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29 March 2023
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Story Samkelo Fetile
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Photo Simba Matema
From left to right: Prof Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki, Director General at the CIRMF; Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS; and Prof Jean-Fabrice Yala, Scientific and Technical Director at the CIRMF.
The University of the Free State (UFS) recently welcomed senior members from the International Centre for Medical Research in Franceville (CIRMF), Gabon to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two entities.
CIRMF is a non-profit medical research centre that was established in 1974. Its primary focus is on diagnosing infectious diseases that pose immediate problems in Gabon and the Central African sub-region. The centre is dedicated to improving public health through various initiatives, including the training of Gabonese health executives in doctoral and post-doctoral education.
“The signing of the MoU with CIRMF is a step in the right direction as the UFS continues to strengthen its footprint on the African Continent. This is seminal in driving the university’s internationalisation processes and opening an avenue to expanding research networks, especially in the African continent,” said Bonolo Makhalemele, Coordinator of strategic projects at the Office for International Affairs, UFS.
In the interest of developing broader research collaborations, the CIRMF delegation met with some UFS academics in a series of engagements, particularly in the Health Sciences Faculty and the Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty. “The integration of knowledge and practices that emanate from the continent provides opportunities for the co-creation of knowledge that can be shared with the rest of the world,” said Kagiso Ngake, Coordinator for Partnerships, Collaborative Degrees, and Outgoing Mobility at the Office for International Affairs, UFS.
A concrete roadmap was established to formalise the collaborations that resulted from these engagements and will commence as soon as April 2023. “We have laid a solid foundation and are on the way to a strong and rich partnership!” exclaimed Prof Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki, Director General at the CIRMF.
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector, and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, further highlighted how the newly established partnership with the CIRMF aligns with the mandate of the UFS Vision 130 of expanding the UFS Africa research network.
UFS awards honorary degree to Justice Richard Goldstone
2012-01-26
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| Justice Richard Goldstone |
A huge honour will be bestowed upon the University of the Free State (UFS) when the world renowned Justice Richard Goldstone will be receiving an honorary degree at the official opening of our university.
The Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) degree will be conferred on Justice Goldstone on Friday 3 February 2012 at 10:00 on our Bloemfontein Campus.
Mr Richard Freedman, Director of the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation, and Judge Mahube Molemela, Justice of the Free State High Court, are amongst the prominent figures expected to attend this event.
Justice Goldstone served in the Constitutional Court from 1995 to 2003. Prior to that, he was a judge of the High Court and from 1989 a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. From 1994 to 1996 he was the first Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He is presently a Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute at Yale University in the United States. Over the past 18 years he has become a leading expert on international criminal law.
Prof. Neels Swanepoel, Head of the Department of Law of Procedure and Law of Evidence, said the faculty is proud to honour Judge Richard Goldstone for his outstanding legal career and in particular for his contribution to the development of international criminal justice.
“As Chief Prosecutor for both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), he has contributed to precedent-setting judgments on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. His publications on various aspects of International Criminal Justice have contributed towards the stage where those bearing the greatest responsibility for human and humanitarian rights violations, will face justice.”
Prof. Swanepoel says judge Goldstone has contributed towards laying the foundations for conflict resolution in societies that have transformed from repressive to democratic rule and to what is now referred to as ‘transitional justice’.
On Thursday 2 February 2012 at 19:00, Judge Goldstone will deliver a Prestige Lecture on ‘The Future of International Criminal Justice’ in the Auditorium of the C.R Swart Building on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.
Media Release
26 January 2012
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za