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11 February 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Rian Horn
First-year Athletics
“KovsieSport’s new group of first-year athletes embody quality,” says Kesa Molotsane.

The KovsieSport athletics evening is always a lively and energetic event, as students take part in fun activities that entail singing and cheering their peers on as they compete against one another in a variety of athletic sports activities.

House Veritas, who are famous for their spirit and creative musical ways, won the overall spirit cup on the day, with House Imperium winning the co-ed category, and House Harmony winning the female category.

According to a former University of the Free State (UFS) KovsieSport Senior Sportswoman of the Year (2017), Kesa Molotsane, the 2019 group of first-year students is one that embodies quality and talent.

Molotsane explained: “Louzanne Jansen van Rensberg, who was dubbed one of the best athletes in the Free State, has joined the Kovsie family; this promises to be a prominent year in sport for the UFS”.

The UFS is looking forward to a successful year in sport, with the likes of Jannes Schlebusch who obtained a silver medal at the IAAF World U.18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2017, and is South Africa’s best junior javelin thrower. Joviale Mbisha was ranked 14th at the IAAF World U.18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2017, and has also joined the UFS Kovsie Sport team. A number of fresh talents have joined the team, promising an interesting year ahead for the university.



News Archive

Ecofeminism a possibe solution to impending famine
2016-05-12

Description: Ecofeminism Tags: Ecofeminism

Dr Inge Konik (right) is pictured with her postdoctoral supervisor, Prof Bert Olivier, Senior Research Professor at the Department of Philosophy.
Photo: Valentino Ndaba

In view of the environmental and social problems faced in South Africa today, researchers such as Dr Inge Konik are hard at work mapping these issues and seeking long-term solutions. Dr Konik,  a lecturer in the Department of Journalism, Media and Philosophy at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) shared her views in a presentation on 6 May 2016. She spoke about revaluing indigenous ways of life and subsistence-focused lifeways, linking this to materialist ecological feminism, or ecofeminism for short.

Dr. Konik’s presentation, hosted by the Department of Philosophy at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), was entitled: “Transversal reflections on ecological feminism and ubuntu.” The research underpinning the presentation derived from Dr Konik’s doctoral thesis which was supervised by Ariel Salleh (University of Sydney) and Andrea Hurst (NMMU).

Dr Konik’s research suggests that ecofeminism - which is a convergence between environmentalism and feminism - may hold the answers to the question of how we may work against environmental and social injustices. She also proposed that society look back toward subsistence communities of the past, and those currently being marginalized in our industrial societies, and linked the values evidenced in the practices of these communities to the African philosophty of ubuntu. In order to solve  complex contemporary challenges Dr Konik suggests that we combine these seemingly disparate theoretical frames - ubuntu and ecofeminism - by applying a transversal approach, which involves openness to dialogue  between traditions.

“My focus was on ecological feminism and critical theory and very specifically on South Africa, given the challeges South Africa faces - the environmental and social challenges and what kind of frameworks would be helpful,” said Dr Konik, who will officially become a postdoctoral research fellow at the department as of July 2016.

Prof Pieter Duvenage, Head of the Departement, stated that compelling research outputs are anticipated from Dr Konik as a fellow.

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