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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

The beginning of the person you want to be
2015-01-29

“The University of the Free State is a caring community where everybody counts.” With this message, Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector: External Relations welcomed our first-years on the Qwaqwa Campus.

“Whether you are a first-year or a senior student, whether you are a cleaner or a research professor, we all have one thing in common: our humanity,” Dr Makhetha said.

“This is the stage where you are going to shape the person you want to be,” Dr Makhetha said to the audience of eager first-year students who had already spent a week undergoing a rigorous Gateway Orientation programme.

“A lot of things will happen during your stay here and one of them is making friends. Make friends with people from outside your comfort zone,” Dr Makhetha added. “Make friends with those who have a totally different background from yours so that you can learn, broaden and enrich your life.”

“Read broadly and ask questions – for questions will take you far beyond your area of study,” she said.

Zethu Mhlongo, Deputy President of the Qwaqwa Campus Student Representative Councisel (SRC), encouraged first-years to always remember why they chose our university in the first place.

“Enjoy your stay, get your degree and step up for success,” Mhlongo said.

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