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13 November 2018
Photo Moeketsi Mogotsi
Kovsies took an active stance against sexual and gender-based violence through various campaigns in October.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that South Africa will launch a national strategic plan to tackle gender-based violence (GBV) after years of lobbying by activists. Speaking at the Presidential GBV Summit, the head of state commended activists who called for a nationwide shut down in August in response to high levels of GBV and femicide in the country. He says the government is now reviewing national GBV plans and will develop a national action plan.
Activism at the UFS
One of the efforts launched by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Gender and Sexual Equity (GSE) Office in the fight against this plague is the # RESPECTME campaign. From 11 to 26 October 2018, the university held its own 16 Days of Activism.
Geraldine Lengau of the GSE Office believes that minority groups deserve the same amount of respect as all other citizens of this country, which is the core concept of the campaign. “The Campaign is a loudhailer to say, ‘just because I am different from you’, be it gender or sexuality, it doesn’t mean that I deserve any less respect,” she highlighted.
Lengau added: “Activism will forever remain important on our campuses as it creates an environment where the community is made aware of matters that would otherwise not have mattered had they not been publicised. Also activism becomes all the more important in advancing the university’s strategic plan.”
Policies advocating against GBV
As stipulated in the UFS Sexual Harassment, Misconduct and Sexual Violence Policy the university strongly believes in the principle of human dignity that is entrenched in the Constitution of South Africa (1996) which resolves to ensure a safe working and study environment for students.
Student Affairs also led a campaign which aimed to highlight the ongoing scourge of sexual and gender-based violence, in line with the policy. “The university is working relentlessly at endorsing the aspects and characteristic traits of respect amongst all of its stakeholders in an effort to reduce the notion of gender-based violence,” said the Dean of Student Affairs, Pura Mgolombane.
Wayde keeps winning off the track
2016-11-24
Wayde van Niekerk won an accolade as the
best male athlete at the Olympic Games in
Rio de Janeiro. He received the award at the
Association of National Olympic Committees
awards.
Photo: Johan Roux.
Although Wayde van Niekerk hasn’t competed in several months, the golden boy still keeps winning off the track. The 400 m Olympic champion has been shining ever since his feat at the Olympic Games, with awards such as the best male athlete in Rio de Janeiro.
Nominated for IAAF and SA Sports Awards
He is also a finalist for the 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year and has been nominated for three awards (Sport Star of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, and the People’s Choice Award) at the South African Sports Awards. The IAAF winner will be announced on 2 December 2016 in Monaco and the SA Sports Awards take place on 27 November 2016 in Bloemfontein.
The athlete from the University of the Free State is one of six nominees – three male and three female – for the IAAF award. The high jumper Hestrie Cloete (2003) is the only South African who has won this award.
Van Niekerk won all three above-mentioned awards at the SA Sports Awards in 2015. Tannie Ans Botha, his coach, is nominated as Coach of the Year.
Accolades keep rolling in for Kovsie star
Van Niekerk’s performance in Rio, where he won the 400 m in a world-record time of 43,03 seconds, resulted in him being chosen as the best male athlete at the Association of National Olympic Committees awards on 15 November 2016 in Doha, Qatar.
The 24-year-old Kovsie has also received numerous other accolades in 2016. He was KovsieSport’s Sportsman of the Year for a fourth consecutive year and received an Ambassador’s Award at the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards. Botha was given an Executive Management Award at the same function.