By Rebecca Hardy in the Friend of 17 July 2026. The Friend is the weekly magazine read by British Quakers. Essential reading for Quaker affairs. To subscribe, or read other articles, go to https://thefriend.org.
‘Imagine a world built in the spirit of Ubuntu – solidarity, shared responsibility and generous human cooperation.’
Former Salter lecturer and Quaker United Nations Office director Nozizwe Madlala-Routlege has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Strathclyde. The South African politician delivered the Salter Lecture in 2021 on ‘Quaker Values in South Africa’s Struggle’ as the first black woman on the list of lecturers.
[The photo shows Nozizwe when she was made a minister of defence in the ANC government in South Africa. Her appointment, as a Quaker, was intended to send a message of peace to the outside world.]
In 2024 Nozizwe Madlala-Routlege received her first honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford in recognition of an inspirational lifetime’s work for peace and justice.
Sheila Taylor, writing on the Quaker Socialist Society (QSS) website, said: ‘Churnjeet Mahn introduced Nozizwe in Strathclyde with moving oratory about the fight against racism. Nozizwe responded with an appeal to the new graduates based on her Quaker beliefs: “The value most needed in our time is empathy… It is the first step towards human solidarity… Imagine boldly: a world where borders do not become walls around compassion; where the stranger is met not with fear, but recognition; where nations do not compete in cruelty but cooperate in care. Imagine a world built in the spirit of Ubuntu – solidarity, shared responsibility and generous human cooperation. Then help make that world possible.”’
The Salter Lecture is organised every year by the QSS.
Rebecca Hardy, 17 July 2026.
Quaker Socialist Society 