Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
04 February 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish
Kovsie Eco vehicle parade
A highlight for first-year and senior students is the ACT eco-vehicle building and parade through the streets of Bloemfontein.

Sunny skies, cheerful faces, and an overall great atmosphere surfed the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus on Saturday, 1 February 2020 for the final series of events in the Kovsie ACT 2020 line-up.

The eco-vehicle parade kick-started the activities for the day and saw various student teams displaying their personalised pit-stop ‘sculptures’ along the streets of Bloemfontein.  UFS residence teams Sonverlief (Houses Sonnedou, Veritas, Madelief); Soetmarmentum (Houses Soetdoring, Marjolein, Armentum); and Beykasium (Houses Beyers Naudé, Akasia, Imperium) came in first, second, and third respectively, obtaining the highest scores out of nine teams for their pit-stop sculpture constructions. 
 
Following the parade, there were a number of fun but competitive eco-vehicle races between the teams. This included the Drag Race, Obstacle Course Race, Formula E Race, Endurance Race, and the Slalom Course Race that took place on the Mokete Square. 

In the evening, students were serenaded by artists such as Early B and Spoegwolf. They danced to performances from the latest Amapiano music sensation, Kabza de Small, and legendary deep-house music duo, Black Motion, at the Rag Farm. 

Assistant Director of UFS Student Life and Director of the Kovsie ACT office, Karen Scheepers, earlier urged students to get more involved in student-life programmes such as Kovsie ACT, in order to equip themselves with a variety of skills and a fulfilling university experience.

A number of senior and first-year students who were part of the action on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus this past Saturday, can attest to Scheepers’ advice.
“I’ve been looking forward to starting university for the longest time, and I am glad that I ended up at the UFS. I don’t feel alone, I feel like I can actually do this,” said first-year Psychology student, Thulisa Shezi.

“University isn’t as bad as everyone thinks it is, it’s just a matter of staying motivated, doing your work, and surrounding yourself with the right people in the process.” – Fourth-year Business Management student, Earl van der Westhuisen.

News Archive

Prof Naomi Morgan knighted by French Government
2015-02-02

Prof Naomi Morgan

Prof Naomi Morgan, lecturer at the UFS Department of Afrikaans and Dutch; German and French, received the prestigious Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award at the French Embassy in Pretoria on Monday 26 January 2015.

The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and its supplementary status to the Ordre national du Mérite was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields.

Prof Morgan is being recognised for her translation work of plays such as ‘Oskar en die Pienk Tannies’, as well as translations of Afrikaans songs to French for the popular Afri-Frans compilation. The fact that the French Government gives such a highly-acclaimed award in recognition to the ‘art of translation’ is even more of an overwhelming honour to her than the personal achievement in itself.

The Chevalier (the Knighting) awarded to Prof Morgan is the third highest grade in the Order.

Prof Morgan now joins world-renowned individuals such as William Kentridge and Johnny Clegg on the list of foreign luminaries who have received this honour. Only two Literature Professors from South Africa – JM Coetzee and André P Brink – received this award in the past. During 1992, Brink received a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Coetzee was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

“I feel that an award like this is not only significant for me, but also to students who are busy with their studies and wondering: is there going to be recognition, what can one do with translation?” Prof Morgan said. “This is the biggest gift, the biggest gift anyone could ever give me. Now I ask for nothing more!”

For more information or enquiries contact news@ufs.ac.za .

 

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept