From shouting at Hendrik Verwoerd in Durban City Hall in 1966, attending Chief Albert Luthuli’s funeral in 1967, participating in the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the then University of Natal, fighting against the apartheid authoritarian culture as a teacher, serving 10 years as a city councillor in Durban, and playing a role in the desegregation of facilities, Mr Crispin Hemson has always actively advocated for peace, education, and non-violence.
The former Director of the International Centre of Nonviolence (ICON) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) will be graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences Specialising in Peace Building, at the DUT 2025 Spring Graduation Ceremony that will take place at Olive Convention Centre (OCC) in Durban on Friday, 19 September 2025.
Mr Hemson, who is a twin, was born in Florida Road, Durban, with his brother after his parents relocated to South Africa during World War II, where his father was to install radar facilities.
“We grew up in complacent middle-class White society, but from 1965, when we went to the University of Natal, we began to connect with the lives of Black leaders, such as Steve Biko. I was on the Howard College SRC, and we interacted with the SRC based at the Medical School. My older brother became a leading labour activist and was put under house arrest, and then went into exile.
I have maintained my interest in politics; I served 10 years as a city councillor in Durban during the apartheid years and played a role in the desegregation of facilities. I have been involved in sports development and environmental action,” he said.
Mr Hemson said he was very pleased with the completion of his PhD and was looking forward to acting on the results of his thesis titled: Educating teachers for Peace in a Context of Violence, and is encouraged by the examiners’ positive comments to take the work ahead.
“I am determined to apply the central findings of my doctoral work through practical engagement and further research. I do have both a strong sense of familiarity with the problems we face of being in a society scarred by both past and present violence, as well as a sense of confidence that we do know how to work with people in ways that acknowledge fully that past and help them move beyond it,” said Mr Hemson.
He said he was going to run an extension of the facilitator development work that he did in his doctoral study, with academics and community educators at DUT.
Mr Hemson acknowledged DUT’s contribution to his academic and professional journey and hailed the institution’s ENVISION2030 values and principles and how all that made his time with DUT so positive.
“I have had two marvellous supervisors, Dr Simoné Plüg, tough but very supportive, and Prof Geoff Harris, the most thoughtful person. I enjoyed my time as Director of ICON and found DUT to be a very open and flexible environment to work in. I like the practical orientation and the close connection between theory and application. The Research Office was always helpful,” he said.
Pictured: Mr Crispin Hemson who will be obtaining his Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences Specialising in Peace Building at the DUT 2025 Spring Graduation.
Thulasizwe Nkomo
