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17 August 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Pierce van Heerden
Burneline Kaars says the annual Women’s Breakfast event will honour all the remarkable women who are working from home while managing added family responsibilities.

Women of the UFS, and now also elsewhere in South Africa, can look forward to yet another Women’s Breakfast event to commemorate National Women’s Day. The event will be coordinated by the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness. 

Burneline Kaars, Head of the division, says this year’s event will look a bit different from past events, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual event will be interactive and engaging, with a balance of serious topics and light-hearted humour. 

The theme of the event is ‘From surviving to thriving’. Kaars says they will be honouring all the remarkable women for their ability to thrive despite ongoing difficulties. 

And with guest speaker duo, Shaleen Surtie-Richards and Hannes van Wyk – who will charm and dazzle attendees – this is definitely an event not to be missed.

“We will also relate experiences of strength and resilience that every woman can draw upon, as well as provide additional entertainment with musical productions performed by local Bloemfontein artists,” adds Kaars.

Not only UFS women, but women across South Africa are invited to join the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness for this year’s UFS Women’s Breakfast on:

Date: 20 August 2020
Time: 09:00-11:00

The event is free of charge, but the audience will have the opportunity to pledge any amount towards the fight against gender-based violence.

Any interested parties can register via this link. The Organisational Development and Employee Wellness team is looking forward to seeing you online


Inspiration integral part of Kaars’ life …

Kaars, who is married with two children, says her family are her biggest fans. “They are my strength in pursuing my goals and dreams and they inspire me to be bold.” Meditation, ambition, and music also serves as inspiration for Kaars, a dynamic woman who leads the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness with a smile in her eyes. “My quiet time in the early mornings brings me to a place of being totally present and of dependence. It is during this time that I can just slow down and get new perspective on things.”

Kaars adds that ambition also keeps her going, even during bad days. For her, it means being eager to accomplish something, striving to reach her goals, and being determined to achieve what she set out to do and to do it enthusiastically.

But she believes the perspectives of others such as her family, close friends, and team members are important. “Their different perspectives, amount of energy, and their support of my ideas inspire me immensely,” she says.

On a creative level, Kaars says: “Music speaks to me in unique ways, and the ability to express yourself is very inspiring. The creativity it takes to make music amazes me in a wonderful way. I’ve been listening and enjoying music for as long as I can remember.”

 

News Archive

DF Malherbe Memorial Lecture reflects on the role of Afrikaans
2012-06-07

 
At the DF Malherbe Memorial Lecture, from the left: Prof. Hennie van Coller, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French; Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Institutional Affairs; Prof. Wannie Carstens; and Prof. Lucius Botes, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities.
Photo: Stephen Collett
07 June 2012

 

  • Lecture (pdf format - only available in afrikaans)

Does Afrikaans have a future in South Africa? How will the language become a truly transformed language of the new South Africa given the baggage of the image as the language of the oppressor? Will Afrikaans eventually die out?

These were the questions asked by Prof. Wannie Carstens, Director of the School of Languages at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University, when he recently delivered the 31st DF Malherbe Memorial Lecture at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS).
 
Prof. Carstens, also the former Chairperson of the Afrikaans Language Board, wanted to know whether reconciliation in Afrikaans is feasible, referring to the history of Afrikaans in South African politics. In a reference to the 1976 Soweto riots, he said a language could not be blamed for the mistakes of some of its speakers.
 
"The time is probably ripe to put this past behind us so that we can go on to reflect on Afrikaans, and in particular, the role of the Afrikaans speaker in the South Africa of 2012, and on the Afrikaans of 2060."
 
According to Prof. Carstens, an important condition for the reconciliation process of Afrikaans is to depoliticise the language. He referred to work that is being done by the Afrikaans Language Board and asked that everyone contribute to healing the Afrikaans language community.
 
"Let work together on a voice that can claim that it speaks on behalf of Afrikaans, and that might be able to contribute in the interest of Afrikaans to a truly transformed Afrikaans, or rather an inclusive Afrikaans that provides for all its speakers. When we are able to say that all Afrikaans voices are represented, only then can we truly talk of a transformed Afrikaans community."

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