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#AfricaMonth: Join the cultural and intellectual interchange

10 May 2023 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied

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

RSVP here to attend.

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 boasts with most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa

2005-11-23

Celebrating the inauguration of the NMR were from the left Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS), Dr Detlef Müller (Development Scientist and Manager: Africa and Asia of Bruker in Germany, the supplier of the NMR), Prof Jannie Swarts (head of the head of the Division Physical Chemistry at the UFS) and Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS). Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS boasts with most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Chemistry now boasts with some of the most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa after the latest addition, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, was inaugurated today by the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie. The NMR is used to analyse molecular structures.

Last month the Department of Chemistry celebrated the installation of the most advanced single crystal X-ray diffractometer in Africa. The diffractometer provides an indispensable technique to investigate among others the solid state of compounds for medicinal application.

“Three years ago the UFS executive management realised that, if we want to build a university of excellence, we should invest in research. We started to think strategically about chemistry and decided to bring the apparatus at the Department of Chemistry on a more competitive standard. Strategic partnerships were therefore secured with companies like Sasol,” said Prof Fourie during the inauguration ceremony.

“The installation of the NMR symbolises the ability of the UFS to turn academic areas around. I hope that this is the beginning of a decade of excellence for chemistry at the UFS,” said Prof Fourie.

”The catalogue value of the Bruker 600 MHz NMR is approximately R11 million. With such an advanced apparatus we are now able to train much more post-graduate students,“ said Prof Jannie Swarts, head of the Division Physical Chemistry at the UFS.

”The NMR is the flagship apparatus of the UFS Department of Chemistry that enables chemists to look at compounds more easily at a molecular level. Research in chemistry is critically dependent on NMR, which is a technique that can determine the composition of reactants and products in complicated chemical reactions, with direct application is most focus areas in chemistry,“ said Prof Swarts.

”Parts of the spectrometer consists of non-commercial items that were specifically designed for the UFS Department of Chemistry to allow the study of unique interactions in e.g. rhodium and platinum compounds,” said Prof Swarts.

According to Prof Swarts the NMR enables chemists to conduct investigations on the following:

To evaluate for example the complex behaviour of DNA in proteins as well as the analysis of illegal drugs sometimes used by athletes.
It provides an indispensable technique to investigate compounds for medicinal application for example in breast, prostate and related bone cancer identification and therapy, which are currently synthesised in the Department of Chemistry.
It can also be applied to the area of homogeneous catalysis where new and improved compounds for industrial application are synthesized and characterised, whereby Sasol and even the international petrochemical industry could benefit. This analytical capacity is highly rated, especially in the current climate of increased oil prices.
The NMR can detect and identify small concentrations of impurities in feed streams in the petrochemical industry, e.g. at Sasol and also the international petrochemical industry. These minute amounts of impurities can result in metal catalyst deactivation or decomposition and can cause million of rands worth in product losses.
It is indispensable for studying the complexity of samples that is non-crystalline. These materials represent the vast majority of chemical compounds such as solvents, gasoline, cooking oil, cleaning agents and colorants as examples.

According to Prof Swarts the general medical technique of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in use at larger hospitals, is based on NMR technology.

”The NMR apparatus enabled the Department of Chemistry to characterise complex molecules that were synthesised for the multi-national company, FARMOFS-PAREXEL, and to negotiate research agreements with overseas universities,” said Prof Swarts.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
22 November 2005

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