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UFS position statement on xenophobia

12 April 2022 | Story Lacea Loader

The management of the University of the Free State (UFS) is deeply concerned about the continued xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks in our country, specifically the actions of, and statements made by groups and individuals.

The UFS condemns all forms of xenophobic and Afrophobic actions and thinking and expresses its solidarity with the members of the university community hailing from other regions of the African continent and the world. The UFS is committed to promoting diversity, social justice, inclusivity, and transformation and is united in its diversity. As a university community, it cherishes diversity as a catalyst for positive change, innovative research, and cutting-edge teaching and learning. Xenophobic actions, threats, or statements will not be tolerated at the UFS. The UFS is committed to nurturing and entrenching a human-rights culture and advocating human rights, both within the context of the university and beyond.

Xenophobia, Afrophobia, and discrimination jeopardise the process of internationalisation at any university. It limits the international and multicultural exposure of our students, which is important to achieve graduate attributes and to specifically develop students’ international and intercultural competence. The UFS is strategically strengthening its collaborations and partnerships in Africa and beyond. It recognises the positive power of diversifying the knowledge paradigms with which it interacts. International staff members, postdoctoral fellows, and students make a significant contribution to the academic project, scholarship traditions, and intellectual diversity of the university.

The management of the UFS will do everything in its power to ensure the well-being of all members of its international university community.

Xenophobia is the ‘fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign’ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary), whereas Afrophobia can be understood as the ‘fear and hatred of the cultures and people of Africa’.

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Kovsies in top four in Global Business Challenge

2015-05-06

Photo: Mark Steenbok (Bloemfontein Courant)

Christiaan Paulsen (team leader), Sias Conradie, Jannie de Wet and Frikkie Jacobs.

Four Kovsies in the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Sciences are one of the top four teams in the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants’ (CIMA) Global Business Challenge. 178 teams registered to participate in the competition.

Team Bernoulli from the UFS will compete against two teams: one from the University of Pretoria and one from the Chartered Accountant Training Institute in Sandton. The winning team will win a trip to Poland, Europe to represent their university and country at the 2015 global final.

This international business competition is for undergraduates around the world, designed to bring out the best in the young business leaders of tomorrow.

Team leader, Christiaan Paulsen, said: “We are overjoyed to be in the final. However, our true success is in what we learned along the way”.

The team has to present a business case study, showcasing their talent in business management. During this competition, the team has

learned to analyse and solve a real-life business case study;
-obtained first-hand experience of the skills required to be a business leader;
enhanced their team building skills; and
developed their presentation skills.

Students from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Ghana, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Ireland, GCC, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Phillipines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Zambia are taking part in the competition.

This competition is organised by CIMA in conjunction with Barclays.

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