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30 December 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Rian Horn
UFS Qwaqwa Campus
Hundreds of international botanists will be attending the 46th SAAB Annual Conference on the Qwaqwa Campus.

The University of the Free State Qwaqwa Campus is gearing up to host the 46th Annual Conference of the South African Association of Botanists from 7 to 10 January 2020. Talking about the choice of venue, Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Dr Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, said the unique setting in the shadow of the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains highlights the Qwaqwa Campus as a fantastic base for interdisciplinary montane studies. “This is the home of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), and it will also give the delegates an opportunity to explore a treasure trove of botanical diversity on a post-conference tour to the top of the Amphitheatre in the Northern Drakensberg,” she said.

International delegates

“The conference will be attended by approximately 250 delegates representing at least 10 countries.  We are very excited to host two international and two national plenaries, namely Prof Peter Linder (University of Zürich), Prof Felipe Amorim (São Paulo State University – UNESP), Prof Annah Moteetee (University of Johannesburg), and our Young Botanist award winner from SAAB 2019, Ryan Rattray from GeneLethu Laboratories.”

SAAB 2020 is open to all researchers, industry partners, and citizen scientists from any botanical field. “The theme will embrace Qwaqwa’s cultural heritage by using the Sesotho phrase ‘Dimela ke bophelo’, which translates to ‘Plants are life’. This theme emphasises the dependence of all earthly life on plants. Delegates are offered the opportunity to book residence accommodation adjacent to the conference venue, and our conference organisers, XL Millennium, are eager to help with registration and any travel arrangements,” she added.

Botanists to be awarded

The conference will also be honouring botanists for their lifetime contributions to the field of plant sciences with the awarding of gold and silver medals, and the best doctoral thesis from the previous year with a bronze medal. These will be awarded during the gala dinner at the end of the conference.

News Archive

Odeion String Quartet performs in Tanzania and Austria
2016-11-18

Description: Odeion String Quartet performs in Tanzania and Austria Tags: Odeion String Quartet performs in Tanzania and Austria

The Odeion String Quartet will build
international relationships when
it visits Tanzania and Austria.
Photo: Supplied

To be an ambassador for the University of the Free State (UFS) is a goal of the Odeion String Quartet (OSQ) and that is exactly what it will do through international visits to Tanzania and Austria. The OSQ, the only residential university quartet in South Africa, will play concerts abroad, share knowledge and build relationships.

It visits Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 17 to 20 November 2016 and Austria from 29 November to 4 December 2016. The quartet, which constitutes string lecturers at the Odeion School of Music, consists of Samson Diamond, Sharon de Kock, Jeanne-Louise Moolman and Prof Anmari van der Westhuizen Joubert.

A humbling experience
The OSQ was invited by Hekima Raymond, founder and conductor of the Dar Choral Society, to Tanzania to assist the symphony orchestra. Raymond is a self-taught pianist and conductor and was nominated for a BBC Outlook Inspirations award in 2016.

The quartet will lead the string sections of the orchestra, consisting of members from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, performing Beethoven’s fifth symphony and Verdi’s Requiem.

According to Diamond it is a humbling experience, an opportunity to extend their services and help establish the Dar Choral Society. “You are part of something really special, because the circumstances are remote if you compare it to what we have here.”

He means it is important to have a real African footprint and being involved there can later serve as a platform for UFS recruitment.

“You are part of something really special,
because the circumstances are remote if
you compare it to what we have here.”

South African and Austrian collaboration
According to Prof Van der Westhuizen Joubert it is an honour to play in Austria, as Europe is a centre for classical music. The OSQ will play concerts at the Alte Schmiede, Vienna, and the University of Salzburg.

The concert on 4 December 2016 at the University of Salzburg’s Mozarteum is a highlight because the UFS will have the opportunity to build relationships with the famous music school.

Prof Van der Westhuizen Joubert said it would be a South African/Austrian collaboration. “We will bring them South African works (Mokale Koapeng, AJ Feder, Arnold van Wyk and Peter-Louis van Dijk) and will be playing Austrian contemporary string quartets.”

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