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20 February 2023 | Story Gerda-Marié van Rooyen | Photo Supplied
Nthabiseng (JahRose) Jafta, a Publishing Coordinator at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently received the Silver Medal Award and other accolades at the Eurasian Literary Festival held in Egypt. She says writing is a way of life for her and she writes anywhere and anytime.

Nthabiseng (JahRose) Jafta, a Publishing Coordinator at African Languages Press in the Library and Information Services at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently received the Silver Medal Award and other accolades at the Eurasian Literary Festival held in Egypt. Jafta, an MA scholar (Creative Writing) at Rhodes University, describes herself as an international performing poet, artpreneur, teacher, festival curator, content developer, and creative strategist born in the Free State.

Being an introvert, she says her love for writing gives her a voice. “I can echo my thoughts and colour my grey sky,” she explains poetically. She feels writing is as natural to her as breathing. She is comfortable writing anywhere and anytime. “There’s no physical area needed. We type on WhatsApp in the taxi. We catch brainwaves whenever they appear.” Jafta's creative juices seem to be overflowing, as she confessed to even getting an idea while contemplating her love for writing. “Life throws you prompts from all spheres, but you have to be present to recognise its call. And sometimes the piece decides if it wants to be happy, erotic, or sad.”
 
Her literacy cap serves Jafta's career as a publisher and her creative writing when time allows. “I read and write. Publish what I read or write. I also happen to recite, read, and sing what I write. It’s all in alignment.” This Deputy President of the National Writers Association of South Africa and founder of the Poetic Blues Virtual Festival writes in her mother tongue, Sesotho, and English. She also has additional experience in the poetry industry, as she was previously the Curator of the Macufe Poetry Festival. She also attended the International Writing Centre at Beijing Normal University part time. Her poems have also been translated into Mandarin and published in Chinese literary magazines.

Jafta says besides the growing catalogue of more than 40 publications, she also has an upcoming multilingual poetry compilation featuring Spanish, Danish, Mandarin, Arabic, KiSwahili, IsiZulu, and Sesotho translations from English. This poet believes poetry is a gift that feeds lyrics to melodies. “And that song carries us to humanity's highs and lows. Prose is how we navigate that gift daily. They are rainbows on melting clouds, events plants rejoice on their rhythmic drops.”

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Free software a matter of liberty, says computer programming expert
2013-09-03

Dr Richard Matthew Stallman
3 September 2013

“Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distributes, study, change and improves the software.”   That is according to well-known freedom activist and programmer, Dr Richard Matthew Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and leader of the GNU project.

The computer programming expert visited the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State, where he delivered a guest lecture on “A freeware generation.”

At this lecture, Dr Stallman, referred to by many as ‘the father of programming’ spoke about the threats that non-free software has and how the users are mandatory controlled by the software, instead of the user having complete freedom on the programme itself.

He told the audience in the Albert Wessels Auditorium that free software has advantages for the user, such as:

  • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
  • The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.
  • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.
  • The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

Thus, ‘free software’ is a matter of liberty, not price.

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