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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

New Albert Wessels Auditorium officially unveiled
2013-05-19

 

Dr Johan van Zyl (President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Toyota South Africa and CEO for Toyota Africa) and Judge Ian van der Merwe (Chairperson of the UFS Council) unveil the redesigned Albert Wessels Auditorium.
Photo: Johan Roux
20 May 2013

The swanky new interior and entrance of the Albert Wessels Auditorium WA) were officially unveiled on Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) on Friday 10 May 2013.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector, and Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson of the UFS Council, presided over the AWA unveiling ceremony. They were joined by a special guest, whose company has a long affiliation with the UFS and the AWA in particular.

Dr Johan van Zyl, the current President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Toyota South Africa and CEO for Toyota Africa, unveiled the commemorative plaque at the new entrance. Dr Van Zyl reaffirmed the relationship between Toyota South Africa and the UFS, which can be traced back to the founder of his company.

The namesake of the AWO was the founder of Toyota South Africa. Dr Wessels was at one time married to Elizabeth Eybers, the acclaimed poet who won the Hertzog Prize in 1934 and 1971. Could she have inspired Wessels’ love of the arts? Regardless, the AWA will serve as a world-class facility for the arts, corporate meetings and seminars, from now on. The AWA can now seat 196 people on its luxurious red leather seats.

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