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20 December 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Digital Story Telling
Dr Deidré van Rooyen from the Centre for Development Support, Dr Jared McDonald (Department of History), Moodi Matsoso, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele with the mobile device.

In an effort to broaden the storytelling horizons and to answer to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Community Engagement on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus recently launched the Digital Storytelling project, aimed at broadening access to good community stories.

“We have partnered with the Common Good First initiative to enhance the service that we provide as a department,” said Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement.

“We challenge all academics, support staff, the SRC and students in general, to take advantage of this channel to communicate their stories to the world,” he said.

Histories of royal families

“The digital documentation of the histories of the royal families in the Qwaqwa area is in the pipeline and will be conducted in partnership with the Department of History. We have come to realise that with times changing, the younger generation loses track of the precious histories, and this platform will help in preserving that,” he added.

Community Engagement coordinator, Moodi Matsoso, also revealed that space has been identified for the lab. “At the moment, we are operating on mobile digital storytelling devices, with all the necessary equipment such as tablets and cameras. However, we will soon have a fully-fledged lab on campus,” she said.

This project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

News Archive

Wayde van Niekerk sets new African record
2015-06-11


Wayde van Niekerk

Eight years before Wayde van Niekerk was born, Gabriel Tiacoh set a record of 31.74 in a 300m race. Now, 7 June 2015 has been marked as the historic day when the University of the Free State student sprinted 300m in 31.63 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham.


Van Niekerk improved on his 2011 personal best 300m finish of 33.32 seconds, set in Stellenbosch. The African championship silver medalist said setting a new African record was “a blessing that I cannot really explain. Everything I achieve is God’s work.”

“What drives me is my family and friends, and the fact that I know my gift comes from God so running is my way of thanking the Lord,” he added.


Odessa Swarts, his mother, expressed how proud she is of her son. “I believe and trust with his faith in our heavenly father he is destined to become one of the greats South Africa has ever produced.”


His coach, Ans Botha, expressed her satisfaction, although she described his feat as “a little bit unexpected.” She said Van Niekerk’s achievement indicates that they are in the right track en route to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Beijing.


Van Niekerk is at present preparing for a 400m Adidas Grand Prix event in New York this Saturday.

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