Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
10 May 2023 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied
Africa Month
May is Africa Month: A time to celebrate the wealth of wisdom from the continent

On 25 May 2023, Africa will commemorate the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which is now known as the African Union (AU). The University of the Free State (UFS) will celebrate this 60th anniversary by hosting a variety of commemorations, continuing the institution's long tradition of honouring the day and the principles that drive it. 

It is customary in African countries to commemorate the OAU's founding in May, which is also known as Africa Month. With the creation of the OAU in 1963, the African continent set a new standard. It was the first continent to prioritise continental unity and advocate nation building through solidarity and freedom from oppression.

The exchanges during Africa Month are in line with the university's goal of ensuring that our expertise aids in the growth of the Free State, South Africa, and the African continent. Vision 130, an expansion of the strategic purpose to reposition the institution for 2034 when the university will celebrate its 130th anniversary, captures this goal.

Celebrating a diverse community 

The celebrations are intended to bring attention to African indigenous knowledge and its importance for higher education, both within and outside of South Africa. Under the theme of ‘Promoting and Appreciating Knowledge in and from Africa,’ the interpretation and transmission of African indigenous knowledge will be appreciated through thought leadership, music, and dance. 

Among the celebratory events for Africa Month are:

Africa Month book launch 

Date: 22 May 2023
Time: 16:00

Venue: Sasol Library Level 2, Bloemfontein Campus

The UFS Library and the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies will facilitate the launch of the book titled Decolonizing the Mind: A guide to decolonial theory and practice by Sandew Hira. 

Hira is the Secretary of the Decolonial International Network. His book makes an effort to provide a thorough, cohesive, and integrative theoretical framework that incorporates many contributions from the decolonial movement's resurgent and insurgent movements. Hire plans to use the book launch as a platform to issue a call for a new global civilisation built on the decolonisation of the mind. 

Federation of African Law Students dialogue

Date: 24 May 2023
Time: 13:00-15:00

Venue: Sasol Library, Bloemfontein Campus

The Federation of African Law Students UFS Chapter will host a panel discussion based on the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The student association stands against this bill and firmly believe that it is unprogressive for society and unfairly discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community. Speakers will share their bill views and opinions on homophobia, and attendees will be given the opportunity to engage with our panellists. The objectives of this event are to promote good governance, respect for human rights, peace, and justice in Africa. It is also an opportunity to show solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community across the continent who may be affected by the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Africa Day Memorial Lecture 

Date: 24 May 2023
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

The highlight of the celebrations will be the Africa Day Memorial Lecture, hosted by the university's Centre for Gender and Africa Studies. The speaker is Prof Motlatsi Thabane, formerly of the National University of Lesotho. 

The title of his presentation is Friendship in the Search for Justice in Mohokare Valley in the Nineteenth Century. The departure point of Prof Thabane’s lecture is the early 19th century. He demonstrates that a community of white settlers fleeing British rule in the Cape Colony was added to African communities living in the Mohokare Valley at the beginning of the 1830s. As a result, complex relations developed between African and white settler communities in the Mohokare valley. 

'Honouring Africa Day’ Child and Youth Care Centre Outreach 

Date: 25 May 2023
Time: 08:00-15:00
Venue: Heidedal Child and Youth Care Centre

On 25 May 2023, the Faculty of Theology and Religion will pay a visit to the Heidedal Child and Youth Care Centre in honour of Africa Day. RSVPs for the outreach can be sent to theologyevents@ufs.ac.za

Panel discussion and Cultural exhibition (Part 1)

Date: 25 May 2023
Time: 14:00-15:00

Venue: Faculty of Law Staff Room, Bloemfontein Campus

Panel discussion and Cultural exhibition (Part 2)

Date: 25 May 2023
Time: 16:00-18:00
Venue: Equitas Foyer, Bloemfontein Campus

The Faculty of Law will host a panel discussion on Advancing Justice and Human Rights in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, followed by a cultural exhibition titled Appreciating Knowledge through Culture. 

Africa Month Dialogue 

Date: 26 May 2023
Time: 12:00-16:00
Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

The Africa Month Dialogue, facilitated by the Office for International Affairs, will carry the same theme as the Memorial Lecture, namely, ‘Promoting and appreciating knowledge in and from Africa’

We will discuss the significance and value of African indigenous knowledge, the importance of being creators and co-creators of knowledge in and from Africa, and the significance of African knowledge on the global stage, with UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, and international partners. 

Africa Day Cultural Celebration 

Date: 27 May 2023
Time: 10:00-15:00

Venue: Mandela Hall, Qwaqwa Campus

A cultural festival honouring Africa Month will be held by the Division of Student Affairs on the Qwaqwa Campus. This celebration will feature music, poetry, and dance from different parts of Africa. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Arts, Culture and Dialogue Office, Student Life, Housing and Residence Affairs, as well at the Student Representative Council.

Click here for more information and events on Africa Month.

News Archive

UFS study on cell development in top international science journal
2008-09-16

A study from the University of the Free State (UFS) on how the change in the packaging of DNA with cell development influenced the expression of genes, will be published in this week’s early edition of the prestigious international, peer-reviewed science journal, the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).

The PNAS journal has an impact factor of 10, which means that studies published in the journal are, on average, referred to by ten other scientific studies in a two year period. The South African Journal of Science, by comparison, has an impact factor of 0.7.

The UFS study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the National Research Foundation (NRF), looked at how the change in the packaging of DNA with cell development influenced the expression of genes. It is very relevant to research on stem cells, an area of medicine that studies the possible use of undifferentiated cells to replace damaged tissue.

Prof. Hugh Patterton, of the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS, who led the study, said: "We are extremely proud of this study. It was conceived in South Africa, it was performed in South Africa, the data were analysed in South Africa, and it was published from South Africa."

When a gene is expressed, the information encoded in the gene is used to manufacture a specific protein. In eukaryotes, which include humans, there is approximately 1m of DNA, containing the genes, in every cell. This length of DNA has to fit into a cell nucleus with a diameter of only about 10 micrometer. In order to fit the DNA into such a small volume, eukaryotic cells wrap their DNA onto successive protein balls, termed nucleosomes. Strings of nucleosomes, resembling a bead of pearls, is folded into a helix to form a chromatin fiber. The study from the UFS investigated how the binding of a specific protein, termed a linker histone, that binds to the length of DNA between nucleosomes, influenced the formation of the chromatin fiber and also the activity of genes.

"We found that the linker histone bound to chromatin in yeast, which we use as a model eukaryote, under conditions where virtually all the genes in the organism were inactive. It was widely believed that the binding of the linker histone caused the inactivation of genes. We studied the relationship between the amount of linker histone bound in the vicinity of each gene and the expression of that gene for all the genes in yeast, using genomic techniques. We made the surprising discovery that even through the linker histone preferentially bound to genes under conditions where the genes were shut off, this inactivation of genes was not caused by the binding of the linker histone and folding of the chromatin,” said Prof. Patterton.

He said: “Instead our data strongly suggested that the observed anti-correlation was due to the movement of enzymes along the DNA molecule, involved in processing the information in genes for the eventual manufacture of proteins. This movement of enzymes displaced the linker histones from the DNA. This finding now requires a rethink on aspects of how packaging of DNA influences gene activity."

Prof. Patterton said that his research group, using the Facility for Genomics and Proteomics as well as the Bioinformatics Node at the UFS, was currently busy with follow-up studies to understand how other proteins in nucleosomes affected the activities of genes, as well as with projects to understand how chemicals found in red wine and in green tea extended lifespan. "We are certainly having a marvelous time trying to understand the fundamental mechanisms of life, and the UFS is an exciting place to be if one was interested in studying life at the level of molecules," he said.


Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
18 September 2008
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept