2023 Annual Report

My first reflection centres around the notion that the Centre for AAC team is a dedicated team. We are committed to the vision of improving the lives of persons with severe disabilities and their families. This ongoing commitment has been bolstered in the last four years as the team focused on developing innovative solutions and partnerships to realise our vision. 

Second, the Centre for AAC team is a resilient team that can weather transitions and change. We experienced changes in staff and leadership in the wider university, at the Centre, as well as among our own team members. We embraced new colleagues and harnessed their strengths, which has brought a new energy to the Centre. We successfully applied for a position under the auspices of the New Generation
Academic Programme, and we are so pleased to have a new member of the team.
We are saddened by Prof Bornman's move to a new university. We acknowledge her three decades at the Centre. Collectively we admire her leadership qualities, astute skills as an internationally renowned researcher and prolific writer. We will miss her smile, laughter, creativity and bright personality at the Centre. We are pleased that she will continue her ties with the CAAC as a research affiliate for the next three years.

Third, we have striven for excellence in our research, teaching and community engagements and successfully managed to integrate these three aspects in innovative ways. In 2023 it culminated in the Centre receiving the Humanities and Social Sciences – Digital Humanities for Community Engagement award for a
collaborative teaching and research project with the Department of Information Design at UP and University College London.

Fourth, we remain intellectually curious and continue asking critical questions of how we can partner with our communities, as well as how we teach, do research, and communicate about what we do. I believe that this culture will continue to hold us in good stead as we navigate the future.

Fifth, we are a team committed to each other’s growth. This is evident in the diverse work being done by our group of unique team members. Over the four years, we have developed the ability to have a shared leadership culture in terms of how the CAAC evolves.