Fourth World Conference on Transformative Education (WCTE)
Cape Town, South Africa
REVISED DATES: July 2-4, 2025
Keynote Speakers
Professor Vuyokazi Nomlomo
Professor Vuyokazi Nomlomo holds the position of Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) for Teaching and Learning at the University of Zululand in Durban, South Africa. Prior to her tenure at this institution, she served as the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
With an established academic background, Prof. Nomlomo earned her PhD in Language and Literacy Studies from the University of the Western Cape. She has established herself as an NRF-rated researcher, focusing her passion on mother tongue and multilingual education, as well as early literacy in African languages.
Guided by a commitment to constructivist and social justice principles, Prof. Nomlomo’s work revolves around advocating for the use of African languages in education, viewing them as a crucial avenue to enhance students’ epistemic access to learning. Throughout her career, she has led numerous research initiatives in collaboration with both national and international partners. These projects delve deep into the role of language in teaching and learning, with a particular emphasis on primary school mathematics and science education.
One of the standout research endeavours in which she participated for over a decade is the Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa (LOITASA) research project. This collaborative project involved the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), Dar es Salaam University (Tanzania), and Oslo University (Norway) in the pursuit of promoting African languages as languages of learning and teaching in African contexts.
Prof. Nomlomo’s dedication to early childhood development in African languages has also borne fruit through her collaborative projects with national partners. These endeavours have led to the establishment of a Centre for African Language Teaching (CALT) at her previous institution. In addition to her linguistic research, Prof. Nomlomo’s extensive network of partnerships, spanning national, regional, and international institutions, has expanded her research interests. She has notably contributed to the fields of teacher education, gender equality and poverty in education, taking on prominent roles as a coordinator in these research areas.
Professor Sigamoney Naicker
Professor Sigamoney Naicker is a globally recognised expert in inclusive education, with a career spanning several decades in leadership roles. He served as the Chief Director of Inclusive Education in Cape Town, South Africa, and was instrumental in the development and implementation of South Africa’s first White Paper on Inclusive Education. Appointed as a commissioner by the late President Nelson Mandela on the National Commission for Special Education Needs, he has played a pivotal role in shaping inclusive education policy in South Africa and internationally.
Prof Naicker’s work is deeply rooted in social justice, focusing on dismantling the inequalities embedded in education systems, particularly for working-class and marginalised communities. His innovative contributions include the development of a planning tool for education in developing countries that integrates social justice principles and advocates for curriculum reform to reflect the lived realities of working-class students. His approach challenges neoliberal educational models that reproduce social inequality, aiming instead for systems that nurture diversity and equity.
An accomplished writer and academic, Prof Naicker has authored several books on education, including his most recent work, “Education and the Working Class: Is There Hope for an Inclusive System?” His publications and talks explore the intersections of cultural capital, social inequality, and education, drawing from his own experiences growing up in a working-class community and resisting elite-dominated narratives in the field of education.
A seasoned marathon runner, Prof Naicker’s personal philosophy of endurance and perseverance mirrors his relentless advocacy for inclusive education. He has participated in prestigious marathons across the world, including in New York, London, Oslo and Cape Town, using these experiences as metaphors for his work in driving systemic change.
In addition to his practical work, Prof Naicker is an extraordinary and visiting professor at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa, and Leeds Trinity University in Leeds, England, where he continues to influence the next generation of scholars and policymakers in the field of inclusive education. He is also a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa. His presentations are known for being thought-provoking and solutions-oriented, leaving audiences with actionable strategies for creating more inclusive, equitable educational environments.
Michelle Bagley
Ms. Michelle Bagley is the Communications and Fundraising Manager of the Amy Foundation, a registered Non-Profit Organisation in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ms Bagley is a dedicated communications and fundraising professional with 14 years of experience at the Amy Foundation. As the Communications and Fundraising Manager, she has played a pivotal role in developing, educating, and empowering disadvantaged youth by securing vital funding and fostering meaningful partnerships. Passionate about transforming lives, she has driven strategic initiatives that enhance the Foundation’s reach, ensuring sustainable impact through donor engagement, brand positioning, and community collaboration.
The Amy Foundation is an NPO committed to developing, educating, and empowering disadvantaged youth in South Africa. Through its After School and Youth Skills Development Programmes, the Foundation provides young people with essential life and vocational skills, fostering personal growth and career readiness. Integrating arts, culture, and entrepreneurship creates opportunities for holistic development, enabling youth to break the cycle of poverty and unemployment. With a mission to transform lives, the Amy Foundation nurtures future leaders, equipping them with the tools to build a brighter, more sustainable future for themselves and their communities.
Stepping into the role of Chief Operating Officer in April 2025, Ms Bagley remains committed to strengthening the Foundation’s mission, expanding its programmes, and creating greater opportunities for young people to build a brighter future.
Professor John J. Williams
Prof John J Williams is a distinguished emeritus professor at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. His PhD focused on Transdisciplinary Research: Urban and Regional Planning, Geography, Philosophy, Educational Policy Analysis, Political Studies and Sociology [with distinctions in all coursework].
An NRF-rated and activist-researcher, Prof Williams’ research focuses on grassroots-driven engagements with ‘ordinary’ people, enabling them to speak for themselves, thus empowering them in all aspects of governance, planning and responsive/responsible transparent management of their daily lived realities. It is informed by mixed methods research and includes citizenship engagement, grassroots mobilisation and social change, institutional transformation, capital, labour power relations, contradictions, tensions, and struggles to change context and humans within particular societies and parts of the world.
Prof Williams has published more than 90 academic articles, authored 12 books and 11 scholarly book chapters, presented more than 38 conference papers, wrote 12 technical reports, and supervised a number of master’s and doctoral students. His research is read, cited and appreciated globally. According to Research Gate, some of his publications had more than 100,000 research reads.
Professor George J. Sefa Dei
Ghanaian-born George Sefa Dei is a renowned educator, researcher and writer who is considered by many as one of Canada’s foremost scholars on race, anti-racism studies, Black and minority education, African Indigeneity and anti-colonial thought. He is a widely sought after academic, researcher and community worker whose professional and academic work has led to many Canadian and international speaking invitations in US, Europe and Africa. Currently, he is Professor of Social Justice Education & Director of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). On May 6, 2024, Professor Dei received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Africa [UNISA].
On June 8, 2024, Professor Dei again received an honorary doctorate in Social Work from Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Professor Dei is the 2015, 2016, 2018-19 Carnegie African Diasporan Fellow. In August of 2012, Professor Dei also received the honorary title of ‘Professor Extraordinarius’ from the Department of Inclusive Education, University of South Africa, [UNISA]. In 2017, he was elected as Fellow of Royal Society of Canada, the most prestigious award for an academic scholar. He also received the ‘2016 Whitworth Award for Educational Research’ from the Canadian Education Association (CEA) awarded to the Canadian scholar whose research and scholarship have helped shaped Canadian national educational policy and practice. He is the 2019 Paulo Freire Democratic Project, Chapman University, US – ‘Social Justice Award’ winner. In April of 2021, Professor Dei received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators [ONABSE] for how long-standing work promoting Black and minority youth education. Also, Professor Dei in October 2023, was named by Silvertrust Media as one of the 100 most influential Black Canadians nationwide. He received this award at the African History gala where he was chosen as the keynote speaker. In March of 2023 Professor Dei received the highly prestigious ‘2023 President’s Impact Award, given to a University of Toronto scholar whose work has reached beyond walls of academia to significantly impact local communities, nationally and internationally.
In April 2023, Professor Dei was given an Honorary Research Associateship in The Centre of Excellence in Disabilities at UNISA. Recently in March 2025 Professor Dei has been selected as a member of the Governing Council of ‘The Africa Future Leaders Institute of Global Affairs (AFLIGA). As stated in its mission statement, AFLIGA is a “catalysing leadership and enterprise development programme designed to equip Africa’s youth, particularly women, and emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and professionals with the skills, knowledge, and tools needed to drive transformative change across the continent.” Professor Dei has forty-seven (47) books, over eighty-one (81) refereed journal articles, as well as 78 chapters in books to his credit. Since 2008, Professor Dei has been a Fellow of the Centre for School and Community Science and Technology Studies [SACOST], and The Institute for Educational Research and Innovation Studies [IERIS], University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. He has worked to co-publish with University of Education faculty and staff, taught and mentored students, including working with SACOST as a Carnegie African Diasporan Fellow and Visiting Professorship roles. Professor Dei has also collaborated in research, teaching and publishing with faculty and staff in other African universities, particularly, the University of South Africa, UNISA, as well as serving as an external examiner for many MPhil student dissertations and Graduate examinations at the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. Globally, Professor Dei has served as external examiner for over fifty (50) PhD dissertations and, as well, supervised to completion a similar number of PhDs who are now Professors and senior administrators in their own right in schools, colleges and universities. Finally, in June of 2007, Professor Dei was installed as a traditional chief in Ghana, specifically, as the Gyaasehene of the town of Asokore, Koforidua in the New Juaben Traditional Area of Ghana. His stool name is Nana Adusei Sefa Tweneboah.