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20 September 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Charl Devenish
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
The Multilingual Mokete embodies the ideals of the university to become inclusive, while promoting a multicultural environment.

The first Kovsies Multilingual Mokete was a celebration of language and culture; it is a commitment by the University of the Free State (UFS) to nurture an attitude of inclusiveness and acceptance on all three of its campuses. Hosted on the Bloemfontein Campus on Wednesday 18 September 2019, the mokete was a hype of activity with drama, poetry, music, dance, and scrumptious cultural cuisine.

“This initiative was coordinated to promote and celebrate all our regional languages, but also important – our regional cultures.” This was the words of Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, on opening the first Kovsies Multilingual Mokete.

The Mokete stage came alive with the impeccable voices of our students and staff as they personified multilingualism through the spoken word in the form of poems, the drama production, Dogg’s Hamlet in the Scaena, praise songs, and dance. A mural featuring individual artworks was also on display during the mokete, as well as a screening of the movie, The Visitor.

The Mokete was concluded by Simple Stories, a band of former Kovsie students, with Early B as the main act.  The People’s Choice Award winner of the day was Soetbravado, winners of the UFS SingOff competition.

“I think the inaugural Multilanguage festival is full of potential. Tolerance and understanding of different cultures are what I see here. I think it’s amazing and I would recommend the UFS to continue with it,” says Jon-Dylon Petersen, former SRC member and final-year Quantity Surveying and Construction Management student. 

Kovsies First Multilingual Mokete
The traditional outfits made for a colourful Mokete. Photo:Charl Devenish

Mokete part of UFS project to foster sense of belonging


The mokete is furthermore presented in support of the Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP) work streams on Teaching and Learning, Student and Staff Experience, and the Multi-Campus Model. “As a university, we are proud of the many languages and cultures which form part of this university. It creates a level of diversity and it is through diversity that we can build strength within the university,” says Prof Petersen. 

This initiative of multilingualism is part of the university’s language policy, which promotes a sense of belonging and acceptance among people. “We want to create opportunities and platforms and campuses where everyone should feel welcome, and to create the ability for each culture and language group to also learn from one another.”

The ultimate goal is to use the multilingual initiatives to prepare our students for the multilingual and multicultural world, but also to stay connected to our own heritage and background. 

Dogg's Hamlet
The play Dogg's Hamlet was showcased in the Scaena Theatre during the Mokete. Photo: Charl Devenish

Mokete should become an annual event 


The reaction to the mokete was overwhelmingly positive and it was well received in the Kovsie community. “It’s a beautiful experience to see how academics can come to a university and showcase not only different languages, but different cultures; it’s something which should continue in the spirit of ubuntu and diversity, and can maybe become a national festival,” says Almondreaux Williams, third-year LLB student.

Not only was the mokete a celebration of multilingualism at the UFS; it was also a platform to express different cultures in the form of traditional attire.

''It’s getting people together. All of us, all the cultural groups are here together. The performances were awesome,” says Sibongile Witbooi, a third-year Geology student and Residence Committee member for Culture at Akasia residence. 

Multilingual Mokete
Authentic South African cuisine was on the menu for the day. Moketers could enjoy array of flavours from bobotie and rice to
chesanyama and pap. Photo: Charl Devenish


News Archive

Researchers reach out across continents in giraffe research
2015-09-18

Dr Francois Deacon and Prof Fred Bercovitch
busy with field work.

Researcher Dr Francois Deacon from the Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences at the University of the Free State is conducting research with renowned wildlife scientist, Prof Fred Bercovitch, from the Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology, Kyoto University Primate Research Institute in Japan.

Dr Deacon’s ground-breaking research has attracted international media attention. Together with Prof Nico Smit, he equipped giraffes with GPS collars, and conducted research based on this initiative. “Satellite tracking is proving to be extremely valuable in the wildlife environment. The unit is based on a mobile global two-way communication platform, utilising two-way data satellite communication, complete with GPS systems.”

Prof Bercovitch was involved with GPS tracking from elephants to koala bears.

Some of the highlights of the joint research on giraffes by Dr Deacon and Prof Bercovitch focus on:
 
• How much time do certain giraffes spend with, and away from, one another
• How do the home ranges of herds and individual giraffe overlap
• Do genetically-related animals spend more time together than non-genetically-related animals
• How much time do the young bulls, adult bulls, and dominant bulls spend with cow herds
• Herd interactions and social behaviours of giraffe
• The role of the veld and diet on animal behaviour and distribution

 

Their research article, “Gazing at a giraffe gyroscope: Where are we going?”, which was published in the African Journal of Ecology, assesses recent research by exploring five primary questions:

- How many (sub) species of giraffe exist?
- What are the dynamics of giraffe herds?
- How do giraffe communicate?
- What is the role of sexual selection in giraffe reproduction?
- How many giraffe reside in Africa?

They conclude this article by emphasising that the most essential issue is to develop conservation management plans that will save a wonderful species from extinction, and which will also enable scientists to conduct additional research aimed at answering their five questions.

In addition, they are working together on a grand proposal to get National Geographic to cover their work.

 

 

 

 

 

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