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iCAN Vol 2 strengthens CTL’s bid to decolonise

28 November 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Dr Peet van Aardt

iCAN read more — The book was launched during the Student Arts and Life Dialogues Festival on the Bloemfontein Campus in October.

In its continued bid to decolonise the academic curriculum at the University of the Free State (UFS) the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) published the second volume of Creative African Narratives (iCAN) short stories written by UFS students.

iCAN Volume 2 comes after extensive creative writing workshops were presented on all three campuses during the year. The project is coordinated by Dr Peet van Aardt from CTL and is funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation.

Through the iCAN project, CTL plans to incorporate the students’ written texts as part of the extensive reading component of the first-year academic literacy courses across all faculties. “We are teaching and motivating our students to read, but we cannot keep relying on a curriculum that is foreign to them,” said Dr Van Aardt.

The volume comprises 55 short stories with topics ranging from the Struggle, to campus life, mental illness, family affairs and love, with the students’ lived experiences also a main theme throughout the anthology. The stories are written in Sepedi, isiZulu, Setswana, English, Afrikaans and Sesotho. Some were also performed at the recent Multilingual Mokete, held on the Bloemfontein campus in September.

“We are really proud of this year’s publication, and the project as a whole,” says Dr Van Aardt. “This year we were able to include more student contributions than last year.”

News Archive

Co-architect of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland to present Annual Reconciliation Lecture today

2015-03-03

Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa

To emphasise the University of the Free State’s Human Project, the UFS has positioned itself as an institution that is recognised across the world not only for excellence in academic achievement, but also in human reconciliation. The Annual Reconciliation Lecture, whose organising committee is chaired by Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, is a unique and major initiative to enhance this important vision of our university.

This year, Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa, will present the Fourth Annual Reconciliation Lecture at the Centenary Hall on Thursday 5 March 2015.

Colm McGivern was brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the conflict that has come to be known as the ‘Troubles.’ His early experiences of conflict, sectarianism, and living in a divided society have driven his career, and his personal commitment to peace-building and promoting reconciliation. He was a student leader at Queen’s University in Belfast during the time of the first IRA Ceasefires in the 1990s, and then worked in the Higher and Further Education sectors, and at a community level with peace-building groups across Northern Ireland and internationally. He was Director of the British Council in Northern Ireland for four years and, in that role, facilitated discussions between divided communities before and during the Ceasefires and Peace Process, with a particular focus on bringing young people together across Ireland.

In his role as Director of the British Council, McGivern has created thousands of cultural and educational connections between the UK and SA. Every year, he ensures that young South Africans can get access to educational and cultural opportunities that are life-changing while deepening their connection with the UK.

A highlight of this year’s lecture will be a performance by musicians from the Odeion School of Music, Tumi Ntantiso (soprano), Bertha Menyatso (mezzo-soprano), Malefetsane Mofokeng (baritone), and Cezarre Strydom (piano). They will be performing works from ‘Tales of Hoffmann’ by Jacques Offenbach, among others.

Members of the public and media are welcome.

RSVP: Jo-Anne Naidoo, e-mail: Naidooja@ufs.ac.za

Date: Thursday 5 March 2015
Time: 17:30 (please be seated by 17:15)
Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

The event will be streamed live on: http://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

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