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Embark on your Gateway to an exciting Kovsie life

23 January 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa

Enrich your first University of the Free State (UFS) experiences with the annual Gateway first-year’s college. Form long-lasting friendships and memories with your fellow freshmen and gear up for a vibrant academic career at the UFS.

Gateway comprises an exciting series of student-life and learning experiences that are intended to introduce and acquaint students with their respective Kovsie campuses and overall UFS campus life.

The 2020 Gateway programme inducts first-year students into academic faculty life in order to help them adjust and settle into the university environment. It also aims to instil effective skills in them to thrive academically, and to develop into well-rounded, globally competitive graduates.

Want to experience Gateway? Here’s how

The Gateway Orientation programme on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus is conducted according to student colleges. First-year students who do not belong to an on-campus or day residence on the Bfn Campus, are assigned to a college in Exam Room 3 during their registration. This enables them to follow and be part of the series of events according to the colleges they are assigned to.

Get to know your UFS campus

UFS Campus Tours no longer form part of the Gateway Programme; however, Gateway mentors assigned to specific colleges are available for students to get in touch with, in order to arrange tours of the Bloemfontein Campus. Day-residence students and students residing on campus are paired with P3 mentors, who have been placed in their respective residences to facilitate campus tours for them.

KovsiesACTUP Performing Arts Competition

The UFS Arts, Culture and Dialogue office has partnered with the Kovsie ACT office for the 2020 Gateway programme, introducing the KovsiesACTUP Performing Arts Competition for all prospective and current students of the UFS. It is geared towards engaging students and enhancing the general social atmosphere on the Bloemfontein Campus during registration.

The competition comprises various categories, including dancing, singing, poetry, DJing, musical bands, and rap. The winner from each category will walk away with R1 500 in cash. The competition finale will be held at the RAG farm on 27 January 2020 at 14:00.

For more information on how to get involved with the Arts, Culture and Dialogue Office, students can visit the Callie Human Centre on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. The office has set up a performance stage, where fellow Kovsies associated with the office are entertaining prospective students and parents who are waiting to register.

For enquiries about Gateway on each campus, see the details below:

Bloemfontein Campus: +27 51 401 9876 or email gateway@ufs.ac.za
Qwaqwa Campus: Dulcie Malimabe, +27 58 718 5041; malimabeDP@ufs.ac.za
South Campus: Tshego Setilo, +27 51 505 1362; SetiloT@ufs.ac.za

Visit the UFS Gateway page for more information on the 2020 programme and how you can get involved.

News Archive

Inter-country adoptions can offer relief

2009-08-12

At the occasion were, in the front: Prof. Hennie Oosthuizen, head of the Department of Criminal and Medical Law, UFS; back: Adv. Mariëtte Reyneke, head of the Unit for Children’s Rights and senior lecturer in the Department of Law of Procedure and Law of Evidence, UFS, Judge of Appeal Belinda van Heerden, and Adv. Beatri Kruger, also from the Unit for Children’s Rights and senior lecturer in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law, UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collett

Inter-country adoptions must not be taken lightly; however, in some instances it is suitable and can bring relief to a child. These were the words of Katinka Pieterse from Abba Adoptions, which specialises in inter-country adoptions.

She was one of the expert presenters at a recent workshop on inter-country adoptions that was recently presented by the Unit for Children’s rights in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Judge of Appeal Belinda van Heerden, an expert in the field of Child and Family Law, gave an overview as well as a Southern African perspective on this controversial topic. The Hague Convention sets international standards to protect children from the inherent dangers that accompany inter-country adoptions. The South African law must be aligned with these international standards by incorporating specific stipulations as well as the Hague Convention into legislation applicable to children. There must also be acted in the best interest of the child, said Judge van Heerden. The authorities have safety measures in place to protect children from these dangers. The starting point remains that inter-country adoptions are only considered once one cannot find suitable care in the country of origin.

Prof. Sheryl Buske from the Charlotte School of Law, North Carolina in the United States of America in particular emphasised the dangers of human trafficking that can take place when inter-country adoptions do not adhere to international safety standards. She also pointed out new developments such as the role of surrogate mothers and the adoption of embryos.

The workshop was attended by a large variety of role players, varying from academics, lawyers, social workers, non-governmental organisations, law students and representatives from governmental institutions. Consequently, light was shed on the topic from a number of angles which will be of value to the respective role players. Jurists from Lesotho also expressed their gratitude for the insight they received.

The workshop was of great value to the university because it served the community with expert presentations on this new and sensitive topic. The guidelines and pitfalls that were discussed and pointed out at the workshop cleared uncertainties and brought new insight to the different professions and role players in the field. Furthermore, the bond between the academia and practice were developed and strengthened by the establishment of further cooperation between the parties.

Media Release:
Lacea Loader
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
11 August 2009

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