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09 April 2018 Photo Supplied
CGAS awards second AS scholarship Chetima Melchisedek
Chètima Melchisedek is the recipient of the UFS/AS Young African Scholarship is planning a visit to the UFS Centre for Gender and Africa Studies in 2019.

Chétima Melchisedek from the University of Ottawa, Canada, has been awarded the 2018 UFS/AS Young African Scholarship. “An award like the UFS/AS Young African Scholar is a great accomplishment for a young scholar,” said Chétima.

Melchisedek is the 2018 Gordon F Henderson Fellow at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa and is affiliated  with the University of Maroua in Cameroon. “I am also very happy and honoured to be affiliated to the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the UFS. To be able to work with the university is a privilege I am delighted to receive.”

He says the disciplines within Africa studies should be researched by Africans from the continent. “My aim was also to be able to share my knowledge through publications in established journals. In fact, today, this is the only way to be recognised as an authoritative voice on African studies from Africa,” he said.

Scholarship provides platform to young researchers 

The Young African Scholar Award is an initiative by the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies. It seeks to strengthen efforts to promote internationally recognised African scholarship within Africa Studies.   

The programme provides young researchers the platform to publish their work and to build an international network with organisations such as the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the German African Studies Association (Vereinigung von Afrikanisten in Deutschland/VAD), and the UFS Centre for Gender and Africa Studies.

“The award is given to the best, publishable research article contribution by an emerging African scholar to the prestigious African Spectrum journal,” said Dr Stephanie Cawood, Acting Director of CGAS. The prerequisite for the award is that applicants must be from Africa or affiliated with African institutions.  

As part of the prize, the winner receives a three-year affiliation as research fellow with the UFS GGAS and prize money of R5000.

News Archive

Co-architect of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland to present Annual Reconciliation Lecture today
2015-03-03

Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa

To emphasise the University of the Free State’s Human Project, the UFS has positioned itself as an institution that is recognised across the world not only for excellence in academic achievement, but also in human reconciliation. The Annual Reconciliation Lecture, whose organising committee is chaired by Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, is a unique and major initiative to enhance this important vision of our university.

This year, Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa, will present the Fourth Annual Reconciliation Lecture at the Centenary Hall on Thursday 5 March 2015.

Colm McGivern was brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the conflict that has come to be known as the ‘Troubles.’ His early experiences of conflict, sectarianism, and living in a divided society have driven his career, and his personal commitment to peace-building and promoting reconciliation.  He was a student leader at Queen’s University in Belfast during the time of the first IRA Ceasefires in the 1990s, and then worked in the Higher and Further Education sectors, and at a community level with peace-building groups across Northern Ireland and internationally. He was Director of the British Council in Northern Ireland for four years and, in that role, facilitated discussions between divided communities before and during the Ceasefires and Peace Process, with a particular focus on bringing young people together across Ireland.

In his role as Director of the British Council, McGivern has created thousands of cultural and educational connections between the UK and SA. Every year, he ensures that young South Africans can get access to educational and cultural opportunities that are life-changing while deepening their connection with the UK.

A highlight of this year’s lecture will be a performance by musicians from the Odeion School of Music, Tumi Ntantiso (soprano), Bertha Menyatso (mezzo-soprano), Malefetsane Mofokeng (baritone), and Cezarre Strydom (piano). They will be performing works from ‘Tales of Hoffmann’ by Jacques Offenbach, among others.

Members of the public and media are welcome.

RSVP: Jo-Anne Naidoo, e-mail: Naidooja@ufs.ac.za

Date: Thursday 5 March 2015
Time: 17:30 (please be seated by 17:15)
Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

 

The event will be streamed live on: http://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

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