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04 August 2020 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath
Apart from its devastating impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the nature and quality of our democracies – democracy read in its widest sense here as collective and individual self-determination. Formal, institutional democracy has beencurtailed through the imposition of states of emergency or disaster and the logistical difficulties associated with social distancing. Extra-institutional democratic work, such as protest and social-movement activity, has suffered from prohibitions imposed by law and through state suppression related to ‘lockdown’. The nature (and perhaps democratic quality) of public conversation has changed – for better or worse – from increasing reliance on ‘science’ and ‘scientists’ to justify public choices. The crisis has brought to the fore already existing characteristics of our democracies, such as the prevalence and power of special-interest bargaining, the extreme inequality of our societies, and chauvinist nationalisms that force us to ask whether we have ever had democracy at all. What will be the long-term effects of these impacts of the crisis on our democracies? What will democracy look like post-COVID? What does the crisis teach us about what our democracies have always been?

Join us for a discussion of these and other democracy-related issues in these troubled times by a panel of four hailing from Colombia, India, South Africa, and the USA.

Date: Thursday, 13 August
Time: 14:00-16:00 (South African Standard Time – GMT +2)

 

Please RSVP to Mamello Serasengwe at serasengwemsm@ufs.ac.za no later than 12 August 2020 upon which you will receive a Skype for Business meeting invite and link to access the webinar

Panel

Prof Natalia Angel Cabo (University of Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia)

Dr Quaraysha Ismail-Sooliman (University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa)

Dr Usha Ramanathan  Independent Law Researcher  (Delhi, India)

Prof Katie Young (Boston College, Boston, USA) 

Moderator

Prof Danie Brand (Free State Centre for Human Rights, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa)   




News Archive

UFS steps up measures to keep staff and students safe
2013-09-17

Badenhorst gate
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
18 September 2013

The University of the Free (UFS) has extended measures to ensure the safety of its staff and students on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Part of this initiative includes the closure of the gate at Badenhorst Street in Universitas near Roosmaryn residence for traffic as from 1 October 2013. Pedestrians who can present a valid student or staff card or any form of official identification will still be allowed to access this gate. No vehicles will be allowed to pass through the Badenhorst gate after this date, though.

In addition, the pedestrian gate at the sports grounds on the western campus will also be closed from 1 October 2013.

The gate at the Agriculture Building in DF Malherbe Avenue will now be closed at 22:00 every night and over weekends, instead of being open 24 hours a day.

Closing these gates forms part of the university’s strategy to increase safety measures on the Bloemfontein Campus. Further efforts will follow to restrict access to the campus – such as the installation of an integrated electronic security systems. An intensive safety awareness campaign aimed at staff and students has also been launched and tips on how to stay safe are extensively being communicated.

Furthermore, the university will have a caravan present at major events to attract attention to security and implement a strategy to make the areas around the Bloemfontein Campus safer for students.



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