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07 December 2020 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling | Photo Sonia Small
From the left; Lelanie de Wet; Andre Damons; Ilze Bakkes and Barend Nagel.

The University of the Free State Department of Communication and Marketing (DCM), together with Student Recruitment Services (SRS), have managed to bring home four awards during the annual IABC Africa Silver Quill Awards programme. The Quill Awards programme salutes and recognises business communication excellence across the continent. It is the second time this year that DCM has received recognition from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Earlier this year, Barend Nagel: Audio-visual Specialist, won a 2020 IABC Gold Quill Award of Merit for his Gender-based Violence awareness campaign photographs.

Furthermore, André Damons, who was recently appointed as Senior Media Relations Officer at the UFS DCM, won two 2020 Vodacom Journalist of the Year regional awards for the Free State, Northern Cape, North-West and Limpopo region in the features and sports category for work done while he was still a Network24 journalist in Bloemfontein. 

During a time like this

Effective communication is always important, but even more so during times of uncertainty and change. 2020 has created numerous challenges for any communications team, but also several opportunities. In true Kovsie spirit, the UFS managed to not only survive, but also to thrive. Lelanie de Wet from the DCM won two Awards of Excellence. One for the Kovsies Multilingual Mokete in the communication management category for diversity and inclusion, and one for the UFS Virtual Graduation in the special and experiential events skills category. The judges praised her entries for its exceptional quality and standard: “Brilliant. Congratulations on a significant accomplishment.” 

Doing the same, differently

Barend Nagel from the DCM and Ilze Bakkes from Student Recruitment Services both entered the UFS Virtual Open Day (VOD). Barend received an Award of Merit for his website-related work for the VOD in the skills category. Besides being commended for his innovative and resourceful approach, Barend impressed the judges with “superior production values and strong images”. Ilze Bakkes from the UFS SRS entered the VOD as a campaign to showcase the work her team has done to conceptualise and facilitate this first-of-its-kind open day. The entry received an Award of Merit for its detailed target audience insight and short production timescale, among others. The judges were also impressed by the innovative approach and effective use of internal and external resources. “It is our first Silver Quill,” Ilze beamed, “we are over the moon!”

A step ahead

The competition during this year’s Silver Quill Awards were tough, seeing that all communication teams had to reinvent and rethink the best way to reach their stakeholders with limited communication channels. “It is a huge honour to again be recognised by the IABC for our projects and campaigns. I am very proud of my colleagues, who not only worked right through all the national lockdown levels to keep everyone informed, but also managed to maintain and exceed their level of operation,” said Lacea Loader, Director: Communication and Marketing at the UFS.   

News Archive

UFS first to mechanise agricultural technique
2006-05-09

    

Small farmers from Thaba `Nchu were the biggest group attending the farmers day at the UFS Paradys experimental farm.  From the left are Mr David Motlhale (a small farmer from Thaba 'Nchu), Prof Leon van Rensburg (lecturer at the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and project leader), Mr Nhlonipho Nhlabatsi (Agricultural Research Council, Glen), Ms Meisie Mthethwa (small farmer from Bloemspruit).  In front is Mr Patrick Molatodi (chairperson of the Tswelopele Small Farmer Association).
 

 

Some of the participants of the farmers day at the UFS Paradys experimental farm were from the left Prof Leon van Rensburg (lecturer at the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and project leader, Mr Patrick Molatodi (chairperson of the Tswelopele Small Farmers Association) and Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: UFS Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences).

UFS first tertiary institution in world to mechanise agricultural technique
The University of the Free State (UFS) is the first tertiary institution in the world to mechanise the in-field rain water harvesting technique on a commercial scale.

The technique was recently demonstrated to about 100 small farmers at the UFS Paradys experimental farm outside Bloemfontein. 

“With this technique rain water is channeled to the plant and in this way food security is increased.  The advantage of the technique for commercial farmers lies in the reduced cultivation of land.  Small farmers will benefit from this because they can now move out into the fields and away from farming in their back yards,” says Prof Leon van Rensburg, lecturer at the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and project leader.    

Rain water harvesting is an antique concept that was used by communities before the birth of Christ.  In South Africa the technique is mainly used in the plots of small farmers where they make surface structures by hand. 

"The technique is also used for the first time by the UFS on commercial scale by means of the cultivation of a summer crop on 100 ha at the Paradys experimental farm,” says Prof Leon van Rensburg,

Of the farmers who attended the farmers day most represented about 42 rural communities in the vicinity of Thaba ‘Nchu.  A group of seven from KwaZulu-Natal also attended the proceedings.  These small farmers can for example apply this technique successfully on the 250-300 ha communal land that is available in the Thaba ‘Nchu area. 

The project is funded by the UFS and the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the farmers’ day was funded by the Water Research Commission.   

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
9 May 2006

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