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21 August 2021 | Story Michelle Nöthling

What does the best university community look like? And what would a better South Africa look like?

In the last couple of weeks, our conversations have been dominated by topics of violence that have spilled into our communities. We have shared our fears with each other and talked about the complexities that gave rise to this rage within our society. We also witnessed communities pulling together in the midst of the destruction, reminding us of our common humanity. 

If you had the opportunity to help build the best university you could imagine, would you step into that space? If you could help create a prospering South African society, would you act?

This is what the Division of Student Affairs is calling you to do. Join us as we embark on a journey of reimagining and ultimately co-creating the community we want. It starts with a conversation. A conversation where your voice is important and welcomed, and where we regard your presence as essential to realise our shared dreams.

We call you as a member of the UFS community—students and staff alike—to join our circle of conversation. We will make use of deeply engaging methods and break-out rooms to create a safe and brave space that encourages mutual sharing and deep listening. 

Add your vision and voice to the conversation to collectively imagine and build the best version of our university.

UFS Community Conversation
Date: Wednesday, 1 September
Time: 16:00 – 18:00
Platform: Zoom (in order to best support universal access and methodology)

Registration is required:

For reasonable accommodation requirements (e.g., closed captioning, or sign language interpreters), contact Michelle Nöthling at nothlingm@ufs.ac.za.

We also have information session leading up to our main conversation. During these sessions, we welcome your questions and together start to explore the concept of community in a collaborative environment.  

Information sessions
Monday, 23 August 2021, 15:00 – 16:00
Tuesday, 24 August 2021, 15:00 – 16:00
Wednesday, 25 August 2021, 15:00 – 16:00
Thursday, 26 August 2021, 15:00 – 16:00
Monday, 30 August 2021, 15:00 – 16:00
Tuesday, 31 August 2021, 15:00 – 16:00

Click here to access any of the information sessions. No registration is required for these sessions.

News Archive

UFS shares expertise in Sign Language
2009-05-07

 
The University of the Free State (UFS) is continuing in its commitment to reach out to other universities on the African continent. Mr Philemon Akach (pictured), a senior lecturer in the Department of Afro-Asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice, recently visited the University of Ghana to share his expertise and assist in the introduction of the Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL) as an academic course in that institution. The course will first be piloted as an “elective course” and if successful it will be a permanent feature of the University of Ghana's calendar.

Mr Akach has been instrumental in the development of GSL since the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sent him on a fact-finding mission regarding the education of deaf children in Ghana in 1993. Since then he has trained interpreters as well as parents and teachers of deaf children in Ghana in using the South African Sign Language multimedia grammar teaching materials. He has also guided the GSL Dictionary Project. The University of Ghana will use his books as the basis for the teaching of the GSL. This session was a follow-up to the one he had with that university in February this year.

The UFS is widely regarded as a beacon of light in the teaching of sign language on the continent and, together with the University of Witwatersrand, are the only universities in South Africa that offer sign language as an academic course.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

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