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31 May 2018
Celebrating Africa the UFS way
The various events and initiatives that took place during the #UFSAfricaWeek.

The African Union was founded on 25 May 1963 and Africa Day is celebrated to mark the Union’s anniversary. However the entire month of May is dedicated to the commemoration of the continent’s freedom from colonialism and the unity of its diverse people.
 
A series of exuberant events were held on the Bloemfontein Campus last week. The UFS Debate Society officially opened the week, followed by the Annual Africa Day Memorial Lecture. The UFS Sasol Library then facilitated the Voices book launch. A group of students also served the community with meals in the spirit of ubuntu. The week culminated and closed with the UFS Africa Day Commemoration Panel Discussion.

UFS Debate Society: Africa Day Debate
Collectivism and striving for a unified African identity were the key debate points for the day. Tshiamo Malatji, chairperson of the UFS Debate Society, reflected on African histories, presenting a strong case for why indigenous Africans deserve liberation from a brutal past.
 
Lehakoe Masedi, one of the student speakers, outlined the role of communism in conjuring up an image of unity for African citizens and the diaspora. 

10th Annual Africa Day Memorial Lecture
Dr Rahul Rao shed some light on the topic of colonial statues from an international perspective by reflecting on the controversy surrounding the US Confederate statues and drawing from contemporary South African student activism. Dr Rao, a senior lecturer in politics at the SOAS University of London, presented this year’s memorial lecture titled, What do we mean when we talk about statues?, which was hosted by the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies.

UFS Library Africa Day Book Launch
Voices, a book by Kenyan author Abenea Ndago, was launched by the Department of English in collaboration with the Library and Information Services. The book is a compilation of short stories that encapsulate the experiences of Kenyan people living in rural villages and towns. The book explores the balance between two sides of the African story. “I wanted to bring to the fore a balanced story such as the role that was played by Africans in enslaving, disenfranchising and oppressing their fellow Africans, as well the role that was played by European sympathisers who supported liberation movements that stood against oppression, racism and discrimination,” said Ndago.
 
A meal in a jar
Members of the Student Representative Council together with residents of House Kestell spent the morning of 24 May 2018 preparing more than 100 meals. They then went to Heide Primary School and spent the afternoon sharing a hot and healthy meal with the learners.

UFS Africa Day Commemoration Panel Discussion
A panel of intellectual powerhouses such as the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Francis Petersen; Director of UFS Department of Internationalisation: Mr Cornelius Hagenmeier; Acting Director of the UFS Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice: JC van der Merwe; founder of Embrace a Sister organisation: Pumla Mgobhozi; attorney of the High Court of South Africa and former President of the Student Representative Council (SRC): Richard Chemaly; former SRC President and spokesperson for the ANC Chief Whip in the provincial legislature: Phiwe Mathe; and senior lecturer in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies: Dr Stephanie Cawood, fielded critical discussions of issues of the continental significance on Africa Day.
 
To quote one of the panellists, Dr Cawood, in her address on decolonising knowledge: “No form of knowledge is absolute. In order to decolonise knowledge we must first acknowledge and incorporate different world views in our curriculum.” Dr Cawood said this in reference to the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) which she views as a vital driving force for sustainable living and economic development.

Africa Day, at the end of the UFS Africa Week, which ran from 22–25 May 2018, marked the beginning of Africa Month and an endless effort geared towards maintaining unity in diversity.

 

News Archive

UFS in forefront with ASGI-SA initiative
2006-05-10

At the conceptualisation colloquium and stakeholder dialogue were from the left Dr Aldo Stroebel (senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate), Dr Edith Vries (acting Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Development Trust) and Prof Frans Swanepoel (Director: UFS Research Development Directorate).

UFS in forefront with ASGI-SA initiative

Two staff members of the University of the Free State (UFS) have been appointed as members of the advisory board of the national programme for the creation of small enterprises and jobs in the second economy.  This programme forms part of government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGI-SA).

Prof Frans Swanepoel, Director of the UFS Research Development Directorate and Dr Aldo Stroebel, senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate, are working with a team of experts from the UFS on a draft implementation strategy for the national programme.  Both Prof Swanepoel and Dr Stroebel are also associated to the UFS Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
 
“The strategy is being developed in collaboration with institutions like the Independent Development Trust, the Department of Agriculture, the National Development Agency and the Department of Trade and Industry,” says Prof  Swanepoel.  

The other team members of the UFS are Prof Basie Wessels, Director of the  Mangaung-University Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP) and Mr  Benedict Mokoena, project manager at the MUCPP.

Dr Stroebel was also member of the organising committee of a conceptualisation colloquium and stakeholder dialogue that was recently presented in Johannesburg.  The conference was attended by more than 400 delegates from government departments, higher-education institutions and civil society, including Dr Kobus Laubscher, member of the UFS Council.

The conference was facilitated by Ms Vuyo Mahlati, previously from the WK Kellogg Foundation’s Africa programme and opened by Ms Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs.   

“The colloquium formed the basis of an induction workshop during which a group of 150 individuals (50 teams of three) from all nine provinces, identified to initiate the implementation of the national programme, was trained and orientated towards an induction manual in collaboration with Hand-in-Hand, an Indian counterpart,” says Prof Swanepoel.

Dr Stroebel and Mr Benedict Mokoena formed part of the team to conceptualise and finalise this training manual.  The induction training includes a case study of a successful community self-help partnership model, namely the MUCPP at the UFS. Prof Wessels and Mr Mokoena are both playing a leading role in the further development of subsequent training initiatives throughout South Africa, in partnership with the relevant provincial departments.

“The involvement of the UFS in the programme is a compliment to us.  It reflects the value government sees in the use of academics and experts in the management of the ASGI-SA initiative.  It is also an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa and in the transformation and change that is taking place in our country,” says Prof Swanepoel.  

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
10 May 2006

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