Interview with Dr Khayaat Fakier, Prince Claus Chair at ISS

Dr Khayaat Fakier, Dr Wendy Harcourt and Agustina Solera

As of September 2021, Dr Khayaat Fakier holds the Prince Claus Chair at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) on equity and development. In January 2022 Agustina Solera PhD joined Khayaat as the Postdoctoral Researcher.

What are their upcoming plans and what’s the importance of care in their work.

A warm welcome with commitment and support

In February 2022, Khayaat met Agustina and hosting professor Wendy Harcourt at ISS The Hague. Khayaat: “It felt incredibly welcoming and warm. The visit strengthened the bond that began with our earlier online meetings. Also meeting the Curatorium members was immensely helpful and warm. They were informed about South Africa and its history and I appreciated their strong commitment and political support to my work. I am sure we will develop a meaningful relationship that can be beneficial for our institutions in South Africa and The Netherlands. We hope to be able to create a real, tangible impact.”

Already a team

“My time in The Netherlands solidified the PCC team. When we met at Wendy’s home to have dinner together, we all pitched in. We literally took care of each other”. Khayaat continues: “Our regular meetings over lunch and dinner made me feel like we’ve known each other for years and was helped by our shared focus of the PCC on care.” Agustina adds: “I would like to emphasize that this time has been constructive, as well as productive. In relation to the solid ties that have been built inside PCC (Khayaat, Wendy and I), we have engaged with other networks such as WEGO and universities in the Netherlands such as Wageningen University. While forging these bonds, we have already begun writing collaboratively with two book chapters and a journal article and planning events together with Wendy’s support, and we have further plans for the next two years.”

You can read the full interview at the Prince Claus Chair website.

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