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#UFSDeafAwarenessMonth: Raising awareness is our shared responsibility

01 September 2021 | Story Rulanzen Martin

As in previous years, the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (SASL) – a pioneering force within deaf studies – will embark on a broader campaign to create much-needed awareness of the deaf.

This year’s #UFSDeafAwarenesscampaign aims to inform and contribute to an inclusive society, not only among the UFS community, but also among the public. The department, together with the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support, provides exceptional support to the 16 deaf and hard of hearing students at the UFS.

Jani de Lange, Lecturer in Deaf Studies at the UFS, says the deaf forms part of the diverse South African community – “however, there are still many misconceptions about the deaf world. Therefore, deaf awareness plays an important role in facilitating a bridge between hearing and deaf people”.

Awareness, duty, and social responsibility collide

Many of the staff in the department considers themselves part of the deaf community. “They play a major role in educating others through our academic programmes, as well as continuous workshops and short learning programmes,” says De Lange. She continues, saying that by celebrating Deaf Awareness Month, “we are reminded of our role and responsibility towards the deaf.”

The department also has a long-standing relationship with Mimosa Mall in Bloemfontein, with conversational students displaying their final group projects in the centre of the shopping mall. Mimosa is also a partner in school-based projects, such as the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind in Thaba Nchu. “Every year, the department, together with our student association, Signals, and all interested Sign Language students, visits Bartimea, where we host a variety of activities with the children and also help the school with small maintenance projects. In 2019 – the last time we were able to visit the school – we repainted parts of the Foundation Phase’s playground,” De Lange says.

“We hope that the public will take the time to read about deafness, Sign Language, and the deaf community to understand the exciting traditions of the culture.” The end goal is to encourage a greater understanding that ‘you do not need hearing to listen’.

Getting the community involved

To get people involved in the campaign, the department invites UFS staff to participate in a competition where they can learn how to introduce themselves in SASL. The department is also planning an informal training session for staff and students on 7 September 2021.

→ Click here for more information

The Department of SASL and Deaf Studies also presents a FREE Introduction to SASL short learning programme.

→ Click here for more information

#UFSDeafAwarenessMonth #DeafAwareness #DeafCommunity

News Archive

UFS receives several awards for communication projects

2014-11-26

Staff from the Department of Communication and Brand Management received five awards at MACE 2014. From the left are: Leonie Bolleurs (Excellence awards for the Internet Broadcast Project and the B Safe safety campaign), Lacea Loader, Director of the Department of Communication and Brand Management, Lelanie de Wet (Excellence award for the #FaceOfFacebook social media campaign and Merit award for the Redesign of the UFS website) and René-Jean van der Berg (Merit award for the No Student Hungry media campaign).
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

The Department of Communication and Brand Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) received several national and international awards for communication campaigns and projects this year.

On international level, an audit of the university’s stakeholders received the Jake Wittmer award for research in communication from the International Association of Business Communicators

(IABC), a merit award in the category communication and research management from the IABC, a 2014 IABC Africa Gold Quill award and a bronze medal from the International Business Association (IBA). Furthermore, the audit was a finalist in the Golden World awards (GWA) of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). The Bult magazine also received a bronze medal from the IBA.

Staff from the department also walked away with five awards at this year’s Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence awards, which formed part of the annual MACE congress held at Sun City from 13-15 November 2014. Some 185 communication, marketing and institutional advancement practitioners from across South Africa attended the event.

Lacea Loader, Director of the Department of Communication and Brand Management, says: “The national and international recognition from our peers in higher education, as well as from the industry, is of exceptional value to us and I am delighted that the standard of our projects and campaigns could be benchmarked in this way.”

The UFS received awards from MACE for excellence in:

- Internet Broadcast Project (category: audiovisual)
- #FaceOfFacebook social media campaign (category: social media)
- B Safe safety campaign (category: integrated campaigns)

Merit awards were presented to:

- Redesign of the UFS website (category: electronic media)
- No Student Hungry media campaign (category: media)

Mace fulfils a leadership role in the Higher Education (HE) and Further Education and Training (FET) sectors within Southern Africa by adding value to practitioners in marketing, communication and advancement through high-quality development programmes, facilitating networking partnerships and transformation, as well as promoting best practices among these professions at member institutions.

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