Memorialisation of South Africa’s liberation struggle the focus of book discussion
23 SEPTEMBER 2022 |
STORY LEONIE BOLLEURS |
PHOTO SUPPLIED
In celebration of Heritage Month, the
Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted a round-table discussion on ‘Public History, Heritage, and Culture’ during an online Engaged Scholarship webinar. According to Prof Chitja Twala, Vice-Dean in the faculty and expert on African history, this platform was created to engage on topics of an academic nature and in the public interest.
He facilitated the event that focused on Public History, Heritage, and Culture in South Africa: The Struggle Continues, a book edited by
Dr Ali Khangela Hlongwane from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) and
Prof Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu from the University of South Africa (UNISA).
Social cohesion means the willingness of members of a community to work together by sharing skills, resources, and knowledge in order to reach a common goal. Social cohesion embraces what the Faculty of the Humanities stands for.
Patrick Letsatsi, one of the guests at the Faculty Committee meetings, explained the role of social cohesion.
Dr Khotso de Wee participated in a webinar highlighting the importance of social cohesion in South Africa today.
Philippolis Public Speaking Competition
The Unit for South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies and the Engagement Scholarship Division at the University of the Free State initiated this project in 2013.
The aim of the public speaking project is to emphasise the importance of mother tongues within the context of education, with the goal to improve academic performance. Learners are expected to participate in their mother tongues, which – in this area – are Afrikaans, Sesotho, Tswana, and Xhosa. Using local languages in more formal domains increase the prestige and status of these languages. It also supports the development and awareness of the importance of multilingualism. In addition, the competitors learn to speak in public, to speak with confidence, and to structure an opinion.
Community upliftment project at Boikhuco Old Age Home
The Social Work Student Association has adopted the concept of ‘Ubuntu’ as theme for 2021, resulting in them contributing to the upliftment of the Boikhuco Old Age Home. To achieve this goal, the Portfolio Head: Community Engagement, Mapaseka Tlaletsi, launched a raffle competition where the winner had a chance to win an UberEATS voucher to the value of R200. This initiative to raise funds was also in celebration of International Day of Older Persons.
The R1 400 raised through the raffle competition was used to buy toiletries and fruit for Boikhuco Old Age Home residents, which was delivered on 6 October 2021. The support from the social work community at the University of the Free State and other students has proven that “alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”- Helen Keller.