Лектор из Стелленбосха стала первым южноафриканским ученым, получившим престижную стипендию Эйнштейна в Германии

- Delecia Davids is a Stellenbosch University lecturer and the first SA academic selected for the prestigious Einstein Fellowship in Germany. - The Delft-born Davids will spend six months next year in Germany working on a project exploring storytelling, memory and identity. - Her fellowship project, “Reparative storytelling, memory, and identity”, will examine the stories of people who identify as coloured. A Stellenbosch University lecturer has become the first South African academic to be selected for the prestigious Albert Einstein Fellowship in Germany – and she will use the opportunity to tell stories rooted in the lives, histories, and identities of people from communities such as the Cape Flats. Delecia Davids, who grew up in Delft and is now based in Stellenbosch, was selected for the fully funded fellowship, which supports exceptional young intellectuals pursuing innovative projects outside the scope of their usual academic work. The 34-year-old Davids, who lectures in education and whose work focuses on digital technology, will spend six months in Germany working on the comparative component of a much larger project centred on storytelling, memory and identity. Her proposed project aims to uncover joyful stories and counter-narratives about people who identify as coloured, while also exploring the complex ways in which people understand, embrace or reject the identity. “The project centres around trying to uncover the joyful stories, which are sort of counter-narratives to what the wider national narrative is around people who identify as coloured,” Davids says. She adds that she is interested in understanding how people remember the past and how those memories continue to live in the present, particularly among younger generations who did not experience parts of that history firsthand. Poetry, music, dance Davids hopes storytelling can become a tool for healing and for repairing identities, while creating new ways for families and communities to begin conversations about their own histories. Rather than relying only on traditional interviews, her project will explore arts-based storytelling through music, poetry and dance. “How can music, how can poetry, how can our dances give us entry points into our history?” she says. For the next few months, Davids will be on the ground, speaking to people in the broad coloured community, building up her research before it takes flight. She says the fellowship will also allow her to compare South African approaches to remembrance with those in Germany, where reminders of difficult historical periods are often visible in public spaces. READ | From lab to lodge: Young engineers spearhead safari EV prototype launch She hopes the exchange will show what South Africans can learn from Germany – and vice versa. The project is not limited to the Cape Flats, but Davids says she wants to engage people interested in uncovering their own histories and stories in relation to coloured identity. The fellowship residency in Germany will last six months, although the broader project is expected to continue beyond that period. Davids is still finalising when she will leave, but expects to travel sometime next year. Tears and joy, inspired by dad’s passing Her journey to the fellowship was not immediate. This was her second attempt at applying after she was shortlisted the previous year but was not selected. She applied in February and was notified in June that she had been accepted. She says: Davids adds that the moment she was told she had been selected was an emotional one. “It involved a lot of crying. There are moments one can simply not describe because they are so overwhelmingly precious.” She says that being the first South African recipient is an honour, but that the personal significance of the project makes the recognition even more emotional. “It really is great being the first. I mean, all of those labels are sort of the extra cherry on the cake, but I think because the project stems from personal history when I lost my dad in 2023. “I realised then that I actually didn’t know much about his life before he married and became a parent. So, it really means a lot that I got selected for this project.” Loud cheers and thunderous applause Davids recalls walking into her classroom full of students one morning after receiving the “absolutely fantastic news”, determined to tell them herself before they read about it in the media. “I’m super honoured to be first, but I, of course, hope that I’m not the last South African to receive this honour.” Although she now lives on Stellenbosch University’s campus, where she serves as a lecturer and residence head, Delft remains a central part of her life. Her mother and siblings still live there, and Davids regularly returns to visit family and her former school. She is also involved in a Youth Advisory Council initiative involving schools in Delft and the wider Mfuleni area, focusing on digital well-being. READ | Pupils get dream Joburg Theatre debut as they take on AI and influencer culture in song For Davids, however, the fellowship represents more than an academic achievement. It is an opportunity to take stories that are often confined to families and communities and explore how they can help people understand the past, heal old wounds, and imagine their place in a changing South Africa. If you have an inspiring story to tell, email [email protected].