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11 October 2021 | Story Temba Hlasho | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studios)
Temba Hlasho.
The past weeks have been sorrowful for the university community, with the untimely passing of our three students, Wonder Dlamini, Sigcino Zimba, and Thobani Manqele – may their souls rest in eternal peace and rise in glory.  I hope you took advantage of the short October recess to rest from rigorous cognitive activities, and spend some time with family, friends, and loved ones.  

The SRC elections are a critical activity for the university, and an essential programme on the calendar of the Department of Student Affairs.  To ensure that you exercise your democratic right as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the ISRC Constitution, make time to vote for the SRC candidate of your choice from 12 to 15 October 2021.  

The Department of Student Affairs has numerous activities lined up for you during October. Find the time and participate to balance your academic activities with our online co-curricular and extra-curricular activities:

CUADS WEEK 2021 Programme (1-6 November 2021)

CUADS Week is a collaborative event between the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS), the SRC: Universal Access and Social Justice, the Universal Access Council, and other Student Affairs stakeholders.

The initiative seeks to highlight issues related to the success of students with disabilities; strengthen collaboration between various stakeholders to ensure the prioritisation of universal access; and active citizenship in the promotion of an inclusive university culture.

In 2021, CUADS celebrates its 20th anniversary. Over the years, the centre has gained valuable lessons in the pursuit of a diverse and empowering institutional culture at the University of the Free State (UFS), thereby supporting students in the successful completion of their studies.

Event: Career Empowerment Workshop
Date: 1 November 2021
Time: 16:00-18:00
Venue: Online
Lead: Katlego Sekele (SRC: Universal Access and Social Justice)

With this event, the organisers seek to create a platform for engagement on the development and successful transition of students with disabilities to the workplace by exposing them to the various opportunities and services at their disposal.

Event: Leadership Development Workshop
Date: 3 November 2021
Time: 16:00-18:00
Lead: Gernus Terblanche

Co-curricular programmes form an integral part of developing balanced and well-rounded graduates who are empowered to critically engage and contribute to the social landscape of their communities and beyond. Through this event, representatives of the various offices related to student life will present information to students.

Event: Sexual Health and Mental Health Workshop
Date: 5 November 2021
Time: 16:00-18:00
Lead: Mosa Moerane

Aware of the gaps that exist in sexual and reproductive health campaigns – which are not inclusive of and/or targeted at persons with disabilities – this session seeks to highlight the services available to students as they relate to these, as well as to encourage the universal access approach in ensuring that all information and infrastructure are accessible to all students.

Event: CUADS 20 Years Commemoration Wheelchair Rugby Friendly Match
Date: 6 November 2021
Lead: Gernus Terblanche and Tladi Tau

The above event will be the final event in the series. The match seeks to highlight collegiality and celebration among all CUADS stakeholders, as well as to promote CUADS services to a wide audience.

Kovsie ACT Food Environment Community Gardens continues to fight against food insecurity. 

Currently, hundreds of students receive food parcels (sponsored by Tiger Brands, R720 000 per annum) from the UFS Food Bank that contain non-perishable food items. 

The Community Garden Project provides additional support by supplying fresh produce. A total of 162,5 kg of fresh produce was harvested in September alone. The vegetable crops included spinach, carrots, beetroot, and beans. 

We are looking forward to October when we will harvest even more produce. 
Two new vegetable tunnels are being erected on the UFS experimental farm.

Students can focus on their studies without worrying about their next meal, thus increasing their chances of excelling academically and ultimately obtaining their degrees. Basic food production is a transferrable skill that each of these students can take back to their communities.

News Archive

Kovsies proud of a gold PRISM Award for safety campaign
2015-05-05

Stefan Lotter, Leonie Bolleurs and Lacea Loader. All three are from the Departement of Communication and Brand Management at the UFS.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

The University of the Free State, takes pride in the gold PRISM Award (from the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa) for the B Safe Take Action safety campaign that has been rolled out on the campus since 2013 by the Department of Communication and Brand Management.

The campaign earned the Von H Brand Provocateur gold award in the internal communication category.

“The UFS is the only tertiary institution to receive a gold award. The award is a great honour for the department, considering the cream of South African public relations took part in the competition, and the standard was naturally very high. It was also a feather in the cap for us that the uniqueness of the campaign received national recognition from our peers in this manner, said Ms Lacea Loader, Director: Communication and Brand Management at the UFS.

The university is responsible for about 32 000 students and 4 000 members of staff on its three campuses: the Bloemfontein and South Campuses in Bloemfontein and the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State. It is of cardinal importance for the university that its students, staff, and assets are safe.

Apart from safety measures that have been implemented by the UFS Protection Services, the B Safe Take Action campaign has also been rolled out on the three campuses of the UFS. The campaign supports the safety strategy of the university. It is aimed at developing a culture of safety awareness in students and staff alike. The purpose of the campaign is for staff and students to take ownership of their own safety. In addition, it creates awareness of the safety measures that are in place at the UFS.

The campaign has been rolled out on various communication platforms. These include placards, pamphlets, lamp-post advertisements, an advertisement board, emails, and messages on student communication portals such as Blackboard, the UFS web and intranet, social media, information boards in the campus parking areas and on the pedestrian walkways as well as messages on refuse bins around the campus. “The fact that a variety of communication platforms has been deployed, the striking design and character of the messages, and the number of target audiences that have been reached further contributed to the success of the campaign,” said Ms Loader,

The campaign also received a merit award from the International Association for Business Communication (IABC). The award will be presented on 15 June 2015 in San Francisco, USA.

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