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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

Partnership between UFS and Farmovs-Parexel strengthened

2004-12-09

The synthesizing of drug molecules to be used as reference standards during the quantitative analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids, will from now on be done by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Chemistry.

This agreement was recently signed by the UFS’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and FARMOVS-PAREXEL.

To expand the collaboration between the two units further, FARMOVS-PAREXEL has donated instrumentation to the value of about R 2 million to the Department of Chemistry. These include a tandem liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometer and several other chromatographic systems.

The instruments will be used for research on both the synthesis of reference standards and bio-prospecting. They will play a major role in the training of students in the techniques of advanced mass spectrometry and chromatography at the UFS and will lead to publications in international scientific journals.

For a number of years FARMOVS-PAREXEL has presented Masters and PhD degrees in Bio-Analytical Chemistry. A new collaboration has now been reached where joint projects will be used for Masters and PhD degrees by the two institutions.

Two FARMOVS-PAREXEL staff members have enrolled for Ph D-degrees in the organic section of the UFS’s Department of Chemistry. Senior staff members of the two institutions will act as joint supervisors.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
9 December 2004

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