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Embracing diversity, strengthening human relationships and collective responsibility

22 March 2023 | Story Mariette Joubert | Photo Unsplash

South Africa celebrated Human Rights Day and World Social Work Day on 21 March 2023. Social work is a profession that advocates for the human rights of people as well as focuses on the responsibility that comes with these rights. Just as the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of democracy and protects our rights, the social work code of ethics is the cornerstone that ensures quality social work services.

The University of the Free State (UFS) second-year social work students took an oath on 22 March which binds them to the social work code of ethics. Social workers have the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development which consists of four pillars. Focus is drawn to the last pillar, Strengthening Recognition of the Importance of Human Relationships. Human relationships are the core of social work and social development. These relationships take various forms, including social, personal, interpersonal, and therapeutic relationships, among various people and in various settings. In relationships where people flourish, trust is crucial. In contrast, mistrust skews relationships in a negative way.

Respecting diversity through joint social action

The Ubuntu pan-African philosophical framework is the greatest place to understand the significance of human relationships. To promote and strive for the strengthening of relationships, this year’s theme for Social Work Day is “Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action”. If we can stop criticising people that do not live, believe, or think according to our constructed standards of being, we will be able to do so much more as humanity. If we start embracing peoples’ diversities and take time to start building relationships with various people and bridge any existing gaps, we will realise that diversity is an integral aspect of changing the world in a positive manner. Corresponding to human rights and the theme of World Social Work Day, is the theme “Destigmatising intellectual disability through shifting attitudes” for Intellectual Disability Awareness Month [IDAM] which also takes place later in March. Another way through which we can start building relationships and embrace diversity is by participating in this year’s South African Federation for Mental Health challenge where CEOs of different institutions are challenged to spend one day in a wheelchair as part of an awareness-raising campaign to destigmatise intellectual disabilities.

News Archive

Postgraduate Film and Visual Media Programme at UFS from 2015

2014-12-04

There is great excitement at the University of the Free State (UFS) about the approval of a new honours and master’s programme in Film and Visual Media to be offered at the Faculty of the Humanities as from January 2015.

Prof Suzanne Human, Head of the Department of Art History and Visual Culture Studies at Kovsies and Director of the new programme, says this will be an interdisciplinary Film and Visual Media programme. There will consequently be a strong theoretical-philosophical basis in the training, as well as the practical experiences of students. The UFS will be the only university in South Africa where this much emphasis is placed on the historical and theoretical aspects of film-making.

“The world of images is, in our day and age where we are overwhelmed by images on a daily basis, a central study field relevant across various disciplines and even links the natural and human sciences,” says Prof Human.

“Film, which replaced books in the lives of young people in many ways, is an exciting field of which most people have some knowledge and involves a broad field of information with wide relevance.”

The programme will be presented with the cooperation of international scholars and experienced experts from the local industry. Chris Vorster – better known as Ryno from 7de Laan – with more than 20 years of experience in writing, directing and performance for theatre and TV, was appointed as lecturer in Film-making Theory and Practice in the newly-built film studio as from 2 January 2015.

This new postgraduate programme is developed in cooperation with several UFS departments:
• Prof Suzanne Human and Johanet Kriel (History of Art and Visual Culture Studies);
• Prof Nico Luwes, Dr Pieter Venter and Debeer Cloete (Drama and Theatre Arts);
• Prof Helene Strauss (English);
• Dr Anthea van Jaarsveld and Dr Cilliers van den Berg (Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French).

Specific admission requirements apply. For example, students should have a related BA degree with a minimum achievement level of 65%. Admissions are limited and subject to selection, therefore students that are interested should apply as soon as possible.

Admission requirements

For more information, please send an email to filmandvisualmedia@ufs.ac.za.

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