Sthembiso bids farewell to GCRO to pursue PhD at the University of Bristol

On 30 August 2024, Sthembiso Pollen Mkhize departed from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) after a remarkable tenure that began in October 2019. Sthembiso joined the GCRO as a research intern, contributing to the flagship Quality of Life survey,and was later promoted to Junior Researcher in October 2021.

During his time at the GCRO, Sthembiso was an integral part of the team overseeing the Quality-of-Life survey from 2019 to 2024. He made significant contributions to academic scholarship, publishing seven journal articles, including one in a high-impactjournal in human geography and another that marks the first use of gender andsexual/romantic attraction variables within a population-based African study, Quality of Life survey. Additionally, he published a book chapter, four op-eds, seven GCRO outputs participated in five media interviews, and delivered 14 presentations at government meetings as well as local and international conferences.

At the GCRO, Sthembiso led the Queering Social Survey Research project, which advocates for the inclusion of questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, and diverse sex variations in censuses and social surveys. This work has emphasised the importance of nuanced data collection in reflecting the diverse experiences within the LGBTIQ+ community. Sthembiso is now set to embark on a PhD in Human Geography at the University of Bristol, under the supervision of Dr Joseph Day, Professor Susan Parnell (both from the University of Bristol), and Professor Andrew Tucker from the University of Cape Town. His PhD research will focus on integrating meaningful inclusion of LGBTIQ+ individuals into urban governance planning and policies in South Africa, a pursuit inspired by the success of a QSSR seminar series that he conceptualised and conducted at GCRO in late 2022.

Sthembiso remains open to collaborative work in areas related to social justice, inclusion/exclusion, youth health, gender and sexuality, and quality of life and well-being.

Interested individuals can reach out via email at sthepollen.mkhize@gmail.com.