From humble roots to Unesco chair: Prinola Govenden’s inspiring journey
· Citizen
Growing up in a family that valued education has encouraged Prinola Govenden to achieve more in life.
Govenden, 40, is an associate professor in the University of Johannesburg (UJ) department of communication and media. She was born in Isipingo on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in an educated and churchgoing family.
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Humble beginnings
When she was about two years old, her family moved to Johannesburg. On her arrival in the city, Govenden did not attend a crèche because at the time they could not afford it.
Instead, her mother opted for homeschooling when she came home from work. Govenden later attended Meredale Primary School and Mondeor High School – both model C schools.
After Grade 12, she went to Wits University to study for a PhD in media studies and graduated in July 2019. Even though she grew up in Gauteng, she loves that she was born in KZN.
“My family’s roots trace back to my great-grandfather, who was brought from India by the British and worked on a plantation. I spent the first two years of my life in my late grandparents’ house in Chatsworth.
“They played an anchor role in my life by giving me unconditional love and taught me many life lessons and principles.”
Grandparents’ sacrifices inspired resilience
Her grandfather was at one stage president of the Baptist Association of South Africa. Her mother’s family grew up poor, but her granny used the salary she was earning from a local factory to send Govenden’s mother to university – rare for a woman at the time.
“My grandmother even left her job as a factory worker to take care of me so that my mother could pursue her career in teaching. My granny’s sacrifices ignited a legacy of resilient strength in me. This legacy has always been one of the main drivers in my career.”
She attributed her successes to her supportive family, including her three siblings. And she has also thanked her hardworking father, an educated figure who started in an entry-level admin position and climbed the ladder to become a financial accountant.
“Through the company he worked for, I was able to get a bursary and study.”
Academic career flourished at UJ
Her job at UJ largely entails the teaching and supervision of honours, masters, and PhD candidates.
“I have been teaching our research methodologies and practice courses for the honours and second-year students, as well as the honours course in global journalism.”
She joined UJ in July 2020 as a post-doctoral, regarded as an entry level position in academia, after a PhD at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study under the leadership of Prof Bongani Ngqulunga.
“Within this empowering, kind, non-competitive, feminist, equality-type of leadership and institutional cultural space, I found myself thriving like I never did before and was quickly promoted through the academic ranking system in the last few years.”
She was recently appointed as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) chair in fostering cultural inclusivity and equity in digital media in Africa, from 2026 to 2030.
Unesco role focuses on digital inclusivity
At Unesco, she focuses more on empirical research, impactful partnerships: government, local, Pan-African, global, AI, telecommunications, digital media corporates and societal impact, such as policy briefs, dissemination of research findings through Unesco reports, seminars, and public engagements.
“A Unesco chair is a prestigious title conferred by the organisation to institutions of higher education around the world. Chairs act as think-tanks and bridge-builders between the academic world, civil society, local communities, research and policy-making, thereby strengthening Unesco’s research-training-policy-society nexus.
“The activities and projects undertaken by chairs aspire to foster public intellectual debate, ethical reflections, standard setting, research and scientific progress, open knowledge and information, and education in a spirit of international cooperation,” Govenden said.
She is one of Unesco’s 1 000 chairs across over 120 countries, focused on science, technology and innovation policy. Unesco played an intellectual role within the United Nations to contribute towards its mandate of sustainable development.
“As the chair, I see this achievement as a culmination of the five years I have been in UJ and what the institution has invested in me. I have found UJ to be a space of great humanity where even the top leadership are approachable, accessible and genuinely care and celebrate your career progress.
“My experience has been that at UJ, we are led by genuinely good people, with a great sense of humanity and who regard gender equality and women’s empowerment as a fundamental focus. This aligns with gender equality as a global priority for Unesco, aiming to eradicate inequality through education, science, culture and communication,” Govenden said.
Faith and discipline remain central values
Her message to youngsters who would like to emulate her is simple: they must not be entitled and ungrateful, respect their parents and work hard.
She grew up in church and she has been a member of Rhema Bible Church in Randburg since she was 13 years old.
Her favourite meal is a good Durban lamb curry or crab curry and her favourite drinks include any fruity and nonalcoholic drink.
But maybe her motto sums Govenden up best: If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary – “great words by American author Jim Rohn”.