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2019 Kovsies Multilingual Mokete Competition winners

23 September 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish

Best dressed winner — The winners of the best dressed social media competition with Earl B (third from the left).

On 18 September 2019, the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its first ever Multilingual Festival in an effort to promote a multilingual and multicultural environment for staff, students, and all stakeholders of the university.

Staff, students, and other stakeholders of the university dressed in imibaco (traditional Xhosa apparel) ranging from white, yellow, red, and green, Diaparo tsa setso sa Sesotho, and traditional attire from other cultural tribes including Zulu, Swati, Ndebele, and Tswana, to name a few, were treated to various forms of celebration. The festival entailed visual-art displays, poetry, storytelling, drama, music, and song in the dominant languages spoken at the UFS, which are English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu, and South African Sign Language, and food stalls selling dishes ranging from pap and braaivleis to koeksisters and milk tart.

The audience were treated to short stories, including Magic on campus, written by Siphilangenkosi Dlamini and performed by Oliver Bongo; Xola Nhliziyo, written by Noluthando Portia Khumalo and performed by Ayanda Khanyile; and Grense, written by Joane Jansen van Rensburg. Nina and Palesa compiled a drama piece titled WTF is a relationship, poems included Mohlomong, written by Thabiso Lesaba and Lucky Mokeona, and Mosadi, written by Relumetse Makhatsane, N’kone Mametja, Abby Gabarone-Phate and Ayanda Khanyile.

Attendants had the opportunity to participate and win cash prizes ranging from R500 to R1 000 in various competitions and performances that took place during celebrations at the multilingual festival.

The winners for the mokete festivities are as follows:
Best artwork – Elaine Mahlalela and Kamogelo Mankuroane
Best short story – Siphilangenkosi Dlamini: Magic on Campus
Best poem – Thabiso Leshaba: Mohlomong
Best drama piece – Nina and Palesa

The best-dressed moketers for the 2019 #KovsiesMultilingualMokete were Joseph Sako, Evodia Mohoanyane, Karabo Lekomanyane, Tshepo Ramokoatsi, and Lungelo Mthimkhulu, who each walked away with R500 for their efforts to dress up and stick to the multicultural theme. Soet-Bravado (House Soetdoring and House Villa Bravado) won the most votes for their performance in the People’s Choice category, claiming R1 000 each.

News Archive

Postgraduate student to conduct research on maize quality at Michigan State University

2017-03-27

Description: Student maze research Tags: Student maze research

Schae-Lee Olckers, master’s student in the
Department of Microbial Biochemical and
Food Biotechnology.
Photo: Supplied

Schae-Lee Olckers, a master’s student in the Department of Microbial Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS), will be travelling to the US in a few weeks’ time. For the next two years she will be doing research at the Michigan State University (MSU) at its Department of Food Science, working on wheat quality and its baking properties.

Increase the nutritional value of maize
The title of her master’s research project is: “The influence of low and optimal nitrogen conditions on the nutritional value of quality protein maize”. She is focusing on the influence of environmental conditions on the nutritional value of maize.

New hybrids of maize production developed
Olckers said: “I chose to start my research on this specific topic in my honours year because maize is the main staple crop in South Africa, as well as in the rest of Africa. Therefore, micronutrient malnutrition is a major concern for developing countries as well as for poor people who rely on it as a major food source. I found it interesting that these breeding programmes that are being developed for new hybrids of maize for production are focusing on increasing the nutritional value of maize and can therefore help eliminate micronutrient malnutrition in some populations of poor communities,” she said.

Prof Perry Ng will be her research supervisor. He is an affiliated professor at UFS in the division of Plant Breeding. “I am very excited about the opportunity to travel and to gain experience working with a well-known cereal scientist. The work he does is also closely associated with my research,” said Olckers.

Her supervisors at UFS are Profs Garry Osthoff and Maryke Labuschagne from the Departments of Microbial Biochemical and Food Biotechnology and Plant Sciences respectively.

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