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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

A & M Foundation to empower youth
2016-10-25

Description: ’Manapo UFS cross-country    Tags: UFS cross-country

Margo Fargo and Andricia Hinckemann,
the co-founders of the A & M Foundation.
Photo: Supplied

“Knowing that we are changing the lives of generations to come is motivation enough for me to wake up every day.”

These are the words of Andricia Hinckemann and Margo Fargo, the co-founders of the A & M Foundation. The foundation aims to empower young learners by providing greater platforms for social growth and development, allowing learners to be agents of change.

Going beyond textbook scopes

Andricia, a finalist of Miss Commonwealth 2016, is currently doing her Masters in Labour Law at the University of the Free State (UFS). Fargo is doing her Honours in BSc Consumer Science at the UFS. She is also the first princess for Miss Mamelodi Sundowns 2016 and a brand ambassador for Kalos Collections.

Margo says knowing it is no longer just about herself is more than enough to keep her going. “Be eager to learn beyond the scope of your textbooks and never limit yourself to your field of study,” she says.

Motivation to go the extra mile

The foundation specifically focuses on high school pupils, and helps build confidence among young adults in order that they become active social agents. “It’s about finding an identity irrespective of the circumstances you are in and developing townships to unlearn bad habits such as drug and alcohol abuse that have been instilled in these communities,” says Andricia.

Their main goal is to build something that is sustainable. “We want to go international and fund a group of high school pupils through tertiary education at any institution in the world.”

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