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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

Course on sustainable development recognised at COP 17
2011-12-07

 

Some participants of the PED Nexus Programme during a field trip are from left: Jacques van Zuydam, Chief Director: Population and Development at the national  Department of Social Development; Prof. André Pelser, course coordinator (UFS); Prof. Sosten Chiotha, Director, LEAD Southern and Eastern Africa; and Dr Nola Redelinghuys, course facilitator (UFS).

The University of the Free State (UFS) received a nod of approval at the COP 17 Climate Change Conference in Durban for a short course it presents in partnership with the Chief Directorate Population and Development, United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), LEAD International and SANParks.

The UFS received an honourable mention in a press release from the Department of Social Development for the short course entitled ‘Leadership Training in Sustainable Development: The Population, Environment and Development (PED) Nexus’. The release was issued as part of COP17. It mentions that the course is recognised in a publication of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as one of ten innovative experiences and best practices in population and development in the developing world.
 
Prof. André Pelser, UFS Professor in Sociology, says the university played a key role in the development and implementation of the course. The UFS has been presenting the course since its inception in 2005.   Similar courses under the banner of the PED Nexus, although in a totally different format, are also presented at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and the University of Cape Town. A total of 21 courses have been presented nationwide since 2005, of which the UFS has hosted eight. More than 230 participants from all over the world have been trained in these eight short nine-day courses.
 
The PED Nexus Programme focuses on the interrelationships of population, environment and development and its significance for sustainable human development and is closely linked to the implementation of the national Population Policy for South Africa. The press release reads that the programme is implemented in the form of short courses that target professionals and managers in governments at all levels as well as non-governmental agencies responsible for the implementation of programmes related to sustainable development.
 
Prof. Pelser and Dr Nola Redelinghuys, also from the Department of Sociology, have recently been tasked by the National Department of Social Development to upgrade the course outline.  The next course will run from 17-25 April 2012. As in the case of pervious courses, the first six days will be hosted on our main Campus in Bloemfontein, whereafter course participants and their facilitators depart to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park for the practical part of the course. 

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