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#AfricaMonth: The Qwaqwa Campus joins the celebration of African linguistic diversity with African Languages Press launch

17 May 2023 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo SUPPLIED

Matsimela Setenane speaking about his book Haeso ke Naheng at the launch event on the Qwaqwa Campus.

In celebration of African linguistic diversity and the power of indigenous creative expression, the UFS African Languages Press, in collaboration with the Academy for Multilingualism on the Qwaqwa Campus, kick-started Africa Month with the launch of the African Languages Press on the campus, as well as the Multilingual Hub, and finally, its first product, a book titled Haeso ke Naheng by former UFS Qwaqwa Campus student Matsimela Setenane.

The African Languages Press was launched on the Bloemfontein Campus in May 2022.

In her opening remarks, Dr Tholani Hlongwa, Deputy Director of the Academy of Multilingualism, said the Languages Press and Multilingual Hub would work together to publish high-quality original content in African languages. “We will promote writing in African languages and position the UFS as a hub, promoter, and preserver of African languages in South Africa. We want to support upcoming authors by providing high-quality editorial services and bridge the gap left by the mainstream publishing industry by increasing the publication of African languages, among other things.”

A creative expression of the Sesotho language

Haeso ke Naheng, a fictional Sesotho novel, looks at the life of Thabo, an orphan who witnessed the takeover of his place of birth. He grows up to be a revolutionary Sesotho warrior who fights to reclaim his birthplace. His story resonates with his life; the author told the audience during the book launch. “Through writing this book, I discovered a lot about my origins as a Mosotho man. It is our responsibility as young people to continue digging to discover who we are so that we, too, will have knowledge to pass on to our children”, he said.

Setenane was born and bred in Qwaqwa and obtained his BSc degree majoring in Physics and Chemistry qualification from the Bloemfontein Campus in 2019. His love for Sesotho literature has grown over the years, and he hopes to produce more literature that celebrates the creative expression of his culture. He is currently busy with his first poetry anthology, which is also in Sesotho.

A platform to reignite free expression in indigenous languages

The guest speaker for the launch was Dr Edwin Mohatlane, who praised the UFS for the strides it's taking towards preserving and promoting African indigenous languages. “This is a milestone in the development of our languages. Our languages are doomed to extinction because of our attitudes towards them. I hope that the African Languages Press and the Multilingual Hub will be used to promote the literary and aesthetic talents in our languages”, he said.

News Archive

Kovsie students selected for prestigious study travel programme

2013-05-15

Golden Key International Honour Society members, Michael van Niekerk, Siobhan Canavan, Mpoi Makhetha and Cebolenkosi Sokhela, will travel to the USA and China, meeting the best in their career fields.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
15 May 2013

They are amongst the top 15 percent of academic achievers at the university, and have been afforded the opportunity to travel abroad and meet with leading people in their fields of study.

Kovsie students Michael van Niekerk, Siobhan Canavan, Mpoi Makhetha and Cebolenkosi Sokhela, all members of the Golden Key International Honour Society, will travel to the USA and China. This trip is part of the International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP) to learn how their career fields are practiced in another part of the world. The students are part of a select group of outstanding university students from across the world who will be given access to people, places and global perspectives in fields such as business, engineering, medicine, nursing, diplomacy and international relations.

Michael, a fourth-year MBChB student and SRC member of our Bloemfontein Campus, and Cebolenkosi, a third-year BSc Microbiology student will visit Washington, Philadelphia and New York in the USA. As part of the medicine delegation of the programme, they will visit clinics and hospitals to see how their study fields are practiced. Michael’s trip includes a visit to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he will meet representatives of the National Institute of Health, the largest source of funding for medical research in the world. He will also visit Harvard University in Massachusetts.

Mpoi, a third-year BSc Human Molecular Biology student, also forms part of the medicine delegation but will travel to China. "We will be exploring the ancient ways of healing versus the modern medical practices, exploring the medical systems of the country and meeting doctors and professors, visiting the rural areas, and of course, touring the best parts of China,” she said.

Siobhan, a third-year Media Studies and Journalism student, is part of the diplomacy and international relations delegation who will visit Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai in China. "To me it's such an honour to be part of this programme,” she said. “It will give me the platform to not only represent who I am, but also my university and the values that the university has instilled in me. It allows me to be a part of something great that will benefit me in the end."

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