Page 11 - CAO Annual Report 2023-24

RESOLUTION 3: There were no resignations from the Board. The meeting resolved to accept Prof Robinson’s admission to the CAO Board as a Director.
Moved by Mr Darrel Wilkinson and seconded by Dr Sibusiso Chalufu .
The Guest Speaker: Prof Thuli Madonsela
Prof Madonsela started an insightful talk by congratulating the CAO on 25 years of selfless, excellent service. She compared the work of the CAO to the same type of social justice work she does in opening the doors of learning.
She asked the question: What is the future of education in South Africa? She answers the question with the observation that she sees opportunity here in South Africa and globally for using sustainable developmental goals and covid recovery opportunities to turn things around. I believe that the future of education lies in democratisation and leveraging digital education as much as possible. The future of education also lies in turning around what we teach young people. Teaching them to be creators of jobs and teaching them to be innovative and as part of teaching them to be innovative we will have to invest in art.
She reminded us that if we want to transform our country we need to invest in education but one area of education that we need to invest in is art in all its forms. She spoke about how the Italian Renaissance started, it was an investment in art but that investment doesn’t have to come from government, it can come from the Private Sector. In the same way that the CAO is a Private initiative we can have Private initiatives that can invest in education.
She ended her talk by congratulating the CAO and asked that it be blessed so that for another 25 years the CAO may grow and make a difference in this country. She quotes an African saying: if you want to be prosperous for a year plant crops, if you want to prosperous for 10 years plant trees, if you want to be prosperous for 100 years and beyond invest in people.
She was thanked by the chairperson for her insightful and encouraging talk.
The chairperson then called on the CEO, Mr George van der Ross.
The CEO thanked everyone for attending and extended his appreciation, especially in the face of the Rugby World Cup being played at the same time. He thanked the CAO staff and especially those who worked late into the previous night preparing the venue for the event. He thanked those “adventurers” whose vision of building an organisation that would make a lasting impact on the higher education sector and the lives of many hundreds of thousands of young people. He stated that as we commemorated this milestone we can proudly say that what we have achieved is way beyond the wildest expectations of those initiators.
He indicated that these achievements were not without its challenges. Challenges such as systems that become quickly outdated as new technologies are introduced. Higher education has a conservative appetite for risk. Business is different. In business we have to take risks all the time. Hesitancy to change and a workforce in constant need of stimulus as we change direction are treated as opportunities for innovation and driving change. Continuously renewing, upgrading and the replacement of technology and automation to streamline operations is second nature leading to enhanced efficiency and reduced wastage. We have shifted from a watch and see evolutionary philosophy to adopting a more radical and revolutionary approach. We move to anticipate changes and address them proactively Instead of waiting for changes to the environment to which we then react.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2023/2024 9