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10 August 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Brian Motlhabediwa
A Broken Sarafina production
‘The Burning Ones: A Broken Sarafina Production’ premiered in the Albert Wessels Auditorium on the University of the Free State Bloemfontein Campus on 27 July 2022.
The Arts and Culture Office at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted an on-stage production inspired by Dr Mbongeni Ngema’s work Sarafina, which is called ‘The Burning Ones: A Broken Sarafina Production’. The production ran from 27 to 28 July 2022 in the Albert Wessels Auditorium on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. The writer and creator of Sarafina, Dr Mbongeni Ngema, attended the production. “It humbles me that the young people of today have different interpretations of Sarafina; it means what I did, the call that came to my soul to create a movement of the students, is now being fulfilled,” expressed Dr Ngema. 

The breakdown of the production

 The production critically analysed the struggles of the youth in 1976, along with the struggles of young people – specifically at institutions of higher learning today. “There’s so much happening within our institution and the higher education space, which makes for thought-provoking content and insightful discourse,” stated Sibahle Mabaso, a student at the University of the Free State and director of the show.  

The production followed a devised theatre format, which is essentially a production that does not adhere to a script. “There was no script, no paper, it was an explorative effort from the beginning until the end,” Mabaso stated.  However, the foundation of the production was the experiences, thoughts, and perspectives of the cast. As such, the production explored a number of issues, such as protest culture and appearance vs reality, specifically in the higher education space, among other things. “The production addressed so many things; as such, the audience could attach to a plethora of themes presented in the story,” Mabaso expressed. 

The importance of such productions

According to Lucy Sehloho, Officer in the Arts and Culture Office, the production was important for several reasons, especially in a university space. Firstly, the initiative was stimulating enough to evoke real emotions; however, through this production, a safe space was created to have open and honest conversations about the realities of students in the higher education space. Furthermore, the significance of such productions is that staff and students can work at finding solutions to the problems they face through a collaborative and cooperative effort. “I didn’t want anyone to walk out of the space infuriated and more anxious; rather, we wanted people to walk out of the venue with the urge to assist in finding solutions,” Sehloho highlighted.

 The opening and closing nights of the show were attended in large numbers. In addition, Sehloho and Mabaso assert that the feedback from both nights was positive, which is proof that the production served as an outlet and a space where people could communicate openly and truthfully without fighting.

News Archive

New challenges for animal science discussed
2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed  

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein. 

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006.  The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961.  Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya.  Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities.  The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector. 

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years.  “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education.  Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues.  This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development.  “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods.  It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts.  “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications. 

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed.  This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

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