Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
30 May 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Africa Memorial lecture
From left; Dr Stephanie Cawood, Director of CGAS; Prof Francis Nyamnjoh; Prof Heidi Hudson, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities, and Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic
Ubuntu is a word we all know and, to some extent, relate to. Prof Francis Nyamnjoh aimed to delve and explore this African philosophy when he presented the 2019 Africa Day Memorial Lecture with the topic Ubuntuism and Africa: Actualised, Misappropriated, Endangered and Reappraised. 

The memorial lecture is hosted annually by the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) to coincide with Africa Month celebrations. Prof Nyamnjoh holds a PhD from the University of Leicester in the UK. He is currently a professor of social anthropology at the University of Cape Town and has been a scholar in sociology, anthropology and communication science at universities in Cameroon and Botswana. The lecture took place on 22 May 2019 in the Equitas Auditorium on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

“When I saw the topic I thought this was very contemporary. We at the university decided to include the Ubuntu principle in our learning and teaching strategy,” said Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic. 

Ubuntu as a binding factor for interconnectedness 

We live a world in which we cannot stand alone as the principle of Ubuntu tells us that we are who we are because of our interconnectedness with other people. “It is important to recognise that you stand on others to be tall,” said Prof Nyamnjoh. 

“We are the product of ongoing conversations on interconnectedness."

“I have argued that, in the spirit of Ubuntu, Africans, their identities and mobilities are part and parcel of the experience of being human in a world on the move. And their contributions are needed in today’s world more than ever. 

“I have broached the context of globalisation and histories of unequal encounters that have shaped relations in Africa and beyond under global capitalism."

“Even as it is increasingly seriously tested by opportunism, Ubuntuism, sometimes a reality and sometimes an ideal, brings hope and redemption, and offers a feasible framework for participatory and inclusive emancipatory social change,” said Prof Nyamnjoh. 


News Archive

Open Day 2014 gives visitors a glimpse of UFS
2014-05-12



The UFS was a hive of excitement and activity with the annual Kovsie Open Day on Saturday 10 May 2014.

From drumming up a storm during the welcoming ceremony to moving about the lively students and vibrant residence stalls, prospective students and parents can now also say that ‘only a Kovsie knows the feeling’. Visitors also had first-hand experience of how accessible our Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen, really is. At the Talk to Me gazebo outside his office, Prof Jansen dished up food while having a chat with parents.

This gesture echoed what Prof Jansen said earlier the morning as he addressed visitors to our Bloemfontein Campus in the Callie Human Centre. “The difference between us as Kovsies and other universities is that we are interested in you as a human being,” he said.

He then went on to introduce some of Kovsies’ top achievers. Among others were Izelle Lategan (U/21 SA women’s hockey player of 2013), Wayde van Niekerk (SA and Varsity Athletics 400m champion) and Izelke Klindt (BSc Hons in Astro Physics and winner of the Dean’s Medal in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences for 2014).

OFM presenter Success Lekabe, who acted as programme leader during the welcoming ceremony, praised the UFS as one of “the best university institutions from across South Africa.”

“Kovsies are changing their students’ lives to change the lives of others,” Lekabe said.

The 2014 Kovsie Open Day, with all its fun and laughter, reflected the truth of the UFS as an academic institution that inspires excellence and transforms lives to all its visitors.

Even if you missed the Kovsie Open Day, be sure to grab the chance to study at our university and ensure a lifetime of excellence and innovation. You can visit our Prospective student webpage for more information.


We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept