FABI hosted the first Tuks Young Research Leader Programme (TYRLP) bring-and-share lunch on 27 June. The group of early career researchers gathered under the winter sun to share lunch with colleagues from different UP faculties and departments. FABI and TYRLP Director Professor Bernard Slippers welcomed the group and thanked everyone for their participation in this initiative. Cori Wielenga, TYRLP 2015 fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences introduced the idea for a casual lunch for the TYRLP group. Events of this kind were frequently held at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) and were extremely conducive to creating a collaborative culture in the workspace. 

FABIans Dr Tuan Duong and Dr Fahimeh Jami were amongst the TYRLP Fellows who attended. A group of FABI students also joined the lunch and engaged with the TYRLP Fellows. 

The intention with these monthly meetings is to create a relaxed and informal opportunity for like-minded Fellows to talk about their current ideas, projects or challenges. It’s a way to cement existing collaborations and create new ones. These gatherings will be hosted at the Future Africa campus from 2019 to absorb and contribute to the collaborative energy in that space. In the interim, lunches will take place in the FABI courtyard. Participants are requested to bring a bit of lunch to share to keep the gathering low maintenance yet enjoyable and effective. Going forward a monthly bring-and-share lunch is planned to be held on the last Wednesday of each month.