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.