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About Carnegie Corporation
Rookaya
Bawa
Program Officer
International Development
Rookaya
Bawa, a veteran librarian leader with seventeen years of experience
in South Africa, has recently joined the Corporation as a program
officer in the International Development program. She brings a wealth
of experience in education, government and private business to her
new position. At the Corporation, Bawa will oversee the revitalizing
libraries program, which is aimed at strengthening the public library
systems in Africa through capacity building.
Prior to joining the Corporation, Bawa was the program coordinator
of the Colleges Collaboration Fund at the National Business Initiative.
This Fund is a project of businesses in South Africa aimed at improving
college capacity and improving the link between education and work.
From 1995 to February 2002, Bawa served as the director and head
of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Information and Library Services.
In this position, she was responsible for the management of the
procurement, processing and distribution of information in different
media and the planning and building of new libraries. She was also
responsible for the management of change that was required with
regard to the Reconstruction and Development Program and a host
of new legislation that has been put in place in the years following
the end of apartheid in South Africa.
A specialist in the area of information studies in the context of
development, Bawa has worked on numerous policy initiatives at the
provincial and national levels of government in Africa. Her lecturing
experience has been significant, having taught at all levels within
the school system. Bawa has taught high school students, as well
as both undergraduates and graduates at the University of Natal
and the University of Durban-Westville. She has also lectured at
the University of Durban-Westville’s campus in various information
studies and teacher education courses. While at the University of
Natal, Bawa helped to establish a new course in school librarianship
and media education development as well as establishing and running
orientation programs for student intake.
She
is a published author and has presented numerous papers on educating
and training school librarians, the role of the public library in
supporting education in the KwaZulu-Natal region in South Africa,
and on development issues in general.
Bawa
earned her undergraduate degree in Information Studies from the
University of Natal, a Masters in Education from the University
of Durham in the U.K., and a Ph.D. in Information Studies, also
from the University of Natal.
She
is the mother of two daughters.
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