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24 September 2020 | Story Bulelwa Moikwatlhai | Photo Supplied
The third edition of the UFS International Cultural Diversity Festival took place on 24 September 2020, organised annually by the UFS Office for International Affairs in Heritage Month. As part of the South African Heritage Day celebrations, the event honours the different heritages at the UFS. The entire day is dedicated to the expression of diverse cultural experiences from all over the world. “Even during this uncertain time, it is important to find time to celebrate our uniqueness and to appreciate one another’s heritage and culture in the spirit of our humanity”, says Bulelwa Moikwatlhai, Coordinator of the International Cultural Diversity Festival. 

Connecting cultures

This year’s theme was ‘Connecting the Cultures’. It focused on the digital ways of connecting the world while sharing different cultural experiences and celebrations, as well as embracing Heritage Day. The day consisted of a lot of virtual activities, messages being shared, a collaboration of songs that brought light and laughter during this time of a world pandemic. “Individuals from different cultures have been invited to share their favourite cultural cuisines, regalia, songs, and dances, and last words of encouragement and support during these times in their home language while providing translation,” says Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research and Internationalisation. 

The programme included artistic presentations by the UFS Arts, Culture, and Dialogue office in the Students Affairs Division, coordinated by Angelo Mockie. 

International Cultural Diversity

Director of the UFS Office for International Affairs, Cornelius Hagenmeier, explained that cultural diversity is central to the university’s internationalisation process. He emphasised that the university actively strives to increase its international diversity, which nurtures intellectual cross-fertilisation and the incubation of new ideas. Central is that everyone, irrespective of culture and origin, should feel welcome at the UFS, he says.
The virtual festival allowed students and staff to share and celebrate who they are while learning from each other. This enhances the international and intercultural competencies of the transforming UFS community.

News Archive

Law students triumph in Africa
2007-08-16

 

Pictured with the trophies they have won are, from the left: Ms Qaqamba Vellem (fourth-year LL.B. student), Prof. Johan Henning (Dean of the UFS Faculty of Law), Prof. Loot Pretorius (Head of the Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law), Ms Lucy Nthotso (fourth-year LL.B. student), Ms Thapi Matsaneng (moot coach and lecturer in Corporate Law at the UFS) and Mr Johnny Modipa (third-year LL.B. student).
Photo: Stephen Collett

Law students triumph in Africa

A team of students from the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) has won the first prize at the 16th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition held in Senegal last week.

The UFS team consisted of three L.L .B. students, namely Ms Lucy Nthotso, Ms Qaqamba Vellem and Mr Johnny Modipa, and beat teams from numerous South African law faculties as well as from the rest of Africa.

The Moot Court Competition is an event where students from law faculties across Africa argue a hypothetical case on human rights issues pertinent to the continent. This year’s competition dealt with the issues of refugee status, nationality, HIV/AIDS and the right to education.

Over and above the UFS team’s success as the overall competition winners, the UFS team came first in the written memorials category (written substance of the argument of the particular party), beating seventy teams from both the English and French speaking African countries.

To further add to their splendid overall team performance, team members Ms Vellem and Ms Nthotso were selected amongst the top fifteen students for their oral arguments out of the hundred and forty who took part in the competition. Ms Vellem came tenth and Ms Ntshotso eleventh.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS, Prof. Johan Henning, the faculty is extremely proud of this achievement of its students in such a highly regarded competition.

“This success shows that the quality of legal education and training we provide here at the UFS, both through the 4- and 5-year L.L.B. options is rated among the best in Africa, if not the world,” Prof. Henning said.

He said it also showed that the faculty is committed to producing black law graduates of substance who are second to none.

The three students were coached by Ms Thapi Matsaneng, a UFS law graduate who is completing her Ph.D. at the University of London and who was groomed by the UFS as part of its Grow Our Own Timber programme, aimed at producing black academics.

Prof. Loot Pretorius, head of the department of constitutional law and philosophy of law at the UFS, acted as a consultant to the team. Ms Matsaneng also accompanied the three team members to Senegal.

The panel of judges who determined the winners comprised of the commissioners of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a South African Constitutional Court judge as well as other respected members of the legal community.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
16 August 2007

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