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05 April 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
Jamba Isaac Ulengo.
Jamba Isaac Ulengo, our guest in the third episode of the Voices of the Free State podcast series is a South African rugby union player who proudly joined his team in bringing home a gold medal at the 2013 World Games. 

François van Schalkwyk and Keenan Carelse, UFS alumni leading the university’s United Kingdom Alumni Chapter, have put their voices together to produce and direct the podcast series.  Intended to reconnect alumni with the university and their university experience, the podcasts will be featured on the first Monday of every month, ending in November 2021.  Our featured alumni share and reflect on their experiences at the UFS, how it has shaped their lives, and relate why their ongoing association with the UFS is still relevant and important. The podcasts are authentic conversations – they provide an opportunity for the university to understand and learn about the experiences of its alumni and to celebrate the diversity and touchpoints that unite them. 

Our podcast guest

Born in the North West town of Vryburg, Ulengo first played provincial rugby at the U16 Grant Khomo Week in 2005. While attending Jim Fouché High School in Bloemfontein, Ulengo was chosen to represent the Free State at various youth levels. As an up-and-coming player, Ulengo made his break via the FNB Varsity Cup Competition where he starred for the Shimlas, scoring 11 tries in 18 appearances over the three seasons between 2010 and 2012. A short stint with the Free State Vodacom Cup side saw him make his debut for the Blitzboks (Glasgow 2012), followed by a tournament at the London Sevens in 2014. Ulengo has been a prominent member of the South African Sevens since making his debut for the team in the Scotland leg of the 2011-2012 IRB Sevens World Series. He played in the two final tournaments of that season and then signed a two-year contract with the South African Rugby Union to represent the team in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 series. While he only competed at four events in his first full season, he was involved in seven of the tournaments in his second season. 

Ulengo made his return to the sport by signing a contract to play Currie Cup rugby for the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls in 2014 and for their Super Rugby franchise, the Bulls, from the 2015 Super Rugby season. 

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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