Teaching about the Violent Past: Apartheid and Its Legacies

Dylan Wray is co-founder and director of Shikaya, a South Africa based non-profit that supports teachers and school leaders to ensure young people leave school thinking critically, and acting as compassionate, engaged, democratic citizens. Since 2005, in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, Shikaya has trained over 10,000 teachers and reached over 1 million young people. Dylan works globally as a facilitator, materials developer, and author.

Roy Hellenberg obtained his degree and Higher Diploma in Education at UCT, majoring in History and Psychology as well as studying English and Anthropology. He has spent over 25 years as an educator and school leader in both under-resourced and well-resourced schools in South Africa. An ongoing interest has been education in a post-conflict society and how it can be used to address the gross human rights violations of the past. He has attended and spoken at local, national, and international conferences on this topic. Since 2006, he has worked with Shikaya and Facing History and Ourselves in designing and running national teacher training programmes that focus on teaching methodologies that encourage the development of critical thinking and democratic debate with the purpose of growing young people who are compassionate, engaged, and active citizens. One aspect of this work has been running a whole school programme that addresses exclusion and discrimination at schools across South Africa entitled A School Where All Belong. He has also co-authored a book with Dylan Wray and Prof. Jonathan Jansen by the same name. He has also lectured 3rd and 4th year education students in Professional Ethics and Teachers as Reflective Practitioners. He currently holds the position of Executive Head at a private school in Johannesburg that comprises a pre-primary, primary and high school. He is the proud father of four children and the happy husband of one wife.