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02 October 2018 | Story UFS | Photo Supplied
Better yourself at Adelaide Tambo Public Library
According to Dr Magteld Smith the American Space in the Adelaide Tambo Public Library provides an opportunity for visitors to connect and learn about the US.

The new and upgraded American Corner at the Adelaide Tambo Public Library in Bloemfontein is a must visit for all driven individuals who are looking to better themselves. 

"The opportunity the American Corner provides is something all teachers, students and pupils must know about," said Dr Magteld Smith a lecturer and researcher in otorhinolaryngology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS). The library, on the corner of Charles and West Burger streets, was renovated recently. As part of the overall renovation project, the US Consulate General in Johannesburg refurbished the Corner and provided new computers and audio/visual equipment to enhance its educational and cultural programmes. It is equipped with the very best audio and online technology for audio- and e-books with free Wi-Fi, said Dr Smith.

The US Consulate General in Johannesburg and the Mangaung Metro Municipality renewed their partnership when the Executive Mayor of Mangaung Metro Cllr. Olly Mlamleli and US Consul General Michael McCarthy signed an agreement for the American Corner Mangaung at the library.

The American Space in the library provides an opportunity for visitors to connect and learn about the US through books, movies, and magazines. It provides a space for information and engagement on issues such as educational advice for those who want to study in the US, workshops on a range of topics from career skills to English language learning and the introduction of 21st-century digital skills, and academic resources for visitors.

Dr Smith said it was essential that teachers, pupils and scholars make use of these opportunities and facilities at the Adelaide Tambo Public Library.

"Very few people know of this," she said.

Dr Smith, who is deaf, was a fellow at the University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, through the US Department of State.

News Archive

UFS commemorates life and legacy of Bram Fischer
2013-04-26

 

26 April 2013
Photo: Stephen Collett

  • Speech - Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture (Pdf)

The university celebrated the life and legacy of the struggle icon Bram Fischer – the Kovsie Alumnus who helped shape the landscape of South African history. The university paid homage to the anti-apartheid stalwart on 26 April 2013, hosting the first Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture with well-known academic and human rights lawyer Prof Barney Pityana as the guest speaker. Prof Pityana was joined on the Bloemfontein Campus by Fischer’s daughters Ruth Rice and Ilse Wilson and his nephew Peter.

Early in the day, the Fischer sisters honoured their father’s legacy speaking at a critical conversation hosted by the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice. They later joined Prof Pityana in a discussion with students where Prof Pityana spoke about the history of the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and the role of student leaders.

In his memorial later in the evening, Prof Pityana highlighted Fischer’s contribution in the struggle for justice, notably his role as lawyer in the Rivonia trial. He gave a critical evaluation of South Africa’s legal system speaking at length about accessibility and transformation of the system.

In his thank you speech Prof Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law, reminded the audience of the prominent role the Fischer family played in the history of the UFS. Fischer’s father Adv Percy Fischer was the very first law academic and founder of the Faculty of Law at the Grey University College, now the UFS. One of his earliest students was CR Swart, the first LLB graduate at the UFS. Fittingly, the inaugural lecture was hosted in the CR Swart Building, home to the Faculty of Law.

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