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02 November 2018 | Story Charlene Stanley | Photo Johan Roux
Grassroots Champions Rising Above Challenges
Prof Richard Teare, President of the Global University of Lifelong Learning (GULL) (far left), Karen Venter, Head of Service Learning (second from left) and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director of Community Engagement (second from right) with graduates of GULL’s non-academic programme.
Reciprocity. That’s what it’s all about when it comes to engaged teaching and learning in a community context.  Everyone must benefit – which includes getting recognition for what you’ve achieved,” says Karen Venter, Head of Service Learning in the Directorate: Community Engagement.
   
This conviction was put into practice at the recent Grassroots Community Engagement Awards. It was an opportunity to thank and award all the role players who made a success of this year’s Learning Festival, presented in partnership with Bloem Shelter on the Bloemfontein Campus earlier this year. During the festival, 55 skills development workshops were offered in a collaborative effort to create sustainable income-generating micro enterprises.

Global University for Lifelong Learning graduates

The awards function also doubled as a proper ‘Cap and Gown’ ceremony for 18 participants in the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) programme. For the past three years, they’ve been involved in action learning on a uniquely designed Professional Bachelor Pathway to Holistic Development. This pathway is rooted in spiritual, personal, and professional development, where the learning of skills for entrepreneurship is key to gain personal and professional viability, moving from dependence to independence.

“GULL’s approach is to give people in the community a chance to advance themselves. Our focus is professional and not academic. It’s about life skills and professional skills where people don’t have the funds or qualifications to follow an academic route,” explained Prof Richard Teare, President of GULL, who came all the way form the UK to officiate the ceremony.
  
Academics and Life Skills running parallel

“What makes the UFS involvement in our programme so great, is that it’s run parallel with an excellent academic programme offered by the university.”

He emphasised the importance of graduation ceremonies, as it instilled a sense of pride and gave graduates an opportunity to reflect on how far they’ve come in improving their own circumstances. 

“This is a deep form of learning, because we are enabling people to move from their difficult circumstances and release their own inner potential.”

News Archive

Professor from Cambridge University addresses young scholars
2017-07-18

 Description: Cambridge readmore Tags: : Young Scholars Initiative, International Studies Group, University of Cambridge, University of the Free State, Prof Gareth Austin 

In the first conference of its kind on the African continent,
the Universityof the Free State’s Bloemfontein Campus
was privileged to host the Young Scholars Initiative conference.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan


“It doesn’t matter where a concept originates from if it works. The problem arises when the concept does not work.”

These were the words of Prof Gareth Austin in his address at the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI). His keynote focused on the “Economic History in Africa’s Decolonisation and Development”.

The African economic history

Prof Austin, a professor in Economic History at the University of Cambridge, discussed how African economic history has always been about development, and also gave a brief periodisation of the economic historiography of Africa.

In his closing remarks he focused more on history and economics. “Economics is a sensible approach to take, where history matters because of the sense of context.”

Reflecting on the African experience

A total of 65 young and senior scholars from five continents attended the conference Decolonising Africa? The Economic History of Development, hosted by the YSI in partnership with the International Studies Group at the UFS.

The conference, held from 8 to 9 June 2017, provided an opportunity to reflect on the African experience from an historical perspective and to assess the current position of the continent in the global economy. It discussed new themes in development, such as the role of women, minorities, and entrepreneurs.

The conference focused on how the business community has operated in an Africa that still faces inequalities and unfair terms of trade and lacks a unified political will.

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