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18 July 2020 | Story Amanda Thongha
Staff, students and other stakeholders of the University of the Free State (UFS) can look forward to a virtual music show honouring the values and beliefs of former President Nelson Mandela. Musicians such as Simple Stories, Sibongile Mngoma, Boitumelo Mohutsioa, and Lucy Sehloho have prepared performances that will be showcased on UFS communication platforms on 31 July. Concluding Mandela Month celebrations, the pre-recorded show will also feature performances by poets Braithan Moratwa and Zilungile Muqayi. The show is coordinated by the Division of Student Affairs at the UFS.  

Angelo Mockie, Senior Officer: Arts, Culture and Dialogue at Student Affairs, says the show was primarily produced to convey a message of hope, solidarity, and support to the UFS community. “We chose Mandela Month to publish it, because those are the values that he believed in. Now more than ever, we need to stand together as a community to find ways of adapting to the new normal.”

In a message to UFS staff acknowledging the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, said Madiba’s example of compassion and courage made him one of the best-known leaders in the world.
“His life was a true inspiration and his devotion to democracy, equality, learning, and caring for others have earned him the respect of communities around the world.

This year, the significance of Mandela Day will be even more important than ever before, as we demonstrate caring by looking after ourselves, our families, and those around us, while we navigate through the pandemic. Caring provides purpose, but also the motivation to fulfil that purpose. The COVID-19 pandemic should enable us to imagine a world that is fairer, safer, more stable, secure, and one that can prosper.”

Taking Action

Heeding the call to take action and inspire change on Nelson Mandela’s birthday, you can read the following articles about the UFS making every day a Mandela Day:

The shelter and the students – a triumph of social impact

South Campus delivers much-needed educational support during pandemic

News Archive

Honouring Stanley Trapido – one of the most influential historians South Africa has produced
2014-08-14

 

Prof Charles van Onselen
Photo: Supplied

The International Studies Group and the History Department at the UFS hosted a seminar on Stanley Trapido by Prof Charles van Onselen on Monday 11 August 2014.

The seminar honoured the life and work of Trapido, one of the most important and influential historians South Africa has ever produced.

Trapido is probably best known for his work on the causes and consequences of the South African War of 1899–1902. It was to this broad time period that Prof Van Onselen spoke in his paper ‘The Political Economy of the South African Republic, 1881–1895’.

Prof Van Onselen’s lecture provided a major reinterpretation of the origins and causes of the Jameson Raid while emphasising that Paul Kruger’s ZAR was a state beset by crime and corruption. It was particularly fitting that Prof Van Onselen gave the inaugural seminar paper, since Trapido supervised his Oxford doctoral thesis.

The International Studies Group and the History Department were extremely honoured by Trapido’s widow, the Booker Prize nominated author Barbara, attending the seminar. They wish to thank her for donating her husband’s academic library to the UFS.

Following the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, the Trapido-couple emigrated to England. While there, Trapido began to shape what is now known as the ‘revisionist’ school of South African historiography. He argued the importance of analysing capital and class formation, which he maintained informed the racial ideologies that culminated in apartheid.

Prof Van Onselen’s inaugural seminar presentation will be followed later this term by papers from David Moore, Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni and Giacomo Macola.

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