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01 July 2021
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Story Dikgapane Makhetha
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Photo Supplied
This year, the young people of South Africa celebrated 45 years of the annual commemoration of
Youth Day. The University of the Free State (UFS)
Community Engagement (CE) office on the
Qwaqwa Campus has engaged a number of stakeholders in the call to use football as a means of bringing people together, transforming lives, and enthusing communities. Through partnerships, community organisations have great potential to create opportunities for breaking down barriers and inspiring social cohesion, initiating enablement through the development of social projects, and promoting education and health awareness.
On 16 June this year, local community organisations collaborated in the hosting of a soccer event for the youth of Qwaqwa at the FIFA Football for Hope Stadium in Tsheseng.
The Agape Foundation for Community Development,
Love Life,
Right to Care,
Youth in Action, Qwaqwa FIFA Project, and the Tsheseng Athletics Club were all stakeholders who diligently joined forces to ensure the successful launch of the tournament. Community development practitioners, who are trainees in the UFS Qwaqwa Department of Community Development, were garbed in departmental branded gear and have cautiously facilitated adherence to COVID-19 protocols. About 250 people, including football fans and participants, attended and enjoyed the entertaining games. Through the partnered recreational project, the Qwaqwa Campus CE office responded to the 2021 Youth Day theme: ‘Growing Youth Employment for an inclusive and transformed society’, by enhancing opportunities for networking among stakeholders. Football is popularly known for promoting transformational social projects in diverse communities across the globe.
Golden strains: Hansgeorg Schmeiser (flute) and Albie van Schalkwyk (piano)
2008-04-15
Hansgeorg Schmeiser – an Austrian flautist and Albie van Schalkwyk – a lecturer in piano at the UFS, captivated concert-goers on Thursday evening with a virtuoso performance. This was the second time that Hansgeorg has given a performance in Bloemfontein accompanied by Albie. Despite the Easter weekend and the holiday period, the concert was well supported by the public.
With his solid gold Muramatsu flute and a celebrated pianist before the keys plus a varied programme, the two artists had the audience poised on the edge of their seats – beginning with the Sonata in G minor by J.S. Bach and followed by Franz Schubert's Theme and Variations on Trock'ne Blumen for flute and piano. After the interval they performed the Sonata for flute and piano by Martinù – a composition that is seen as one of the most important 20th century works in the flute repertoire. Schmeiser's performance of the solo piece for flute by the Japanese composer Fukushima where modern playing techniques require the achievement on various tone colours and fluctuation intensity was especially impressive.
The demanding programme was concluded with the Hungarian Fantasy for flute and piano by Albert Franz Doppler. It was no surprise that the audience demanded the two back onto the stage for an encore for which they played the second movement (Siciliano) of J.S. Bach's Flute Sonant No. 2 in E minor.