Ruth First Fellowships

The Ruth First Fellowship aims to recognise and support work of South African journalists and researchers that follows in a tradition of critical, progressive, independent-minded writing.

2010 Ruth First Fellows

Christa Kuljian and Crystal Orderson are the 2010 Ruth First Fellows. The keynote speaker at this year's Ruth First memorial lecture was Zwelinzima Vavi of COSATU.

Zwelinzima Vavi's Ruth First 2010 lecture

Kuljian, a writer and development consultant, researched the complex contestation around Joburg's Central Methodist Church and the thousands of displaced people it houses. Kuljian is a writer specialising in "engaging stories of development from the perspective of people on the ground." She graduated from Wits' Creative Writing Masters programme in 2007 and has a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton and an undergraduate degree from Harvard. She was director of the C.S. Mott Foundation in South Africa from 1992 to 2003.

Christa Kuljian's Ruth First 2010 lecture

Orderson, a senior SABC journalist best known for her reporting from West Africa until recently, took an in-depth look at the survival tactics of Mitchell's Plain women who receive a social grant. She has been a senior political reporter at the national broadcaster since 2003 and has an MA from Sussex University and BA from UCT.

Crystal Orderson's Ruth First 2010 lecture

Each year the Committee awards one or two fellowships, which offer the opportunity for Fellows to devote time to devote time to in-depth research. Fellows produce a publishable paper and deliver the Annual Ruth First Memorial Lecture. The Lecture takes place around 17th August, the anniversary of Ruth Firstʼs murder.

Previous fellows have tackled subjects ranging from gender-based violence to climate change. (See below.) Applications for 2011 will be called for in early 2011.

The Fellowships and Lecture are organised under the auspices of University of the Witwatersrandʼs Journalism Programme, in conjunction with the Ruth First Trust in London and the African Studies Journal.

The Ruth First Fellowship Committee consists of Jacklyn Cock, Anton Harber, Shireen Hassim, Liza Key and Indra de Lanerolle.

How to submit your application:

Submit your CV and a project proposal of no more than two pages to the Ruth First Committee, by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by fax to 011 717 4081, or have it delivered to:

Ruth First Fellowship Committee
c/o Wits Journalism
10th Floor
University Corner
University of the Witwatersrand

2009 Fellows: Jacob Dlamini and Maggie Davey

The 2009 Ruth First Lecture featured three speakers: ANC stalwart and former Speaker of Parliament, Frene Ginwala, and Ruth First Fellows Jacob Dlamini and Maggey Davey.

Jacob Dlamini, a native of Katlehong, obtained a MA in Social and Political Thought from the University of Sussex in 2008, and holds two MAs from Yale University, where he was a Fulbright scholar from 2003 to 2005. He is currently registered at Yale as a History PhD student.

Jacob Dlamini's Ruth First 2009 lecture

Maggie Davey was born in Johannesburg, grew up in Ireland and attended University College Galway. She has been in publishing since 1990, with David Philip Publishers, the Mail & Guardian and, since 2002, Jacana, whose motto is We Publish What We Like.

Maggie Davey's Ruth First 2009 lecture

Frene Ginwala studied law at the universities of London and Oxford. In 1962, the ANC sent her out the country to set up an office-in-exile. In 1994, she was elected speaker of the national assembly and was instrumental in many of the changes in parliament. Ginwala has published widely on anti-apartheid and women's issues.

Frene Ginwala's Ruth First 2009 lecture

2008 Fellows: Hilary Joffe and Alon Skuy

The 2008 Ruth First Journalism Fellows are financial journalist and senior associate editor of Business Day Hilary Joffe and award-winning Times photographer Alon Skuy. They explored he effects of the recent energy crisis on ordinary citizens, in particular on vulnerable communities, and illustrated the impact of energy-related policy decisions and the lack of access to affordable energy resources on South Africans.

With Joffe having done substantial research behind the scenes of South Africa's current power crisis and Skuy proving to be a rising star amongst South Africa's news and feature photographers, both Fellows have a strong track record in social reportage, and fit the tradition of Ruth First.

Click here to read Joffe's speech, entitled "Power and powerlessness - The South African energy crisis."

2007 Fellows: Leonie Joubert & Santu Mofokeng

The 2007 Fellowship - which marked the 25th anniversary of First's death - was awarded to science journalist Leonie Joubert and photographer Santu Mofokeng. They produced a range of articles and images on the subject of climate change.

Click here to view the brochure produced for the 2007 lecture and exhibition.

Click here to view a picture gallery from the lecture.

Click here to read "Bitter-sweet brew", published in the Mail & Guardian and dealing with the rooibos tea industry.

Click here to read "The climate's changing in the rural areas", published in the Pretoria News.

Click here to read "Tossed by wind, ocean and quotas", published in the Weekend Argus.

2006 Fellows: Nadine Hutton and Prof Pumla Dineo Gqola

The 2006 Fellowship was shared between photographer Nadine Hutton and Pumla Dineo Gqola, Associate Professor of Literary, Cultural and Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. Hutton produced a pictorial essay entitled "Written on her face". Gqola delivered a lecture on gender-based violence, under the title "After Zuma: Gender violence and our Constitution".

Click here to read the programme of the 2006 lecture.

Click here to read the narrative that accompanied Hutton's images.

Click here to read Gqola's lecture.

2005 Fellow: Henk Rossouw

The 2005 Fellow was freelance writer Henk Rossouw. He wrote and spoke about a rural private HIV/Aids clinic. His paper was entitled: "The Tin Drum: treating Aids without treatment". An edited version of his paper was published by the Mail & Guardian under the headline: "The truth takes time".

Click here to read his paper.

2004 Fellow: Pregs Govender

The 2004 Fellow was former ANC MP Pregs Govender. She delivered a paper entitled "Reasserting Politics as the Power of Love and Courage: Experiments in SA's Decade of Democracy".

Click here to read her lecture.