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21 June 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Tania Allen
Jerry Mofokeng, Prof Francis Petersen and Prof Nico Luwes
Dr Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makhetha, Prof Francis Petersen and Prof Nico Luwes at a luncheon hosted by the UFS Chancellor, Dr Khotso Mokhele.

WATCH: Livestream


Dr Jerrry Mofokeng Wa Makhetha received an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree for his commitment to scholarship and his service to humanity, from the University of the Free State (UFS) on 28 June 2019, during the second last ceremony of the 2019 June Graduations.

“This award will bring credit and honour to the university and endorse his exceptional dedication to the promotion of art, the values and reputation he exhibited in his outstanding career as both a creative artist and as an arts manager,” says Prof Nico Luwes, Head of the UFS Department of Drama and Theatre Arts. 


Fugard’s The Island a ‘thank you’

For this exceptional honour, Dr Mofokeng, together with Master’s student Charl Henning, agreed to direct and produce Athol Fugard’s play The Island for the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts. “As a sign of goodwill from his side, he decided to offer his talents and direct the play with our department,” says Prof Luwes. 

“Is there a way of linking the theme of The Island with the ethos of the UFS? For me the one aspect that stands out, is the celebration of languages,” says Dr Mofokeng. The play is in the three primary languages of the Free State: English, Sesotho and Afrikaans. Only graduates from the department will be cast, which according to Mofokeng, will “give a professional credence to the training of the department”. 

The play was performed on 27 June 2019 in the Scaena Theatre on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, and on 1,2 and 6 July 2019 during the Free State Arts Festival also in the kykNet-Scaena Theatre.

Acclaimed actor, academic and writer 

Dr Mofokeng is a world-renowned, respected television and theatre actor. He is also a film writer, academic, and National Arts Administrator. He studied drama at the University of the Witwatersrand and obtained a Master’s Degree in theatre directing at Columbia University in the US. Mofokeng has also starred in a slew of movies and television shows   most notably in the 2005 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film, Tsotsi. He is currently appearing  on the small screen as Neo Mokgethi (Bra Moscow) in e.tv’s Scandal. 





News Archive

UFS invests in community journalists
2013-12-09

The first group of journalists who completed the Department of Communication Science’s short-learning programme for community journalists. The course was developed by Mrs Willemien Marais (far left) and Mrs Margaret Linström (far right). In front in the middle are Prof Lucius Botes, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities, and Mr Lumko Mtimde, CEO of the Media Development and Diversity Agency, the sponsor of the programme. Fifth from right is Ms Manana Monareng Wa Stone, Programme Manager of the MDDA.

An investment in our people, our region and our democracy. This is the value of the Department of Communication Science’s short-learning programme for community journalists.

The first 20 community journalists from radio stations and newspapers in the Free State and Northern Cape received their certificates recently after successfully completing the course Basic Journalism Skills for Community Media.

This credit-bearing short-learning programme is fully sponsored by the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), a statutory body with the aim of developing and promoting community media.

The University of the Free State (UFS) is the first university in South Africa that presents a course of this nature. “It is also the first large-scale formal training of community journalists in the Free State and Northern Cape,” says Mrs Margaret Linström, journalism lecturer in the Department of Communication Science. She developed the course together with another journalism lecturer in the Department, Mrs Willemien Marais. “What distinguishes our programme for similar programmes is the element of mentoring,” explains Marais. Students attend a week-long training session on the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS. The lecturers then visit all the participating newsrooms to provide further training in terms of the unique challenges of their area. “During the second semester we’ve travelled more than 3000 km to visit radio stations and newspapers as far afield as Springbok and Phuthaditjhaba,” says Linström.

During the certificate ceremony the CEO of the MDDA, Mr Lumko Mtimde, said this partnership with the UFS has the potential to make a tangible difference in communities. “Combined community media reaches the largest target audience in the country. Against this background the importance of training community journalists becomes very clear,” says Mtimde.

The role of community journalists differ from that of journalists who work for state or commercial media. Yet most of these community journalists fall outside the network of formal training, mostly due to a lack of resources and access to training.

“This course has changed my life. I came back as a newborn baby for whom everything is new!” said Mr Setona Selisa from Naledi FM in Senekal. Selisa and his colleague, Mr Teboho Mabuya, received the award for the best participants of the 2013 course.

 

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