Professor Vaughn John and his prize.Professor John Receives Prestigious International Award
Professor Vaughn John from the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame (IACEHOF) during a ceremony in Florence, Italy, on 8 November 2024.
This Hall of Fame serves as a distinguished tribute to the remarkable leaders in Continuing Education and Adult learning. Established in 1993 and located at the College for Continuing Education at the University of Oklahoma, USA, the IACEHOF acknowledges the significant achievements of these individuals and inspires future leaders in this important field. According to the Hall of Fame, each honouree has fostered a vital connection between essential resources and enthusiastic learners, thereby solidifying their legacy within the industry. These innovative leaders passionately believe in the transformative power of education. They are all exemplary lifelong learners who have made lasting impressions on the students, institutions, and organisations they serve.
John was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his work in peace and justice education over the past three and a half decades. An extract of the citation read at the ceremony, states: ‘Educator and researcher Vaughn John is a leading figure in peace and justice education in Africa and beyond. A professor in the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, he was recently appointed to the South African Research Chair: Peace and Justice Education. As an activist-scholar in a context of long histories of dehumanisation and extreme levels of violence and injustice, John seeks to harness education for peace, justice, and humanisation in southern Africa and more broadly. His major contribution is responsive, practical, and engaged scholarship in peace and justice education…’.
‘John maintains that adult education, including peace education, could be conceptualised as care work. His theorisation of adult education and learning in contexts of violence, fear, and trauma contribute to the many areas of critical praxis across disciplines and society. Amid growing violence and inequality in the world, John is the rare scholar who works to trouble violence to foster hope and humanisation.’
His induction into this prestigious global community, whose membership includes 429 members from 45 nations, is a recognition of his leadership in adult and continuing education in South Africa and internationally.
For more information on the IACEHOF, click here.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photographs: Supplied