Last week, myself and Laura Secker had the absolute privilege to hear Chris Lubbe speak.
Chris grew up in Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape and became a public speaker because he refused to stay silent under apartheid. He later worked alongside leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. His story is one of resistance, imprisonment and survival, but the bit that stayed with me wasn’t just the history.
It was his humanity.
He spoke about the themes that run through his life, resilience, determination, courage and the transformative power of forgiveness. And he flipped forgiveness from a passive act into something active: “the best F‑word I know.” In his telling, forgiveness isn’t forgetting or minimising harm. It’s a conscious, powerful choice that frees you to move forward.
For those of us working in education, where people can become hardened by systems and pressure, that message cut through. Forgiveness as leadership. Forgiveness as liberation. Forgiveness as a conscious, powerful choice.
We both left humbled and reminded that the values we model matter just as much as the systems we build.
What role does forgiveness play in your practice?
