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28 May 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa
Siphila Dlamini
Siphila Dlamini represented the UFS at the 15th Southern Africa Scout Youth Forum.
During the short April holidays, first-year BA student, Siphila Dlamini, led and participated in the 15th Southern Africa Scout Youth Forum and the 41st Southern Africa Scout Conference. Siphila previously also represented South Africa in the 8th and 13th World Scout Youth Forums in Baku, Azerbaijan and Harare, Zimbabwe respectively. He also participated in the 2018 International Leadership Training in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Siphila was elected as a member of the Southern Africa Youth Committee for the term 2017-2020, with the mandate of representing young leaders in decision making and youth engagement at Zonal level of the Southern Africa Scout Youth Forum.

He formed part of the forum committee and chaired several sessions of the proceedings since the tender age of 14. Youth leaders from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries such as Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe attended the conference. 

This 15th forum was themed ‘The Role of young people during emergencies’. Throughout the forum, young people deliberated on strategies to improve decision making in national scout organisations within their respective countries. The Southern Zone Youth Forum empowers young people by equipping them with good decision-making skills and increasing youth engagement on the African continent. 

According to Siphila, the Southern Zone Youth Forum is an effective tool for youth engagement and the continuation of skills development among young people in Southern Africa. It allows the youth to reflect on their growth and achievement, while broadening the unique impact of scouting in the world. 

News Archive

Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel
2014-08-14

 Benjamin Pogrund
Photo: mg.co.za

Renowned journalist Benjamin Pogrund led a seminar on the current Israel/Palestine conflict in Gaza. The Department of Political Science hosted the event at the Bloemfontein Campus on 11 August 2014.

The discussion mainly centred around points Pogrund explores in his latest book, ‘Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel’.

Pogrund, who spent 26 years as a journalist in South Africa investigating apartheid, investigated the accusation that Israel is practicing apartheid and the motives of those who make it. His talk offered the audience a balanced view of Israel’s strengths and weaknesses and the problems facing the region. Pogrund drew a unique comparison between South Africa and Israel, explaining the complex political and social situations.

While researching and writing ‘Drawing Fire’, Pogrund experienced an intense emotional struggle. In the book, he explores the contradictions found in the region. It also deconstructs the criticisms against Israel as well as the boycott movement before arguing for two separate states – Israel and Palestine – as the only way forward for Jews and Arabs.

During the talk, Pogrund raised the question as to why the media coverage of Israel/Palestine conflict detracts so much attention away from the atrocities committed by ISIS currently terrorising the minority groups in Syria and Iraq.

Pogrund has been living in Israel for the past 15 years where he reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was the deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail – South Africa’s leading anti-apartheid newspaper during the 1980s. Among other publications, he has written for the Guardian (London), Haaretz (Tel Aviv) and Facta (Tokyo). In May 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Media Council in London, on behalf of the Next Century Foundation, for encouraging understanding of the Middle East and war-torn areas of the world.


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