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22 September 2021
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Story Michelle Nöthling
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Photo Supplied
Annemarie Le Roux.
“I love working with children.” This is one of the first things Annemarie le Roux mentions when asked to describe herself. This love for children propelled Annemarie into the field of education and she graduated in 2006 with a BEd in Foundation Phase at the UFS. Annemarie immediately immersed herself in the Deaf community, enriching the lives of children at the Thiboloha School for the Deaf in Qwaqwa and the De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester.
The academic world enticed Annemarie back to the University of the Free State (UFS) and she was appointed as a junior lecturer in the Department of South African Sign Language (SASL) and Deaf Studies in 2013. Going from strength to strength, Annemarie completed her master’s degree in SASL in 2019, and published an
article earlier this year that she co-wrote with Marga Stander. In this article, they found that SASL “has become an increasingly popular language that hearing university students want to learn as a second language” and subsequently explored different teaching methods used for this emerging group of interested students.
Although now firmly established in academia, Annemarie is still committed to the practical application of SASL. “I am closely involved in student and community engagement through the
SIGNALS Sign Language student association that helps empower the Deaf community and South African Sign Language.” She also interprets for the Deaf community whenever she gets an opportunity, as well as for Deaf students in class and meetings.
On the importance of Sign Language and the recognition of the Deaf community in South Africa, Annemarie believes it will open greater opportunities for development. “More people will be able to learn SASL, and it might even become a subject in school for hearing children.”
Palestinian Ambassador discusses future collaboration in education and development with UFS
2017-06-08
From the left: Chevon Jacobs (Office of International Affairs),
Ambassador Hashem Dajani, Prof Francis Petersen,
Chargé d’Affaires Bassam Elhussiny, and
Kanego Mokgosi (Office of International Affairs).
Photo: Eugene Seegers
Palestine’s Ambassador to South Africa, His Excellency Hashem Dajani, paid a courtesy call to Prof Francis Petersen on 30 May 2017 at the Bloemfontein Campus. Ambassador Dajani was accompanied by Chargé d’Affaires Bassam Elhussiny to congratulate Prof Petersen on his appointment as Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS).
The diplomatic visit entailed discussions of possible collaborative initiatives between the UFS and universities in Palestine in areas such as student exchanges, capacity building and development, and research.
Diplomacy in action - a tool for internationalisation
The UFS has in the past hosted the Palestinian delegation on public engagements held with the university community, including students and the Institute of Reconciliation and Social Justice, to showcase the socio-political situation in Palestine through the use of film and panel discussions.
The UFS has built strong networks with other foreign diplomatic missions in the country which have yielded interaction between diplomats and institutes, students and academics on the Bloemfontein Campus. These collaborations are an important tool for success of the broader university’s strategy of internationalisation.
It is through the visit of Ambassador Dajani that the university and the Office of International Affairs hopes to create firm, future strategic collaborations with Palestinian universities, academics and students.