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15 August 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Sonia Small
UFS debate
Join the UFS, University of Pretoria (UP) and the Motsepe Foundation in the upcoming Universities in Dialogue (UiD) conversation taking place on 20 August 2019.

Universities in Dialogue (UID) is an initiative driven by the Motsepe Foundation, which is aimed at promoting intergenerational, mixed-gender, and race conversations about socio-economic issues affecting South Africa. 

The purpose of the debate is to discuss alternative measures to advance gender equality and likeness across society, provide a platform for the youth to voice their concerns and deliberate in solution-driven conversation with renowned professors, and to create a space for students to collaborate among one another in order to solicit, drive, and fast-track transformation and nation-building in our country. 

According to research conducted by the Motsepe Foundation, the average age of the South African population is 26 years, which is why the initiative aims to generate debate among the youth on the most pressing concerns facing South Africa today. 

The foundation invited Kovsies to join the 2019 UiD dialogue, together with students and professors from the University of Pretoria (UP), the University of Cape Town (UCT), and Wits University. 

The dialogue/series is interlinked to the Motsepe Foundation Women’s Unit mandate, which aims to initiate interventions that will bring social, economic, and political empowerment to women and girls. The first debate, in partnership with the University of Pretoria, is scheduled for Women’s Month and will focus on the equal rights and participation of women.

The debate motion states: South Africa requires a feminist government to advance gender equity and equality across all sectors of society.

Event details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Time: 16:00–19:00

Venue: Access the dialogue live on 20 August 2019 here

For more information about the UiD, contact news@ufs.ac.za or call +27 51 401 9300 or +27 51 401 3735.





News Archive

Eminent Chinese musicians perform at Odeion
2011-03-08

Hing fat-Wong

A renowned and well-known award-winning Chinese musician from Hong Kong, Hing fat-Wong, enchanted music lovers of the classical genre, after joining forces with Frankie Feng, Music Director of Free State Orchestra of Chinese Music (FSOCM), live on stage at our university’s Odeion for the first time in 30 years. Wong and Feng lit up the stage, to a full house, with an outstanding orchestral performance at the FSOCM’s first concert for the year, called Ancient Chinese Classical Music. Wong was invited by the FSOCM in January 2011 to play solo pieces on the traditional Chinese instruments, the pipa and guqin.

Wong conducted two works, Shanbei Suite and Variations on Yang Guan. Both were arranged by Feng and are based on Chinese folk songs and ancient melodies, respectively. According to Wong, ancient melodies refer to all music before the 1911 Chinese Revolution. However, Wong stated that Feng’s arrangement gave new life to these melodies, as played by the FSOCM.
 
Wong proved to the audience that his talent goes beyond the conductor's baton, and includes his ability to play instruments such as the pipa and guqin masterfully, by performing several solo pieces using these two traditional Chinese instruments.
 
During his stay in Bloemfontein, Wong was invited by Prof. Nicole Viljoen from our Department of Music to host a successful seminar on the appreciation of Chinese music. Attendees had the opportunity to listen to a lecture by Wong and gain first-hand experience of classic traditional Chinese instruments being played. The FSOCM is a multi-cultural orchestra and looks forward to hosting more high-quality performances with soloists of the calibre of Wong throughout the year.

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