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09 July 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Free State, South Africa, invites us to rethink our relationship with the world in a series of ‘Courageous Conversations’ on the theme of ‘The Global Citizen’. Prof Petersen argues that COVID-19 has been a powerful ‘disruptor’ – it was a stark reminder of the need to rethink our identity, of where we belong, our ‘normative’ view of citizenship – if we want to secure long-term survival of our civilisation and the environments that support it.

Global citizenship and the Sustainable Development Goals – 30 July 2021, 13:00 SAST

Join us for the next Courageous Conversation in the Global Citizen series when Prof Petersen will welcome eminent economist, professor at Columbia University, Director of its Earth Institute, and global leader on sustainability, Prof Jeff Sachs.
 
In 2015, almost all countries signed up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This commitment marked an international solidarity of virtually all countries to work towards the betterment and development of every person on earth. Then COVID-19 struck. Not only did the crisis result in a retrogression of successes registered in achieving the SDG, most notably in the reduction of global poverty, but it also exposed global power disparities.
 
In this session, Prof Sachs will discuss global citizenship and the SDGs in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, including what an equitable recovery would mean for countries around the world, and will make reference to the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Click Here to RSVP

 
More about our guest

Prof Sachs is widely recognised for addressing complex global challenges such as debt crises, hyperinflation, the control of AIDS, malaria, poverty, and climate change, among a myriad of others.

Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, and an SDG advocate for UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. From 2001 to 2018, Sachs served as Special Adviser to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-2007), Ban Ki-moon (2008-2016), and António Guterres (2017-2018). 


A world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development, Sachs was the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders and has received 34 honorary degrees. A survey by The Economist ranked Sachs as among the three most influential living economists.
 

The Global Citizen Courageous Conversations series

In partnership with the South African Chamber of Commerce based in the United Kingdom, the Global Citizen Courageous Conversations series that was launched on 26 May 2021, brings together powerful voices from public life, intellectuals, public interest and business leaders, academics, naturalists, religious leaders, astrophysicists, economists, ecologists, and others.

Eminent South African business leader, Prof Bonang Mohale, joined Prof Petersen for our first Courageous Conversation on 17 June 2021 to unwrap the role that universities can play in creating a ‘global citizen’ mindset to effect material change in a constantly evolving and turbulent international world.  

If you missed our previous Global Citizen Courageous Conversations, you can watch the replay on YouTube, or visit the South African Chamber of Commerce website for the recordings. 



News Archive

“Arts Festival” Rally promises to be great fun!
2008-06-17

The annual Amazing Rainbow Rally, presented by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and UFS Marketing, will take place on Friday, 11 July 2008 during the Volksblad Arts Festival on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

Teams will start at 12:00 at the Protea Hotel in Nelson Mandela Drive, before proceeding to the campus. This year’s rally will have a new twist, namely that all the checkpoints will be on the campus.

Corporate companies in Bloemfontein and departments at the UFS may still enter as there is still place for four teams. A team consists of two team members who must work together to complete a route with various checkpoints. Teams must complete tasks at every checkpoint to be able to proceed to the next checkpoint. The team, who finishes first after having successfully completed all the tasks, is the winner. Last year, Pieter Skein and Steyn Strauss of Naudés Attorneys were the winners of the rally.

The “Arts Festival” Rally promises to challenge teams physically, mentally and even artistically. Festival goers will also have the opportunity to see how their favourite team is doing.

The rally will be presented for the fourth time in 2008. The main goal of this year’s rally is to raise funds for the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health’s “Beds of Hope” Campaign. This campaign seeks to increase the number of intensive care beds in the paediatric and neonatal wards. Currently, around 250 children and babies in central South Africa cannot receive the life-saving care they need because of a lack of facilities.

Enquiries about the rally can be directed to Ms Adéle van Aswegen at 051 401 3535 or Ms Ilse Smalberger at 051 401 2415.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
17 June 2008
 

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