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Join the Africa Month celebrations

07 May 2024 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied

UFS Celebrating Africa Month — The University of the Free State celebrates 2024 Africa Month.

May is widely recognised across African nations as Africa Month, a time dedicated to commemorating the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, a precursor to the African Union (AU). This historic milestone marked a significant shift towards continental unity and the collective pursuit of nation-building, championing the ideals of freedom and liberation from oppression.

On 25 May 2024, Africa celebrates the 61st anniversary of the founding of the OAU, now evolved into the AU. In alignment with this rich tradition, the University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to embrace Africa Day and its core principles once again in 2024, hosting a series of engaging events to highlight the importance of African indigenous knowledge in higher education, both locally and globally.

Honouring our legacy

Even preceding the formation of the OAU in 1963, countless initiatives spearheaded by Africans, both on the continent and within its diaspora, aimed to reclaim Africa’s rightful place on the global stage. South Africans have notably been at the forefront of these efforts, with figures like Pixley ka Isaka Seme delivering his seminal speech on the “Regeneration of Africa” in 1906, a sentiment echoed by subsequent generations through various initiatives geared towards decolonisation and revitalisation.

Africa Month serves as a platform to promote and cultivate appreciation for African arts and culture, fostering robust trade markets and stimulating economic growth across the continent.

Shaping the future

Vision 130 stands as the UFS’s strategic roadmap towards 2034, when the university will celebrate its 130th anniversary. One of its core values of ‘Innovation and Impact’, underscores the institution’s commitment to driving societal progress through impactful endeavours. Embracing creativity and challenging conventional norms, the UFS aims to leverage its knowledge resources to propel the development of the Free State, South Africa, and the African continent, while also contributing to global knowledge and understanding. With a firm commitment to regional engagement, the UFS seeks to be a catalyst for positive change, both locally and continentally.

Events calendar

For 2024, the theme of Africa Month is “Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century”, as designated by the African Union. In celebration of this significant milestone, the UFS is organising a diverse array of events throughout the month of May:

5km Fun Run & Walk

The Faculty of Health Sciences will host a 5km Fun Run & Walk, featuring live music, fitness sessions by KovsieFit, and exciting prizes.

Date: 11 May 2024

Time: 06:00

Venue: Francois Retief Building, Bloemfontein Campus.

World citizenship and African higher Education

The Office for International Affairs will host an event on World Citizenship and African Higher Education focusing on preparing students for a globally connected world.

Date: 22 May 2024

Time: 16:00-18:00

Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

Livestream to Qwaqwa Campus: https://events.ufs.ac.za/e/events.ufs.ac.za/e/africa2024

Africa Month book launch

The Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) will host a launch a book titled Migration, Borders, and Borderlands꞉ Making National Identity in Southern African Communities which was edited by Dr Munyaradzi Mushonga, Prof John Aerni‑Flessner, Prof Chitja Twala and Dr Grey Magaiza.

Date: 22 May 2024

Time: 14:00 – 15:30

Venue: E0014, Education building, Qwaqwa Campus

Livestream: https://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

Africa Day Memorial Lecture

The CGAS on the Qwaqwa Campus will also host the Africa Day Memorial Lecture titled “Peacebuilding in Africa: Challenges, Trends, and Futures” presented by Prof Ismail Rashid.

Date: 22 May 2024

Time: 16:00-18:00

Venue: E0014 Education Building, Qwaqwa Campus

Livestream: https://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

Faculty of Theology and Religion Africa Day celebration

The Faculty of Theology and Religion on the Bloemfontein Campus will host an Africa Day Celebration.

Date: 24 May 2024

Time: 12:00-13:00

Venue: 10 H van der Merwe Scholtz Hall, Bloemfontein Campus

News Archive

UFS cardiac team leading with project

2017-05-31

Prof Peter Schultheiss of the Charité University in Berlin,
Germany, visited the Robert WM Frater Centre for
Cardiovascular Research at the UFS for a study regarding
cardiomyopathy, a significant cause of fatal heart failure
among Africans. From the left are Dr Glen Taylor,
Dr Danie Buys, Prof Makoali Makatoko,
Prof Schultheiss and Prof Francis Smit.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

A team of cardiac doctors associated with the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences has commenced with a pioneering research project regarding idiopathic dilating cardiomyopathy.

An Afrocentric research focus
Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS and Head of the Frater Centre, describes dilating cardiomyopathy as a heart muscle disease that is quite common, particularly among people of African descent. The disease weakens the heart muscle, which in turn leads to heart failure.

“To date there is no curable treatment for this condition and 50% of patients that have shown heart failure, died within a period of five years. The causes of this condition have been unknown in the majority of patients. But over the past few years major strides have been made where virus infections of the heart muscle or myocarditis have been identified as a possible underlying cause. Various genetic diseases are also linked to it,” says Prof Smit.

International collaborations ensure success
According to Prof Smit, the project is being run in conjunction with Prof Heinz-Peter Schultheiss of the Charité University and the Institute for Cardiac Diagnostics and Therapy in Berlin, Germany.

“We have been working on the project over the past 18 months and I have twice visited Prof Schultheiss in Germany. He is now visiting us in Bloemfontein. We have established a collaborative project focused on patients in central South Africa”.
Prof Schultheiss is a world leader regarding the diagnosis, pathology and treatment of dilating cardiomyopathy, says Prof Smit.

“He brings a lifetime of research experience to Bloemfontein and is internationally renowned as the father of myocardial or heart muscle biopsies.

“His pioneering work on the discipline has led to diagnostic accuracy that has induced purposeful and personalised treatment of dilating cardiomyopathy and has brought about dramatic changes in some subsets of patients’ life expectancy and their cure.”

Solving problems close to home
According to Prof Mokoali Makatoko, Head of the Department of Cardiology, there are more than 1500 new cases of heart failure identified annually at the Universitas Academic Hospital, of which approximately 30% are attributed to cardiomyopathy. “With the use of endomyocardial biopsies the team hopes to treat viruses unique to Southern Africa as well as other underlying causes of dilating cardiomyopathy.”

Prof Stephen Brown, Head of Paediatric Cardiology at the Universitas Academic Hospital, says children suffering from this disease never reach a mature age and those under his supervision will also be undergoing these tests. Various other departments at the UFS will also participate in this project. Profs Makatoko and Brown did the first four endomyocardial biopsies under the management of Prof Schultheiss during the past week. The results will be available in the coming weeks after which the project will be officially launched and patient recruitment will start in earnest.

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