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26 September 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Supplied
Letsatsi Lekhooa
Letsatsi Lekhooa, a UFS student who was selected to be part of the COP27 Simulation Model.

Nearly 150 students from across the world will gather in Egypt for the COP27 Simulation Model from 9 September to mid- October 2022. Among them will be Letsatsi Lekhooa, a Master of Science student specialising in Climate Change from the University of the Free State (UFS). 

Lekhooa was one of 150 students from a pool of more than 1 800 applicants across the world who were selected to be part of this prestigious initiative. “This opportunity is appealing, because as young people we need to work hard to not only ensure that we break through walls, but to also represent our university well everywhere we go,” Lekhooa indicated.

The COP27 Simulation Model

The COP27 Simulation Model, which is organised by the British University in Egypt along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is a worldwide climate conference led by and targeted at the youth. The conference is important for several reasons, such as encouraging conversations around climate action among the youth. As it stands, the initiative is split into two categories, which include the hybrid capacity-building programme that started in September, and the COP27 Mock Conference set to begin in October. Lekhooa is currently engaged in the online capacity-building programme, which he describes as a learning curve. “Every day I learn something new, and I enjoy it because the process is assisting me in learning more about this climate change issue,” Lekhooa expressed. 

The benefits of attending the COP27 Mock Conference

Although the first leg of the COP27 Simulation Model is online, Lekhooa will get the opportunity to travel to Egypt and physically be part of the COP27 Mock Conference on the campus of the British University in Egypt. As such, he hopes to take away as much as possible from the experience. “I hope to learn about the ways in which I can better communicate this climate change issue, not only in my home country of Lesotho, but generally in Southern Africa,” said Lekhooa. Furthermore, through his interactions with international scholars, he hopes to create and encourage a collaborative spirit to battle climate change. 

The experience does not only serve as a learning curve for Lekhooa, but it is also one of the key steps that will allow him to reach a life goal. “I would like to be an international consultant in bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as they play a key role in making decisions on climate change,” Lekhooa highlighted.

News Archive

Regional Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings
2007-06-29

Trafficking in Human Beings:
National and International Perspectives

Date: 17th August 2007
Address: CR Swart Auditorium, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Every year thousands of children and adults become victims of trafficking and abuse in South Africa and throughout the southern African region. Victims are trafficked for a myriad of reasons: sexual exploitation, including prostitution and pornography; illegal labour, including child conscription; domestic servitude; illegal adoptions; body parts/organs; and forced marriages.

The Unit for Children’s Rights, Department of Criminal and Medical Law, University of the Free State (UFS), together with the Centre for Continuing Legal Education at UFS, will host a Regional Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings. The conference will bring together key role-players from the South African government as well as crucial international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region.

Trafficking in human beings, especially women and children, is a serious violation of the human rights of the victims, as well as an extremely profitable source of income to organized crime, and needs the attention and intervention of both governmental and non-governmental institutions in South Africa.

Speakers will include representatives from the United National Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the South African Law Reform Commission, the Unit for Children’s Rights-UFS, and NGOs Molo Songololo and Terre Des Homes, that work with child trafficking victims in South Africa and around the world.

The media are invited to report on the conference, and interview speakers and presenters Attached find programme. For more info contact the following persons.

1. Beatri Kruger - 051 401 2108 / email: krugerh.rd@mail.ufs.ac.za  
2. Susan Kreston - 051 401 9562 / email: krestons.rd@mail.ufs.ac.za  
3. Elizabeth Snyman – 051 401 2268 / email: snymane.rd@mail.ufs.ac.za  

Programme

Trafficking in human beings:
National & international perspectives


Presented by The Unit for Children’s Rights, Department Of Criminal & Medical Law , Faculty of Law, in Conjunction with The Centre for Continuing Legal Education, University of the Free State.

Funded through the Generosity of the United States Department of State

17 AUGUST, 2007 – CR SWART AUDITORIAM

8:00-8:30 Registration & Tea
8:30-8:45 Opening & Welcome
Prof. JJ Henning, Faculty of Law
8:45-9:40 Overview & Global Perspective
Prof. Susan Kreston - Unit for Children’s Rights, Faculty of Law-UFS

9:40-10:00 TEA

10:00-10:45 International Perspectives & the Role of Organized Crime in Trafficking
Wiesje Zikkenheiner, Associate Expert
United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, Pretoria
10:45-11:45 Identifying and Assisting Victims of Trafficking
Marija Nikolovska, Project Officer
International Organization for Migration, Pretoria

11:45-12:30 LUNCH

12:30-1:15 Prosecuting Trafficking Without Trafficking Laws
Adv. Nolwandle Qaba, Sexual Offences & Community Affairs Unit
National Prosecuting Authority, Pretoria
1:15-2:15 Recommendations for New Legislation in South Africa
Lowesa Stuurman - South African Law Reform Commission, Pretoria

2:15-2:30 TEA

2:30-2:50 The Role of Terre Des Homes in Fighting Trafficking in Children
Judith Mthombeni– Terre Des Homes, Pretoria
2:50-3:50 Trafficking in Children in South Africa – A Front Line Perspective
Patrick Solomon - Molo Songololo, Cape Town
3:50-4:00 Closing Remarks
Adv. Beatri Kruger
Department of Criminal & Medical Law - UFS

 

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