---

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) departments of Communication and Marketing, and Student Recruitment Services ‘virtually’ walked away with five international and eight national awards for projects implemented during 2020 and 2021.

“The recognition received from our peers is indicative of the quality projects and campaigns generated by the two departments. I am immensely proud of the national and international recognition, especially during a year when we all experienced challenges never imagined due to COVID-19. Being recognised by our peers for quality and innovative work is most rewarding and it demonstrates the dedication and commitment of highly innovative and creative teams,” says Lacea Loader, Director: Communication and Marketing at the UFS.

IABC Gold Quill Awards

The IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) recognises and awards excellence in strategic communication worldwide. Gold Quill is the only awards programme that honours the dedication, innovation, and passion of communicators on a global scale.
 
An international panel of professional communicators evaluated the entries at 11 global sites. Among the 482 entries received from 22 countries, 18 awards were presented to South African entries, and 5 were awarded to entries from the University of the Free State (UFS).

The following UFS staff members won IABC Gold Quill Awards of Excellence:

	Barend Nagel Department of Communication and Marketing	Category: Communication for the web Entry: 2020 UFS Virtual Open Day website
	Lelanie de Wet Department of Communication and Marketing	Category: Special and experiential events Entry: 2020 UFS Virtual Graduation Ceremony
	Ilze Bakkes Student Recruitment Services	Category: COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication  Entry: COVID-19 Response – Innovation for Differentiation

The following UFS staff members won IABC Gold Quill Awards of Merit:

	Moeketsi Mogotsi Department of Communication and Marketing	Category: Social media Entry: Social Media Engagement: 2020 UFS Virtual Graduation Ceremony
	Nomonde Mbadi Student Recruitment Services	Category: Customer relations Entry: UFS Kovsie2BOT (Chatbot)
	Ilze Bakkes Student Recruitment Services	Category: Marketing, advertising and brand communications Entry: 2020 Virtual Open Day

IABC Africa Silver Quill awards

The IABC Africa region recently announced the winners of the 2021 African Silver Quill Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit.

The Department of Communication and Marketing received two Excellence awards with high praise from the judges.

	Rulanzen Martin Communication and Marketing	Category: Diversity and Inclusion Entry: UFS Deaf Awareness Campaign
	Lelanie de Wet Communication and Marketing	Category: Employee Engagement Entry: 2021 April Virtual Graduation

MACE Excellence awards

The MACE (Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Higher Education) Excellence Awards recognises and celebrates excellence and the achievements of specialists and practitioners in marketing, advancement, and communication in higher education in South Africa.

In 2021, 109 awards were made to 11 institutions. A total of 163 entries were evaluated by 35 evaluators, and a moderator spent 511 hours evaluating entries. The UFS won 6 awards at the virtual awards ceremony.

MACE Gold awards:

	Ilze Bakkes Student Recruitment Services	Category: Crisis Management campaigns Entry: COVID-19 Response: Innovation for differentiation
	Barend Nagel Department of Communication and Marketing	Category: Websites Entry: UFS Virtual Open Day Web Design

MACE Silver awards:

	Nomonde Mbadi Student Recruitment Services	Category: Student recruitment campaigns Entry: Kovsie2BOT Chatbot
	Lelanie de Wet Communication and Marketing	Category: Digital: other digital media Entry: UFS COVID-19 Journey: Documentary Series
	Lelanie de Wet Communication and Marketing	Category: Events: Single and multi-day Entry: UFS Virtual Graduation Ceremony

MACE Bronze award:

	Moeketsi Mogotsi Department of Communication and Marketing	Category: Social media Entry: Social Media Engagement: 2020 UFS Virtual Graduation