Following a Gala-funded visit to Wits University (South Africa) in August 2024 to explore research collaboration and partnerships, Dr Rosalchen Whitecross (Senior Lecturer in Criminology in School of Sciences) has now been appointed as a Research Associate at Wits University. The partnership will focus on collaborating with Stacy Hardy and the Wits Department of Creative Writing to foster interdisciplinary research to address pressing social transformation and justice through innovative creative and scholarly work.

Planned collaborative projects in the early stages of development include:

• Development of a new MA programme in Creative Writing at Wits focusing on Narratives for Social Transformation rooted in multimodal narrative scholarship, collaborative community-based research and creative-critical practice with the focus on criminal justice and prisons.

• Prison Libraries initiative – aim to develop prison libraries in South African correctional facilities focusing on African prison literature and creating accessible reading groups for incarcerated individuals.

• Creative writing workshops with women in prison prioritising inclusivity and diverse literacy levels – linked with NICRO to develop community engagement by hosting events that raise awareness of the lived experiences of incarcerated women in South Africa.

Rosa would like to thank to Prof Ian Gadd and the GALA team for funding and supporting her visit and making such exciting collaborations possible.