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22 May 2018 Photo iStock
UFSAfricaWeek - Sharing a meal to celebrate Africa Day
Since the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963, the day has been renowned as Africa Day, celebrated widely across the world and particularly in Africa to signify Africa’s identity and unity.

As a build-up for Africa Day celebrations, the Student Representative Council’s (SRC) executive committee of the International Students Council collectively came up with the ‘Meal in a jar’ initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to reach out to the community, interact and promote unity as a way of celebrating Africa day. It is also to bring to life the sense of integration and inclusion for international students. “From the time one sets foot at the University of the Free State (UFS), the only community most of us will know is the UFS community,” said Andrei Tendai, the SRC International Students Council representative.
 
The international students’ council in collaboration with Elanja Children’s Initiative identified Heide Primary School in Heidedal for this project. Through the ‘Meal in a jar’ initiative, international students will have the opportunity to engage with the broader community outside the institution’s walls in a fun and unique way. Together with volunteers from House Kestell and other partners, the SRC on 24 May 2018 will prepare and share a meal in a jar with 130 learners.

“This project emphasises the efforts by the SRC to denote a significant shift from an attitude of international students’ isolation and exclusion, to an inclusive and open policy that encourages integration and the promotion of the right to equality,” said Tendai.
 
Celebrating Africa day is also about working towards an Africa that relies on the potential of its people, and whose development is people-driven especially for women, youth and children. 

For more information on this project, contact Sonya Kapfumvuti on 062 258 2776.

News Archive

UFS hosts a successful New Music Indaba
2015-08-18

  

Held at the University of the Free State’s Odeion School of Music (OSM), the NewMusicSA’s New Music Indaba 2015 featured works which Clare Loveday described as “breathtaking, discreet, and perfectly balanced.”

Loveday, one of South Africa’s acclaimed music critics and was Composer-in-Residence for the annual Johannesburg International Mozart Festival, attended the Indaba from 21-26 July 2015. In a review of Saturday’s gala concert, she referred to recitals of this nature as an “essential part of the South African musical landscape, providing musicians and composers a space in which to express their world.”

Staff and students of the OSM were extensively involved in facilitating the festivities as a symbol of commitment to South Africa and international contemporary art music. The OSM Camerata under the baton of Xavier Cloete performed two works by South African composer Hendrik Hofmeyr well as a work by young Argentinian composer Diego Soifer entitled Mille Regretz .The festival featured music theory lectures, a variety of workshops, roundtable discussions ,concerts as well as an outreach programme.

Loveday described the highlight of her Indaba experience as “A delicate construction of sounds and silences that drew the listener into a focused and intense sound world,” a highlight created by the visiting German composer, Charlotte Seither’s “Far From Distance” for piano, clarinet, and cello. The concert evening culminated with Diale Mabitsela's "Friday Nights at Six," adding to the spectacular nature of the festival.

Throughout the week, classical chamber works featuring South African New Music Ensemble (SANME), the Choir of Christ Church Arcadia, and the Odeion Vocal Consort were performed and well-received. Bringing the five-day event to a conclusion was a choral mass at the Bloemfontein Anglican Cathedral, featuring an “Agnus Dei” written by George T. King.
 
Douglas Scott, Curator of the 2015 Indaba, reflected on it as a great success, saying that, “most of the participants agreed the event was a wonderful opportunity simply to hear different voices from the composition community juxtaposed with one another.”

From Scott’s perspective, the principal goal was to foster communication between artists with different visions, and to reach out to the local community.

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