to leveraging technology and global connectedness towards the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Prof Thuli Madonsela, the law trust chair in social justice at Stellenbosch University, has meanwhile been elected chairperson of the management board of the Cities Alliance. This is a global partnership fighting urban poverty and supporting cities to deliver sustainable development, hosted by the UN office for project services.

“There is a strong synergy between our social justice work of establishing a society and world that is fair to all and the essential work done by Cities Alliance to ensure no person or family lives is squalid subhuman conditions. I look forward to working with the amazing leaders in this collective to contribute towards housing solutions aligned to the UN’s global Sustainable Development Goals,” Madonsela said.

The newly elected board comprises 15 members drawn from the governments of Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the US, France, Uganda, and SA; multilateral organisations UN-Habitat and The World Bank; local authorities represented by United Cities and Local Governments and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum; and civil society's Slum Dwellers International, Habitat for Humanity International, Reall, and Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising.

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