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20 April 2021 | Story Cornelius Hagenmeier

On 25 May 2021, Africa will celebrate the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). A central tenet of the organisation, which was the predecessor of the African Union (AU), is African solidarity. This call celebrates the idea and the ideal of African solidarity. As we are preparing for Africa Month 2021, we received the shocking news about the damage to the University of Cape Town’s African Studies collection. The need for African solidarity to mitigate this immense loss has inspired the theme of the 2021 UFS virtual Africa Month celebration, ‘solidarity in knowledge production and recording’.

From the establishment of the OAU and with the later formation of the AU, member states undertook to coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the people of Africa.

Africa Day Memorial Lecture

The 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. On 19 May 2021 at 19:00 (SAST), Prof Walter D Mignolo, a guru of decoloniality, will virtually deliver this year’s lecture titled The beauty of the sovereign people: Jean Casimir and the Decolonial History of Haiti, to honour the memory of transatlantic slavery by reflecting on former ambassador, Prof Jean Casimir, who has shifted the geography of reasoning by breaking the code of the standard history of the slave trade, the African diaspora in the Caribbean, and of captive human beings in the plantations. The discussant will be CGAS Extraordinary Professor and Professor of Epistemologies of the Global South at the University of Bayreuth, Prof Sabelo J Ndlovu-Gatsheni.  

As COVID-19 continues to ravage the world, Africans have been fighting against the pandemic in various ways and have achieved considerable success in this regard. Given the economic and social challenges associated with the pandemic, fostering African solidarity and further developing the underpinning philosophy of ubuntu appear to be particularly worthwhile projects.

A virtual celebration of Africa Month

The UFS 2021 Africa Month commemorations will again take a virtual format. It will include a focus on UFS engagement on the continent, partnerships with other African institutions, research excellence, and student success stories.  The UFS invites all members of its community to contribute thought-provoking pieces to this virtual celebration of Africa Month. Selected contributions will be presented on the university's website and social media.

Among other formats, contributions may take the format of

  • recorded performing art performances (e.g., solo music or poetry);
  • virtual visual art presentations;
  • written poetry;
  • songs;
  • short thought/opinion pieces, which can also be published in mainstream media; or
  • topical academic writings.

Please share a brief written proposal explaining your planned contribution by 30 April 2021. The proposal should not exceed 300 words and should be emailed to Cornelius Hagenmeier (hagenmeiercca@ufs.ac.za) or Prof Colin Chasi (ChasiCT@ufs.ac.za).

News Archive

First superannuation lecture delivered at the UFS
2009-11-18

Proff. Voet du Plessis (left) and Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law.
Photo: Stephen Collett


Prof. Voet du Plessis from the Department of Mercantile Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently presented the first superannuation lecture at the UFS.

Prof. Du Plessis retired this year after 41 years at the UFS. This milestone event coincides with the faculty’s celebration of a century of excellence in legal education under the theme “Iurisprudentia 100”.

With his superannuation lecture Prof. du Plessis gave a view on the future of worker participation in enterprises. Thirty years ago during his inaugural lecture he discussed a similar topic: Worker participation in the management organs of a company.

According to him there is currently no worker participation in management organs in South African companies. The South African legislation does give extended abilities and protection for workers. In spite of this protection South African legislation falls short with regard to a possible say workers may have in or influence that workers may exercise over decisions taken in the workplace and which affect them as workers directly.

In terms of the right to information and consultation he gave the following suggestions to improve the current system of worker participation in decisions which affect them as workers:

“Serious attention must be given to the changes to the current Labour Relations Act, 1995 for the compulsory establishment of a workplace forum in each workplace with 50 or more workers, to oblige the employer to take the initiative with the establishment of a workplace forum; and to give to registered trade unions who are recognised in the workplace the sole right to nominate candidates for the workplace forum,” said Prof. du Plessis. He also proposed that attention be given to a Southern African Work Committee. An increase in world wide economic operations through multi national companies with head quarters abroad where decisions about the misfortunes of workers in the Southern African region are taken makes such a decision essential.
 

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