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08 December 2020 | Story Nelia Oosthuysen | Photo Charl Devenish
Nelia Oosthuysen South Campus
Nelia Oosthuysen is a digital content creator and curator on the UFS South Campus.
Every year begins chock-full of new opportunities, expectations, dreams… And so, we also approached 2020 with a perennial positivity unaware of what lay ahead. New challenges? The Coronavirus Pandemic took care of that, more than we could have ever anticipated. On 23 March 2020, our President announced a national lockdown period that would have numerous ramifications. Most of these would be negative, as we know all too well: Our personal lives, the things we read in the paper / on social media, and what we see around us. But I decided to stop and focus on the positives that could come out of this pandemic as well as some “food for thought”.

We were all dumbstruck at our planet’s ability to heal itself in such a short time and show off the astounding beauty that nature has to offer, such as the sparkling clean canals in Venice. Pollution decreased in leaps and bounds, and for once, residents of some of the major cities in the world could not see what they were breathing in! NASA observed this phenomenon with satellites in the atmosphere that travelled above Asia, America, and Europe during this time.

On a more personal note, the lockdown period was an opportunity for me — and one I hope everyone also used to some degree — to step back, do a little introspection, and reflect on the crucial aspects of everyday life. Reflecting on the significance of relationships with family and friends, our responsibility towards our planet and everything on it, as well as new awareness and sensitivity towards those in a less fortunate position than we are in. Lastly, but certainly not least: How is my spiritual life? Am I spending enough time with my Creator as my only source of energy in these trying times? I can only speak for myself, but during this time, I was able to take stock of my life again and to prioritise what is and what should be important to me. Let us then go forth with a new lease on life keeping in mind the wisdom in this anonymous aphorism: “Some people cannot be cured, but everyone can heal.”

News Archive

Vice-Chancellor honoured with major awards
2013-05-02

02 May 2013

The University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to announce that Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, has been awarded a number of major awards recently.

The University of California in the United States awarded him the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. The award is made in recognition of persons who exemplify in their work the delivery of social justice, diplomacy and tolerance in the diverse local and global society.

“The committee was very impressed with the commitment that Prof Jansen has had to reconciliation and forgiveness as a way to build bridges and to find common ground. Prof Jansen is following in the steps of many of our greatest peace-time leaders and we support his efforts to bring understanding to all cultures,” said Mark Aldenderfer, chair of the awards committee and Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Art at the University of California.

Prof Jansen also received the 2013 Academia Award at the Sixth Annual Ubuntu Lecture and Dialogue Awards Ceremony of the Turquoise Harmony Institute on 4 April 2013 in Johannesburg. The Institute aims to foster relations among different faith and cultural traditions to contribute to the well-being of humanity.

According to the organisers, “outstanding individuals who made noteworthy contributions to dialogue, peace and harmony in the society,” are given recognition during the ceremony. The awards are made in a number of different categories. Prof Jansen was among the recipients who included Graca Machel and the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF). Previous winners of Turquoise Awards include Ahmed Kathrada, Chester Williams, Dr Frene Ginwala and Prof Russel Botman.

On 10 May 2013, Prof Jansen was also honoured by Kappa Delta Pi International Honour Society in Education. He was awarded membership of the Laureate Chapter of the society founded in 1911 which “is comprised of men and women who have made distinguished contributions to education, and is limited to 60 living persons”. Prof Jansen joins an exclusive membership of 293 which includes such luminaries as Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jean Piaget and George Washington Carver.

Also in the United States, Prof Jansen has been invited to be Messenger Lecturer for Fall 2013 at Cornell University. He will give three lectures and interact with the students and staff of Cornell at various functions.

“This is a significant honour and it will really allow members from across the university to get a deeper appreciation of the work you are doing at UFS and in South Africa more broadly,” said Prof Judith Byfield of Cornell’s Department of History and Director of Graduate Studies at the department’s Africana Studies and Research Centre.

On the local front, City Press published its inaugural 100 World Class South Africans on 28 April 2013. During a rigorous selection process, 100 of our country’s most extraordinary citizens who have achieved world-class status were chosen. Prof Jansen’s achievements procured him a place on this prestigious list in the category: Heroes and Mavericks.

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