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Global citizenship and the Sustainable Development Goals

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

SRC and student parliament elections declared free and fair

2004-08-17

The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) has certified the University of the Free State ’s (UFS) election process today ( Friday 13 August 2004 ) and declared it free and fair.

The process to elect a Student Representative Council (SRC) and Student Parliament started on 2 August 2004 and ended today with the announcement of the results.

“No objections regarding the voting process were received and the preliminary results were announced last night. A total of 2192 votes were cast, while 416 votes were spoilt,” said Mr Seth Phamuli, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of EISA.

Mr Alfred Geldenhuys, third year student in B Com Human Resource Management, was declared the SRC President for 2004/2005. Mr Geldenhuys was SRC representative for Campus Matters in 2003/2004.

The other members of the SRC are:

Vice-President: Annelise de Kock (fourth year student in B Sc Dietetics)

Secretary: Michelle du Plessis (third year student in B Sc)

Treasurer: Dida Coetzer (third year student in B Rek)

Academics: Cherese Laubscher (third year student in MB Ch B)

Ladies Internal Liaison: Tanya de Jager (third year student in B Ed Intermediary Phase)

Men’s Internal Liaison: Stef Conradie (third year student in BA Human Movement Science)

Transformation: Clayton van der Ross (second year student in B Com Human Resources Management)

Arts and Culture: AC Geldenhuys (second year student in B Acc)

Recreation and Internal

Affairs: Khotso Motloung (third year student in B Com Accounting)

Campus Services: Sylvanus Watson (fourth year student in B Sc Agric)

Constitutional and

Legal Affairs: Lerato Mofoti (fourth year student in LLB)

Dialogue and

Associations: Owen Kumalo (third year student in B Com Sport Management)

Kovscom: Estel Scheepers (third year student in BA Integrated Marketing)

Sport: Graeme Bradley (second year student in B Com Human Resources Management)

Student Development: Werner du Preez (third year student in B Com Economics)

Irawa: Jeanri-Tine van Zyl (second year student in BA Media Studies)

In the Student Parliament the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Kovsie Alliance were each granted seven seats, whilst the Here XVII was granted 11 seats.

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Tel: (051) 401-2584
Sel: 083 645 2454
E-pos: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

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