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05 October 2018
The public participation process regarding the review of the position of the MT Steyn statue in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus is concluded and the reflective column in front of the statue has been removed. The reflective column was placed in front of the statue to elevate engagement and solicit comments from the university community regarding the position of the statue.
 
The public participation process started on 9 July and was concluded on 9 September 2018. During this process, the university community had several opportunities to submit oral and written submissions regarding the position of the statue. The oral and written submissions received during the public participation process were analysed by an independent analyst and a report was provided to the special task team. The broad themes that emerged from the public participation process included opposition to the current location; opposition to the removal; removal to alternative positions off campus; and the addition of other statues next to the statue.
 
The public participation process was by no means a vote on the matter; the aim was to obtain as many opinions and comments about the position of the statue as possible, as it forms part of a broader endeavour to review the position of the statue.   
 
The process going forward is as follows:
 
(i)            The report on the public participation process will be incorporated into the draft Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), and the heritage consultant will submit the final report to the special task team;
(ii)           The special task team will engage with the final HIA and make recommendations to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor;
(iii)          The Rector and Vice-Chancellor will discuss the HIA assessment and the recommendations of the special task team with the university’s executive management and will subsequently make recommendations to the UFS Council for consideration during its meeting in November 2018. 


Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

News Archive

UFS to lead African agricultural education initiative
2008-06-17

 

The Bill and Melinda Gates- and W.K. Kellogg Foundations have agreed to partner in support of a 10-year research and development programme. This programme will revise agricultural education curricula in Africa to become more responsive to the needs of smallholder African family farms. The goal of the initiative is the emergence of an agricultural human resource and knowledge system that drives smallholder farmer-led development and innovation to achieve improved productivity, food security and economic development in Africa.

The University of the Free State (UFS) and the Academy for Educational Development (AED), a USA-based non-governmental organisation, have been appointed as the two lead grantees to spearhead this initiative. Prof. Frans Swanepoel (right), Director: Research Development at the UFS has been appointed as the part-time Initiative Director, with Dr Aldo Stroebel, Head: Internationalisation at the UFS as the part-time Initiative Manager. They will partake in the conceptualisation and design of the strategy and structure for this continent-wide initiative. R8 million has been granted to the UFS to lead the initial 18-month exploratory phase. It is envisaged that the two foundations will invest in excess of R100 million (US$14 million) in the initiative.
Photo: Supplied



 

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