“I have a voice.” | “Ke na le lentsoe.” | “Ek het ‘n stem.” | “Nginezwi."
See programme for more detail
Join in the festivities by listening to the live broadcast of the Mokete on KovsieFM and catching it live on http://livestream.ufs.ac.za
In support of its commitment to promoting a multilingual, multicultural environment for staff, students, and other stakeholders, the University of the Free State hosted the first Kovsies Multilingual Mokete on the Bloemfontein Campus today.
“The Mokete served as an institutional initiative aimed at promoting a coordinated and inclusive celebration of the regional languages and cultures included in the UFS Language Policy. The university wants everybody to feel that they belong, and that they can be proud of their culture and language. We also want them to know that every person counts; that everyone has a voice and that they can contribute to building a culture which inspires excellence,” says Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic and Chairperson of the UFS Language Committee.
#IHaveAVoice #KeNaLeLenstoe #EkHetnStem #Nginezwi
During the festival, staff and students from all three UFS campuses participating expressed this celebration in the form of visual arts, poetry, storytelling, drama, music, and song in the dominant languages spoken at the UFS, which is English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu, and South African Sign Language.
For the duration of the Mokete, the Red Square in front of the Main Building, was renamed the ‘Mokete Square’. The Scaena Theatre will play host to a visual-arts exhibition, a drama production called Dogg's Hamlet, as well as a screening of The Visitor.
Well-known performers Early B (pictured) and Simple Stories,(pictured at below) entertained the crowd as the closing acts on the Mokete Main Stage. The student choirs from our South and Qwaqwa Campuses also performed.
There was multicultural food stalls which sold typical cultural cuisine, from sheep’s head and bunny chow to koeksisters.
The KovsieGear stall, sold Multilingual Mokete-branded merchandise, inlcuding a special ‘doek’ to commemorate the Mokete.
According to Dr Van Staden, the UFS is committed to creating a multilingual environment and hopes to make the Kovsies Multilingual Mokete an annual event which will rotate between the three campuses. “We are proud to host an event of this nature and believe that it will be one of the flagship events on the university’s calendar. The Mokete will furthermore present and strengthen the university’s positioning in relation to multilingualism,” says Dr Van Staden.
The Mokete is furthermore presented in support of the ITP’s work streams on Teaching and Learning, Student and Staff Experience, and the Multi-Campus Model.