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23 September 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
UFS students will be performing at the virtual ICDF on 24 September 2020.

On 24 September 2020, South Africa will be celebrating Heritage Day. For the 25th anniversary of this celebration, South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions in the wider context of a country that belongs to all its people.  Dr Chitja Twala, Vice-Dean: Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS, says: “The importance of the day is that we must celebrate who we are and learn from each other.”  The University of the Free State (UFS) has a long tradition of commemorating Heritage Day and the ideas underpinning it. One way in which the UFS celebrates and recognises the tapestry of diverse cultures represented on its campuses is through its International Cultural Diversity Festival hosted by the Office for International Affairs. The purpose of the event is to highlight on Heritage Day that international cultural diversity is a central tenet of the UFS community. 

Pursuant to the tremendous challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic globally, the International Cultural Diversity Festival will this year be celebrated in a virtual format. 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. 

Date: 24 September 2020
Time: 10:00

No registration is required!

For the 2020 Heritage Month celebrations, let us share elements about ourselves that make us proud of who we are! The diverse contributions to the 2020 virtual International Cultural Diversity Festival activities will highlight the university’s commitment towards creating a diverse, challenging intellectual environment. As a research-led university, the UFS strives to provide an environment in which new ideas are incubated and debated, contributing to its transformation process and African unity.

For more information contact Bulelwa Moikwatlhai on MaloB@ufs.ac.za 


News Archive

Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French impresses at conference
2010-02-24

 
The five staff members from the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the UFS who recently made history at a conference held at the University of Pretoria (UP) were, from the left, front: Ms Swart, Prof. Steyn, Dr Van den Berg; back: Mr Senekal and Prof. Van Coller. Photo: Supplied


Five staff members from the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently made history at a conference at the University of Pretoria (UP). The department presented the most papers coming from one department and university at a conference entitled “Patryspoort na buite”. Ms Corlietha Swart, Prof. Jaap Steyn, Dr Cilliers van den Berg, Mr Burgert Senekal and Prof. Hennie van Coller all presented excellent papers at the conference.

According to Ms Swart, three of the five papers focused on different aspects of the author and linguist, G.R. von Wielligh. The Von Wielligh papers took up a full session of the conference.

With Von Wielligh’s 150th commemoration in 2009, the National Afrikaans Literature and Research Centre (NALN), under the auspices of the curator Mr Otto Liebenberg, decided to research this underrated figure’s contribution. Swart’s paper titled “Landmeter Von Wielligh op ongekarteerde taallandskap”, took a look at this figure as a linguist. Prof. Steyn focused on “G.R. Von Wielligh as historikus van die ‘eerste’ Afrikaanse taalbeweging” and Prof. Van Coller’s paper concentrated on “G.R. von Wielligh se bydrae tot die voorsiening van Afrikaanse leesstof en die kweek van ’n leeskultuur: ’n literêrhistoriese perspektief op sy skeppende prosa”.

Dr. Van den Berg read a paper on “Die transmissie van trauma: ‘Tralievader’ deur Carl Friedman” and Mr Senekal’s paper gave an overview of “Die representasie van vervreemding in hedendaagse Afrikaanse protesmusiek”.
- Lize du Plessis

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