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07 August 2019 | Story Charlene Stanley | Photo Stephen Collett
Prof Francis Petersen, Prof Puleng LenkaBula, William Bulwane and Min Thoko Didiza
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement; Mr Kwekwe William Bulwane, Free State MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development; and Ms Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, who presented the 2019 Charlotte Maxeke public lecture.

“This work is not for yourselves. Kill that spirit of self. Do not live above your people. Live with them.” 
These famous words by Charlotte Maxeke, one of South Africa’s leading academic and social pioneers, formed the thrust of Minister Thoko Didiza's public lecture in a packed Equitas Auditorium on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, three days before South Africans celebrate Woman’s Day.

The Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister urged her audience to heed the “rich lessons this remarkable woman holds for our generation today”, in a lecture with the topic: Feminist Leadership, Intergenerational Dialogue on Knowledge, Agriculture and Sustainable Futures.

Educational pioneer

Referring to Maxeke’s many academic and cultural achievements, Minister Didiza pointed out that, “Her educational achievements did not make her see her fellow Africans any differently. It made her want to change their lives for the better.”
She called Maxeke a “true feminist, with an inclusive vision to fight for the betterment of all South Africans”.

This was echoed by Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, in his welcoming address. He singled out the fact that Maxeke used to spend long hours tutoring her less skilled classmates while still at school.
“This wonderful example of using your own knowledge to make a real impact in the lives of others, is something we at the University of the Free State truly salute,” he said.  

Women’s conversation on land

On the topic of land reform, Minister Didiza referred to the fact that countries all over the world were involved in a ‘continuous process’ of land reform. She appealed to all South Africans to get involved in dialogues around the land issue.
“I know the pain and the cries of African people when it relates to land. But I don’t hear the cries and concerns of our white compatriots. Because until we understand each other’s pain, we will never be able to navigate the future.”
Minister Didiza then called for a ‘women’s conversation on land’, as she believed women to be ‘calmer’ than men and more inclined to collaborate with and listen to one another on an issue that is vital to all South African communities. 

Knowledge should lead to action

Minister Didiza said she believed universities had an important role to play in “gaining collective knowledge to solve problems”, and that agriculture should be a key focus area here – “benefitting from innovations in other sectors”.
“We need to urgently revitalise agriculture to once again bring glory to the Free State,” she said.
 “Knowledge means nothing if not translated into action and solutions for the problems we face in South Africa,” she concluded.

The Charlotte Maxeke lecture has been presented annually since 2009. Previous speakers include Minister Angie Motshekga, Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize and Dr Frene Ginwala.
 
Who was Charlotte Maxeke?

The CMM Institute describes her in this way:
“Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke (1871–1919) was a pioneering South African woman who was passionate about inclusivity, education and evangelism. She grasped every opportunity presented to her and accomplished many notable firsts during her lifetime.”
These ‘firsts’ include:
- being the first black woman in South Africa to obtain a BSc degree (at Wilberforce University in the United States of America in 1901);
- being the first woman to participate in the King’s Courts under King Sabata Dalindyebo of the AbaThembu;
- being the first African woman to establish a school (in Evaton, with her husband, in 1908);
- being the only woman who attended and contributed to the first African National Congress (ANC) conference in 1912; and
- being the co-initiator, organiser, and first President of the Bantu Women’s League, founded in 1918.

News Archive

Students’ commitment the focus of architectural exhibition at Free State Arts Festival
2016-07-07

Description: Architectural exhibition  Tags: Architectural exhibition

The traveling exhibition of first-year architecture
students of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University consists of 400 exhibition pieces.

Photo: Supplied

A unique travelling exhibition of over 400 pieces will be hosted by the UFS Department of Architecture from 11-23 July 2016. The exhibition, a project of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) School of Architecture is the first exhibition of its kind on this scale.

First exhibition of its kind

The architect Boban Varghese, the head of the Department of Architecture at NMMU, said that a series of projects furthering academic engagements are being implemented under his leadership. This travelling exhibition of first-year architecture students is one of these.

The NMMU School of Architecture is engaged in addressing architectural education that is appropriate and relevant as it responds to the contextual challenges shaped by local and global issues.

Students’ work received recognition

Besides being recognition of student work, which is normally confined within the walls of the Schools of Architecture, the aim of the travelling exhibition is not only to introduce the work to students of other Architecture Schools and the architecture profession itself, but also to share the discipline of architecture with a wider public. In this sense, the exhibition is an educational and cultural event.

This important aspect is manifested in the generous support of the UFS Department of Architecture in sponsoring the second exhibition during the Free State Arts Festival, as a collaborative project between two Schools of Architecture. A third exhibition of the work is foreseen in Johannesburg during the annual Architecture Students Congress at Wits later this year.

432 pieces part of research programme

The exhibition PALLADIO AND THE MODERN
is the first exhibition of its kind of first-year
architecture students’ work in South Africa.

The exhibition entitled PALLADIO AND THE MODERN shows the first two projects of the first-year students when they have just arrived from school with little experience in architectural drawings and in building architectural models. Their dedicated commitment to the task of producing 288 drawings and 144 models - a total 432 exhibition pieces - forms part of a three-year research programme (2013-2015) in architectural composition conducted by the Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Ernst Struwig, Dr Magda Minguzzi and Jean-Pierre Basson. All the work exhibited is done by hand.

In the exhibition, the 36 villas of the Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), initiate a dialogue with the 36 houses of 20th and 21st international and national architects in their reciprocal theme of exploring the language of architecture.

Visiting hours: Monday to Friday 09:00-16:00
Exhibition closes on 23 July 2016

Sponsors:
Department of Architecture UFS; NMMU; Stauch Vorster Architects; The Matrix Urban Designers and Architects Cc; Adendorff Architects and Interiors Cc; NOH Architects; Thembela Architects (Pty) Ltd; Erik Voight Architects; DMV Architecture, MMK Architects; IMBONO F. J. A. Architects CC; dhk Architects; LYT Architecture; B4 Architects.

 

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