Budget 2026: Food And Nutrition Insecurity For Children Again Receive Insufficient Attention
National budgets reveal what governments consider urgent. They are not merely financial statements but developmental declarations, mapping the relationship between policy, priorities, and lived realities. Read through the lens of child well-being, the 2026 Budget Speech is notable not only for what it contains, but for what it barely addresses: food security, nutrition, and the conditions shaping children’s development.
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UWC Student Selected As A 2026 DREAM Scholar
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is proud to announce that Zoe Bok, a Master of Social Work student, has been selected as a 2026 DREAM Scholar by Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national organisation in the USA dedicated to advancing community colleges as engines of opportunity, belonging and economic mobility. Bok is one of just eight students selected through a highly competitive application process to participate in the DREAM Scholars programme this year.
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South African Teens Are Vulnerable To Diabetes And Heart Disease
Teenage years are often seen as a time of strength and vitality when lifelong habits for good health begin to take shape. But new research from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) suggests this picture may be shifting, with a worrying number of adolescents in Cape Town showing early signs of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of interrelated conditions that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes later in life. This comes as World Obesity Day is being commemorated across the globe today. |
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AI In The Classroom: Lessons From UWC
The use of artificial intelligence in tertiary education is often a much-discussed topic, but very little is taught about its responsible use. At the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the conversation around artificial intelligence is not about whether students should use tools like ChatGPT, but rather how they should use them. The focus is on a future where AI supports learning without replacing the critical thinking and discipline-specific reasoning that higher education demands.
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UWC Community Comes Together For 2026 LGBTQIA+ Pride Walk
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) held an LGBTQIA+ Pride Walk on Friday, 27 February 2026, bringing together students, staff and allies in a vibrant display of solidarity, visibility and belonging. Hosted by the Queer Dubs Forum, the event formed part of UWC’s ongoing commitment to fostering inclusive, affirming spaces for queer members of the campus community. |
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Why Children Are Missing Life-Saving Vaccines In Cape Town
Poverty, long travel distances to clinics, low literacy levels among parents and the spread of misinformation on social media are standing in the way of childhood vaccination. As a result, many children remain unprotected against preventable diseases such as measles and polio, as well as dangerous pneumococcal infections that can cause life-threatening illnesses like meningitis, suggests a University of the Western Cape-led (UWC) study.
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Communications & Marketing Office
Do you have any important UWC stories to share? Do you know of an event that you’d like to see featured? Have you heard of UWC students, staff or alumni who’ve done amazing things, which you think the world should know about? Or maybe you have a few suggestions, comments or questions about something in this newsletter? Whatever the case may be, the Communications & Marketing Office would really like to hear from you. Just email us on ia@uwc.ac.za, call us on 021 959 4229, or drop by our offices. |
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