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20 July 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied
Your vote counts
Exercise your right to vote in the 2023 SRC elections from 22 to 24 August. Student participation makes a difference.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Office for Student Governance has announced that the 2023 Campus Student Representative Council (SRC) elections will take place from 22 to 24 August 2023. This eagerly anticipated annual event is an opportunity for students to elect their representatives, ensuring that their voices are heard and that their interests are represented in the university community.

To facilitate a smooth election process, the UFS Elections Committee has scheduled indabas for 25 July 2023 on the Qwaqwa Campus, and for 27 July 2023 on the Bloemfontein and South campuses. The indabas are platforms providing students the opportunity to raise questions about the upcoming elections.

Dr Grey Magaiza, chairperson of the UFS Elections Logistics Committee (ELC), said: “SRC elections are a critical legislative requirement of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, which prescribes cooperative governance at universities. The student leaders who are chosen become critical mouthpieces for the rest of the student body in critical governance functions of the university. It is therefore very important for the student community to participate in elections and to choose their preferred candidates.”

Make your vote count

The ELC is encouraging all students to actively engage in the electoral process, either as candidates or voters. Running for a position in the SRC offers students a platform to make a meaningful impact on campus life, while casting their votes ensures that the elected representatives genuinely represent the interests of the student body.

In preparation for the upcoming elections, the ELC will provide information on candidate registration procedures, campaigning guidelines, and other pertinent details to facilitate a fair and transparent electoral process.

“Student politics can shape the student life dynamic on campus, hence it is a very important element in institutional governance. We look forward to positive campaigning and mature engagements among the candidates, and to the wonderful political behaviour that has become the norm in all UFS elections. This has become a rich tradition that UFS students have proudly held, and is becoming the envy of other institutions as well. Kudos to our UFS students,” remarked Dr Magaiza.

Election Indabas:

  • Qwaqwa Campus: 25 July 2023, 24-hour Study Centre, from 13:00 to 15:00
  • South Campus: 27 July 2023, Toka Residence Gazelle, from 10:00 to 12:00
  • Bloemfontein Campus: 27 July 2023, EXR 4, from 14:00 to 16:00

News Archive

Odeion School of Music launches new Organ Chair
2015-09-16



Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek

The Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS) has become the first in the country to launch an Organ Chair, named after seasoned international organist Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek.

Over the last two decades South African has seen a decline in organ student numbers. The School of Music has taken the initiative by deploying experts and instructors to coach and mentor OSM students, in an effort to increase their chances of excelling in the international music scene.

The Organ Chair is an entity of the International Artistic Mentorship Programme (IAMP), which aims to establish partnerships between successful international musicians and OSM students. It is within this context that the OSM decided to launch the institutionalisation of an Organ Chair in a programme scheduled to take place from 8 -13 September 2015 in the Bloemfontein Campus and in surrounding areas.

Meet the expert

Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek is a French-South African organist and pedagogue, who is well versed in the music profession. This bodes well for our university’s music students.  Initially educated by the great Stephanus Zondagh at the University of Pretoria while still a school pupil, Liesbeth’s passion for music has soared to great height since then.

Some of her accolades include winning the prestigious SABC Music Prize in 1985, and the International Organ Competition held in Bordeaux in 1989.

Liesbeth has worked with distinguished organists at the France Conservatoire National de Ruiel-Malmaison, the Conservatoire National de Région, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon, and is the organist at Reformed Church of Etoile in Paris. In 2010, she was an adjudicator at the Chartres International Organ Competition, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the organ world.

This active recitalist and masterclass pedagogue facilitated classes attended by master students from Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and Potchestroom, and workshops as part of launching the Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek OSM Organ Chair.

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