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12 February 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish
Kovsie ACT
The University of the Free State encourages its students to prioritise social awareness through fun and exciting community-engagement activities.

9 February 2019 marked the conclusion of the Kovsie Act programme, which took to a competitive start with the UFS Bloemfontein South College being named as the overall winners of the Kovsie ACT 2019 Eco-vehicle race. West College won the trophy for the drag and slalom races, with the South College taking the trophy for endurance.

The UFS Kovsie Act theme for 2019 was centred around building social awareness and encouraging students to develop and maintain lasting methods of preserving the environment that they live in.

The 2019 group of first-year students enjoyed a fun- and adventure-filled first two weeks (28 January–9 February) of varsity life as they undertook a number of projects and activities that aligned community engagement and service learning in order to invest in and promote overall responsible behaviour and a sustainable environment.

Activities that formed part of the line-up included a tree-and-traffic-signs project that entailed old T-shirts/material being sewn/crocheted together to make different patterns that were fitted around the trees on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus in order to create a beautiful piece of art portraying a message of social awareness.

A canvas painting put together by first-years with assistance from their seniors addressed environmental, crime, gender-based, and other societal issues, and will be placed on the wall at the Thakaneng Bridge at a later stage.

Art sculptures were built to form part of the Eco-vehicle race, and if approved, will be assigned a spot on campus where they can spread the message of awareness and be appreciated by fellow students.  

Kovsie Act, as per norm, succeeded in getting students involved with social-awareness campaigns that are detailed and purposeful, and allowed them to put their time and effort into meaningful projects to aid the development of a sustainable environment.

The day of the Eco-race progressed into a festive one, with members of the Bloemfontein community and students amassing at the Bloemfontein Campus rag farm to enjoy musical performances from industry giants, such as Bittereinder, Busiswa, and Shod Madjozi at the Kovsie Act Music Festival. The audience rumbled in a frenzy, with shouts of enjoyment and gratification as the stage came alive with beautiful performances.

News Archive

Former UFS Dean awarded SAAWK medal for contribution to Bible translation work
2016-05-09

Description: Prof Hermie van Zyl Tags: Prof Hermie van Zyl

Prof Hermie van Zyl
Photo: Eugene Seegers

Prof Hermie van Zyl, former Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS), was recently awarded the Ds Pieter van Drimmelen medal by the South African Academy of Science and Arts (SAAWK) for his contribution to Afrikaans Bible translation and other translation work.

Prof Van Zyl was part of the team that published the Interlinear translation of the Bible (New Testament) in Greek and Afrikaans. This translation takes the reader from the original text (Greek), to an almost verbatim version, to a rough translation, and, ultimately, to a more polished, finished translation in the target language of Afrikaans.

Other translations Prof Van Zyl has been involved in include the Afrikaans Bible for the Deaf (published in 2008), the direct translation of the Bible (of which the New Testament and the Psalms have already been published), the New Living Translation, the Parallel New Testament, and the Reference Bible. He is the first lecturer from the Faculty of Theology at the UFS to receive an award from the SAAWK.

“It is a wonderful privilege and an honour and really came out of nowhere,” said Prof Van Zyl. He added that he is grateful that, amongst all the wonderfully talented people at the UFS, he could make a modest contribution. He mentioned that the collegial conversations, seminars, and other discussions in the faculty over the years, were very stimulating. He singled out Prof Jan du Rand and Prof Francois Tolmie (another former Dean of the Faculty and long-time colleague in the department of New Testament Studies) as inspiration.

The official presentation of the medal will take place in the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria on 29 June 2016.

Prof Van Zyl was employed in the Faculty of Theology at the UFS for 29 years until his retirement in 2013. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of New Testament, and still lectures on occasion.

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