Jessica Lynn is a world-renowned transgender advocate, educator, and activist. According to a statement by the UFS, her experiences as a transgender woman and a parent led her to dedicate her life to spreading awareness and acceptance for gender non-conforming communities around the world.

Along with Lynn, a few other speakers will also address the attendees. Ronald Addinall, who identifies as he/they, a gender non-conforming and queer-identified, is a clinical social worker, sexologist, and academic at the UCT, with 29 years of professional practice experience across many fields in social work.

Landa Mabenge is an educator, writer, speaker and intersectional scholar. Landa is also a trans educationalist through his independent consultancy, Landa Mabenge Consulting, and is the author of Becoming Him - a trans memoir of triumph.

Among the other speakers of the day, is Carita Visser, an admitted attorney of the High Court working as a Legal Officer at Fedsas. Khanyisile, as she is known, is the current Education Advocacy Officer at Gender Dynamix. Nina and Dani Costella, who are mother and daughter, will too be speaking about Dani being a proud 22-year-old trans woman and her mother’s unwavering support.

They will be joined by Dr Kerry Frizelle, who is a psychologist lecturer and social justice consultant at the University of KwaZulu-Natal; and Prof. Anthony Brown, who is a professor and HOD at the University of Johannesburg. He is lecturing Inclusive Education to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Other guests at the symposium will include:

• Xitsakisi Fiona Mahlori, a social worker by profession, is currently employed as a senior social worker in the gender equity office (GEO) of Witwatersrand University;
• Prof. Shahana Rasool is a Rhodes scholar who obtained a Master’s and Doctorate from the University of Oxford’s (UK) Department of Social Policy. Rasool has been an activist, researcher, trainer, and academic in the field of gender for many years, with a particular focus on gender-based violence; and
• Tamanda Kamwendo is a lecturer in the private law department at the University of the Free State. Her research interests are health, law and bioethics, specifically focusing on the legal regulation of advanced reproductive technologies.

The symposium takes place on 2 September 2022, from 08:30 – 16:00 at the Equitas Auditorium (UFS).

For more information, contact Kubeshni Gounder: GounderK1@ufs.ac.za

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