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22 May 2020
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Story Nitha Ramnath
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A Virtual celebration of Africa Month
On 25 May 2020, Africa will celebrate the 57th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity. A central tenet of the organisation, which was the predecessor of the African Union, is African solidarity. Member states undertook to coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the people of Africa. The University of the Free State (UFS) has a long tradition of commemorating Africa Day and the ideas underpinning it. Every year, diverse events aimed at advancing African unity and solidarity take place during Africa Month – traditionally, the highlight is the Africa Day Memorial Lecture hosted by the University's Centre for Gender and Africa Studies.
This year, celebrating African unity through significant events involving the physical presence of a large number of people, will likely be impossible. COVID-19 is ravaging the world and Africa may become one of the world regions worst affected by the consequences of the virus. Social distancing may be difficult to achieve in a continent with densely populated urban centres that often feature large informal settlements. Besides, the economies of African nations are not as robust as those of other world regions. The challenge that Africa is facing, appears to be one that can only be mastered by its people acting in solidarity and unity. The continent has already developed an Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak to combat the virus, and an Africa Taskforce for Coronavirus has been established. The ideas of African togetherness and the underpinning philosophy of Ubuntu may be critical for strengthening African solidarity at a time when it may be more relevant than ever.
The commemoration of Africa Day takes a different theme each year. This year, the UFS 2020 Africa Month celebrations will take a virtual format, with the theme of ‘Africa together forever’ underpinned by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The theme is particularly significant considering the context of the African continent; and only through the demonstration of solidarity and unity can Africa overcome the challenges of the global pandemic.
The University will host a variety of cultural and intellectual contributions on the dedicated UFS virtual Africa Month website. On Africa Day (25 May 2020), a virtual Africa Day function, which will be posted on the website, will conclude the Africa Month commemorations.
The diverse contributions to the 2020 virtual Africa Month activities will highlight the University’s commitment towards creating a diverse, challenging intellectual environment. The UFS strives as a research-led university, to provide an environment in which new ideas are incubated and debated; contributing towards its transformation process and African unity.
UFS announces its Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year
2012-10-12
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Here are, from the left: Raymond Rhule, Junior Sportsman of the year, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Institutional Affairs, and Jamba Ulengo, Sportsman of the year. Izelle Lategan (Sportswoman of the year) and Tanya Brits (Junior Sportswoman of the year) was not present at the event.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
12 October 2012 |
The University of the Free State (UFS) honoured its top achievers at a glamorous gala dinner in the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus on Thursday 11 October 2012. Jamba Ulengo and Izelle Lategan were named the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year respectively.
The Junior Sportsman and Sportswoman for 2012 are Raymond Rhule and Tanya Brits.
This year the university’s sport stars were honoured in five categories. This includes:
- Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year (everyone that represented South Africa at a senior level, was eligible for the title). The winners each received a trophy and each sportsman and sportswomen in this category were honoured with a medal.
- Junior sportsman and sportswoman of the year. The winners each received a trophy.
- Sport stars that represented South Africa at senior and junior level. The achievers received certificates.
- Sport stars that represented the UFS in the national student teams. The sport stars also received certificates.
- Certificates were also awarded to the KovsieSport club sport stars.
The following students represented South Africa at senior level:
- Nardus Greyling. He represented the SA Athletics Team in the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championship.
- Boy Soke. He represented the SA Athletics Team in the Confederation of African Cross-country Championship
- Izelle Lategan. She represented the Investec SA Women’s Hockey Team in the Champs Challenge in Dublin, Ireland, in Holland and Belgium and she played for the SA U/21 team against Spain and Belgium. She was also captain of the SA U/21-team during the senior interprovincial championships.
- JVA Steytler. He represented the SA Athletics Team in the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championship.
- Johan Cronjé. He represented the SA Athletics Team as a 1 500 m finalist in the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championship. He also participated in the Dessau International meeting in Germany and the Grand Prix meeting in Prague.