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14 February 2018 Photo Moeketsi Mogotsi
Countdown to music, art and fun as Kovsie ACT festival approaches
Kovsie students in the process of building their Eco vehicles

The countdown has begun to the Kovsie-ACT music festival that will take place on 17 February 2018 at the Cross Country Fields.

With just a few days left before the main event where students and the community will be wowed by performances from the likes of Prince Kaybee, Jack Parow and Shekinah, students can look forward to the "Social Cohesion" college festivities namely: the West College Project Neon party, East College Graduation party, Central College Yellow party, South College Feballoween party, North College Cowboys and Crooks party, and finally the Kovsie-ACT Fiesta Mexican party.

Each day leading up to the main event, senior on-campus residence students will be working on the building of their various Eco vehicles. Students will be grouped in their designated colleges at the UFS Rag Farm, with the support of the first-years, pending the Eco vehicle race that takes place on Friday 16 February 2018 from 13:00. The ACT office is working towards obtaining sponsors for the overall winners of the race. Their aim is to give the college that wins the race a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend an official international car race, where they will be represented by their residence committees. The following race criteria apply: 

Race criteria:

Drag race

Fastest time taken to cover distance wins

Slalom race

Fastest time taken to complete course minus penalties

Obstacle course

Fastest time taken to complete course wins (Obstacles will be introduced on the day, no preparation)

Three lap-race

No winner, just preparation for final endurance race but drivers must change each lap

Endurance race

Longest distance covered

 

Students will also be working on art projects in the form of a canvas that must be made of waste materials such as plastic, scrap metal and/or sustainable organic materials. The work must be between three and five metres high and two to four metres wide. It should be durable and not perish if it is placed outdoors for a year. It must be accompanied by a manifesto that explains the theme and symbolism of the artwork so that the five colleges can effectively illustrate what is important to them and their community.

First-year students have also been assigned to participate in projects that engage with local secondary schools in the Bloemfontein area. The content of the projects will be directed through a short learning programme that will take place during the course of the year.

The Kovsie ACT team looks forward to the activities at the Rag Farm, and encourages students to attend and take part in their numbers. For more information about Kovsie ACT visit the UFS Rag page or the Ofm official website.

 

News Archive

Deaf Awareness Month empowers the hearing impaired
2015-09-21

There are more sign languages in the world than spoken languages. About 600 000 deaf South Africans have the South African Sign Language (SASL) as their first language. There are about 40 schools for the deaf in South Africa. 90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents. Only about 30% of speech is visible on the lips.

How many of these fundamental facts did you know?

Deaf Awareness Month serves to educate hearing communities about issues that the deaf population face on a daily basis, as well as to honour the history and culture of people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. For the past 70 years, the University of the Free State (UFS) has dedicated September to hosting events around the topic of hearing impairment.

The theme of ‘With South African Sign Language rights, our children can!’

This year’s theme had learners from Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind, hearing impaired UFS students, and Prof Jonathan Jansen engaged in a conversation around empowerment at a picnic held on Monday 7 September 2015 at the Red Square on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Through a sign language interpreter, Matshela, a grade 12 learner, explained that he felt empowered by the efforts the university has made to embrace and empower individuals with disabilities. He then revealed his intentions of pursuing Information Technology or Social Work studies at Kovsies.

Clifford Machete, a first-year Administration student at the university, stated how sign language interpreters gave him an ‘I can’ attitude when he first arrived at university.  “As a deaf person, I see that I am able to learn with the help of sign language interpreters. There is accessibility at the university, and I am so proud to be a student here and part of Deaf Awareness Month.”

Susan Lombaard, Lecturer and Acting Chairperson at the Department of South African Sign Language, believes that Deaf Awareness Month is about promoting human dignity.

“We want to show the world that deaf people can do everything, and that their language is as strong and important as any spoken language.”

For more information regarding Deaf Awareness Month activities, contact the South African Sign Language Department on 051 401 2251.

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