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UFS hosts International Conference on the Right to Development

01 October 2019 | Story Ngang Carol | Photo Stephen Collett

International conference delegates — International delegates attending the International Conference on the Right to Development hosted on the Bloemfontein Campus.

The International Conference on the Right to Development was held in Bloemfontein for the first time from 25 to 27 September 2019, hosted by the Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State. This is the third in the international conference series launched in 2017 with the aim of advancing the right to development both in Africa and internationally. This year’s conference follows the previous two that were held at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, in September 2017 and August 2018.

Based on the theme, ‘The right to development and natural resource ownership’, the 3rd International Conference on the Right to Development offered the forum and opportunity to participants from a diversity of backgrounds and disciplines to interact and share knowledge on their research outputs, which extensively explored questions on how natural resource ownership could contribute to the realisation of the right to development. The keynote address was delivered by Prof John C Mubangizi, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State.

The three-day conference registered a total of 35 participants and 27 presentations out of the 33 that were scheduled. Participants came from different countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the United Kingdom. Some of those who were unable to attend had the opportunity to present their papers through Skype. The presentations stimulated exciting and robust debates.

The International Conference Series on the Right to Development is jointly organised and co-sponsored by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa; and the Free State Centre for Human Rights, University of the Free Sate. In its three years of existence, it has progressively established a steady track record of publications, including journal articles in special editions of selected journals and collections of chapters in edited volumes.

The next (fourth) conference is intended to be much bigger and is scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2021.

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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