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13 May 2019 | Story Selloane Mile | Photo Tsepo Moeketsi
Qwaqwa Campus Open Day
Colourful learners from near and far descended on the Qwaqwa Campus for this year’s Open Day.
The 2019 University of the Free State Open Day on the Qwaqwa Campus was a colourful affair, attended by learners from high schools in and around Qwaqwa. Leaners were treated to information tables that saw a display of activities, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the campus, dubbed ‘the education hub in the mountains’. The first session began with an excited crowd of mainly Grade 12s receiving words of encouragement from the Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew, who extended a word of welcome and gratitude to the teachers for responding to their call. He also encouraged learners to apply as early as possible for the 2020 academic year, as space in tertiary institutions is limited.
 
“Your future is here; Qwaqwa Campus is the place to be,” he reassured the learners. He concluded by saying, “Ours is a smart campus, well-resourced with information and communication technology facilities, among many other features”. 

Learners explore campus

In the second session, learners explored the campus to learn more about what is being offered. They were met by warm and welcoming smiles from representatives of all the faculties and departments. Support services sharing information with potential students included Housing and Residence Affairs, the Student Representative Council (SRC), Student Life, and KovsieSport. Pretty Nzong, a learner from the Seotlong Agricultural and Hotel School, said she has learnt a lot, especially from the faculties, as she did not know what she wanted to study next year. “My highlight of the day was the inspiration I drew from the Assistant Deans and Campus Management in their academic regalia. I hope one day I will ascend that very stage as a graduate,” she said. Her friend, Lebohang Motsoeneng, said the experience gave her a sense of direction on the career path she wants to follow, and this experience re-ignited her spark to become a natural scientist.

Student Life

Although academy was the centre of attention on the day, learners also experienced ‘the feeling’ said to be only known by Kovsies, as they indulged in the essence of student life, including sports, student leadership, counselling services, and career guidance.
 
A sports fanatic, Moleleki Motaung from Mmathabo Secondary School, alluded to his experience as ‘exciting’. “I have been struggling to get exposure, and I believe this campus will afford me an opportunity to showcase my talent on the football field.”  Kamohelo Pholohang, also from Mmathabo Secondary, said the experience was enlightening, as it dealt with his indecisiveness on the course of study that he wants to pursue next year. Both learners emphasised that they are definitely coming to study here next year; both will be studying for a Bachelor of Education degree, with the former reiterating that he will also be the campus football star!

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorate to global peace ambassador Dr Lakhdar Brahimi
2015-07-07

Professor Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS and Dr Lakhdar Brahimi.
Photo: Mike Rose from Mike Rose Photography

The Faculty of the Humanities and Centre for Africa Studies rewarded the contributions of Dr Lakhdar Brahimi, a prominent global peace leader, with an honorary doctorate on Thursday 2 July 2015.

The conferment formed one of the highlights of the 2015 Winter Graduations. Dr Brahimi’s work as a United Nations’ (UN) envoy, and African peace leader of note, was deeply respected by the university. Professor Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS, accepted the PhD on his behalf.

In his acceptance speech, read by Prof Hudson at the Chancellor’s Dinner the same evening, Dr Brahimi expressed his gratitude to the university. “I deeply appreciate your generous recognition, and even now, in the twilight years of my life, I shall try to be worthy of your confidence in everything I say or do.”

“My generation did its share: its successes and its failures are things of the past. We must accept to be judged by you, the graduates. You, the young graduates here at the University of the Free State, and your fellow members of the African intellectual elite, have an exciting opportunity to take on the challenges and fulfil the dreams you have. We must accept to be judged by you.”

Algerian-born Dr Brahimi was first involved with the UN in 1992 as rapporteur to the Earth Summit. Distinctively, he is the most-frequently appointed special envoy of the UN. Amongst many other countries, he has worked as a mediator for South Africa, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Burundi, Angola, Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of the UN.

Significant peacekeeping efforts in South Africa (1993- 1994)

The ambassador– in his capacity as special representative to South Africa from December 1993 to June 1994 –played a direct role in South Africa’s democratic transition.

Prof Hudson expressed appreciation for the ambassador’s role in facilitating a peaceful transition from South Africa’s Nationalist government into the current democratic dispensation.

“One of the reasons we selected him as recipient of the honorary doctorate, is because of what he did for the African continent,” she said.

In addition, she commented Dr Brahimi for being a living testament of Ubuntu. “He has displayed an ethic of humanism in everything that he has done, in the way that he has mediated in certain conflicts - his main contribution is as a mediator.

According to Hudson, his humility, modesty, and generosity are the epitome of Ubuntu which states that “I am because we are.”

Dr Brahimi as a global peace practitioner

Dr Brahimi served as Undersecretary-General of the Arab League, Arab League Special Envoy for Lebanon, and Foreign Minister of Algeria.

The UN Peace-building Commission was established as a result of recommendations in his2000 Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (Brahimi Report).

Since 2007, Dr Brahimi has been a member in The Elders - an alliance chaired by Kofi Annan -of peace and human rights advocates including Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Mary Robinson, and Jimmy Carter. His passion for justice led to his membership in the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

In 2010, he was Laureate of the Special Jury Prize for Conflict Prevention, awarded by the Chirac Foundation (France), which promotes international peace and security.

Dr Brahimi’s influence in Peace Education

The Brahimi Report has had an indelible impact on scholars specialising in the broad field of peace operations. Dr Brahimi’s writings have also contributed to knowledge on post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD), a signification part of the African Union’s narrative.

He is a distinguished senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics. He has taught a postgraduate course on Conflict Resolution at Sciences Po, Paris (2011); is Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University; and is affiliated to the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, where he was a visiting professor from 2006 to 2008.

In addition, Dr Brahimi is a founding member of the French-language Journal of Palestine Studies, and a board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.


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