Think you know everything there is to know about Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE)? Let’s see!

* MACE evolved from a number of former organisations, starting with Public Relations Officers from South African Universities (PROSAU) in the early 1980s.

* In 1989 PROSAU merged with Public Relations Officers from South African Technikons (PROTECH) to form the Association for Marketing, Communication and Development Professionals in Higher Education (UNITECH).

* FET colleges (now known as TVET colleges) were incorporated into UNITECH in 2005, and in 2008 UNITECH was renamed Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE).

* In addition to its national structure, MACE consists of six regions: the Central region, Free State, Northern region, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.

* Regional programmes involve the implementation of regional events (such as training seminars, professional development interventions, networking opportunities, information-sharing/ research undertakings, etc.) hosted by one of the regional member institutions.

* MACE hosts various workshops and events on both regional and national level annually, including national workshops, a Directors’ Symposium, an Annual Conference, and the flagship MACE Excellence Awards held at a gala dinner during the Annual Conference.

* The University of Pretoria hosted the 2022 MACE Conference and Excellence Awards. The theme of the 2022 Conference was ‘The Power of Staying Relevant’. It was the first Conference since 2019 because the 2020 and 2021 Conferences had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.