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UFS encourages youth participation in upcoming national elections

25 April 2024 | Story VALENTINO NDABA | Photo Supplied

Human Rights Month Graphic — Empowering the youth to shape tomorrow’s democracy.

As South Africa prepares for its national elections scheduled for 29 May 2024, the University of the Free State (UFS) emphasises the importance of youth engagement in the democratic process. These sentiments were echoed during the Human Rights Day event recently hosted by the Free State Centre for Human Rights.

Exercising the right to vote

Aligned with the university’s Vision 130 strategy, which prioritises societal development, the UFS aims to educate and engage its community members on the significance of voting as a catalyst for positive change. Through initiatives like the Human Rights Day event, the university fosters awareness and advocacy for democratic principles, empowering individuals to exercise their right to vote and contribute to shaping the nation’s future.

Advocating for democratic principles

Dr Annelie De Man, Coordinator of the Advocacy Division at the Free State Centre for Human Rights, highlighted the relevance of the Human Rights Day event in light of the elections. “We celebrated Human Rights Day by raising awareness amongst our students regarding the rights that they possess including the right to vote, especially with the South African national elections approaching. We also wanted to convey the message that even though we as a country are experiencing many challenges, we still have our constitutionally guaranteed and hard fought-for rights that guarantee that our human dignity and right to equality must be respected.”

The event held on the Bloemfontein Campus served as a platform to raise awareness among students about their rights and the role of the Free State Centre for Human Rights. Limeque Redgard, a student assistant at the centre, described the event as an opportunity to educate students on human rights within the institution and to introduce them to available support mechanisms in case of rights violations.

Student-led advocacy

Badumetsie Tsieane, Executive Committee Chairperson of the Human Rights Ambassadors, noted the importance of making human rights discussions engaging for students and highlighted the role of ambassadors in promoting awareness and advocacy.

The event showcased the enthusiasm and commitment of students towards understanding and championing human rights, and also underscored the impact of initiatives like the Free State Centre for Human Rights in empowering the youth to participate actively in shaping a just and equitable society.

A call to action

As the nation gears up for the elections, UFS encourages students to exercise their democratic right to vote. Recognising the challenges faced by the country, the university reaffirms its commitment to promoting civic engagement and upholding the principles of human rights and democracy. With the support of initiatives like the Human Rights Day event, the UFS aims to equip students with the knowledge and awareness necessary to become informed and responsible citizens. By fostering a culture of engagement and advocacy, the university strives to contribute to the development of a vibrant and inclusive democracy in South Africa.

As the countdown to the elections continues, the UFS remains dedicated to empowering the youth to play an active role in shaping the future of the nation through their participation in the democratic process.

News Archive

Afromontane Research Unit makes climate change inroads

2017-10-28

Description: Prof Mukwada Tags: Prof Mukwada

Prof Geofrey Mukwada

The Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) has recently made inroads in climate-change research. This has been achieved through work published by Professor Geofrey Mukwada and Professor Desmond Manatsa, whose research could make it possible to predict El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) several months before its occurrence.

Professor Manatsa is an ARU postdoctoral fellow currently collaborating with Professor Mukwada on an ongoing climate-change research project. The two experts noted that ENSO is one of the most important climate phenomena on earth, due to its ability to change the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn, influences temperature and precipitation across the world.

Climate change scientific breakthrough
“This is a tremendous breakthrough, because humanity as a whole has been looking for answers regarding the origins of climate-related hazards which are worsening, yet becoming more frequent and difficult to predict. In some cases, floods and droughts occur in the same season, and within the same geographical area. These extreme climate events are becoming more frequent, often leading to loss of life and threatening national economies and livelihoods,” said Professor Mukwada, coordinator of the ARU sub-theme on Living and Doing Business In Afromontane Environments.

During an interview with the Southern Times, Professor Manatsa revealed that the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is initiated and sustained in the tropical Pacific, a fact that has eluded climate scientists for years. “It was an unresolved puzzle which limited the successful prediction of ENSO events with reasonable lead time. Climate scientists were only able to know with some degree of certainty that the event would occur once it had started, just a few months before its impacts were felt,” Professor Manatsa said.

Prof Manatsa is upbeat that a lot of headway has now been made towards unravelling the mystery of ENSO’s origin. “The necessity of the inclusion of the solar energy changes due to ozone alterations in the upper atmosphere should significantly impact on the realistic version of ENSO in climate models. This in turn should not only provide more accurate ENSO forecasts for the region, but a longer lead time for users to prepare for the event,” he said.

ENSO is a climate phenomenon based in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Its events bring good rains and even floods over most parts of the world in some years and droughts in others, depending on whether the phenomenon is in a warm or cold phase. The warm phase is referred to as El Nino, when the waters over the tropical east Pacific are heated up, but when cooled, it is termed La Nina. La Nina was responsible for the favourable rains over much of Southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, during the 2016/17 rainfall season. The El Nino occurrence a year before had devastating drought effects that was characterised by scorching heat and widespread water shortages. This work was published in a high-profile journal, Nature Scientific Reports.

ARU is a flagship inter- and trans-disciplinary research programme focusing on the under-researched area of montane communities. It was launched in June 2015 and is based on the Qwaqwa Campus.

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