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UFS rolls out second iteration of the Umoja Buddy Programme

03 March 2020

The Office for International Affairs (OIA) at the University of the Free State (UFS) implemented the second iteration of its Umoja Buddy Programme (UBP) in 2020. The UBP is a flagship internationalisation-at-home programme aimed at the smooth academic, social, and cultural integration of first-entering international students at the UFS by pairing them with senior UFS students. It offers local students an international experience on the home campus and develops their international and intercultural competence through direct interaction with international students. The UBP contributes to the achievement of the UFS vision, whereby every student will in future have an international experience during their studies at the UFS.

Internationalisation at home

On 13 February 2020, a welcome function themed Echoes of Sophiatown set the tone for this year’s edition. Chevon Slambee, Chief Officer in the OIA and UFS master’s student, welcomed the students and explained the theme of the day. She said that, “as students, we have a responsibility to be active citizens and contribute to change and social transformation”. Programme coordinator Bulelwa Moikwatlhai introduced the function and framework of the programme and highlighted the importance of internationalisation at home. Also in attendance was the Dean of Students, Pura Mgolombane, who encouraged students in his address to honour their heritage, “so that together, we can be able to appreciate one another”. He emphasised the importance of social justice for academic success. The SRC member for the International Student Council, Simba Matheba, expressed his support for the UBP. The UFS Arts, Culture, and Dialogue office provided entertainment at the event.

Umoja Buddy

International and local students mingling at the 2020 Umoja Buddy Programme Welcome Function.

News Archive

UFS commemorates life and legacy of Bram Fischer

2013-04-26

26 April 2013
Photo: Stephen Collett

Speech - Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture (Pdf)

The university celebrated the life and legacy of the struggle icon Bram Fischer – the Kovsie Alumnus who helped shape the landscape of South African history. The university paid homage to the anti-apartheid stalwart on 26 April 2013, hosting the first Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture with well-known academic and human rights lawyer Prof Barney Pityana as the guest speaker. Prof Pityana was joined on the Bloemfontein Campus by Fischer’s daughters Ruth Rice and Ilse Wilson and his nephew Peter.

Early in the day, the Fischer sisters honoured their father’s legacy speaking at a critical conversation hosted by the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice. They later joined Prof Pityana in a discussion with students where Prof Pityana spoke about the history of the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and the role of student leaders.

In his memorial later in the evening, Prof Pityana highlighted Fischer’s contribution in the struggle for justice, notably his role as lawyer in the Rivonia trial. He gave a critical evaluation of South Africa’s legal system speaking at length about accessibility and transformation of the system.

In his thank you speech Prof Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law, reminded the audience of the prominent role the Fischer family played in the history of the UFS. Fischer’s father Adv Percy Fischer was the very first law academic and founder of the Faculty of Law at the Grey University College, now the UFS. One of his earliest students was CR Swart, the first LLB graduate at the UFS. Fittingly, the inaugural lecture was hosted in the CR Swart Building, home to the Faculty of Law.

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