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Online participation: International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure Conference

03 May 2024 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied

The Law Faculty is excited to host the International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure (IISLT) Conference and extends an invitation for broad online institutional engagement in the event. Participants are encouraged to register early to secure their virtual presence and bookmark the link, which grants access throughout the conference days from 6 to 8 May 2024.

Conference Link

See the attached final conference programme.

Conference Programme

The University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with esteemed research partners, will host the IISLT Conference scheduled for 6-8 May 2024 on the Bloemfontein Campus, Equitas Building. The conference aims to address the pervasive issue of insecure land rights plaguing rural communities in South Africa, despite constitutional safeguards and landmark legal decisions.

Transforming the rural land economy

Under the theme Transforming the rural land economy: the creation of secure land rights for the enhancement of rural livelihoods and sustainable development, the conference seeks to explore solutions to the complex challenges surrounding land tenure security.

Dr Anthea-Lee September-Van Huffel, Lecturer in the UFS Department of Private Law and a member of the IISLT Planning Committee, emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to address land tenure security issues. She stated, "Security of land tenure requires an interdisciplinary approach that is conscious of the intersectionalities between property, environmental law and conservation, customary law and succession, gender and traditional practices, natural resources and socio-economic rights, development, agriculture and land reform, poverty, politics and governance. It is time for innovative holistic rights-based solutions."

The conference proudly collaborates with international and national research partners such as Anglia Ruskin University in London, England; Imo State University in Owerri, Nigeria, the National University of Lesotho's United Nations Development Programme Human Rights Chair, Lesotho; the Law Faculty of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria; the University of Stellenbosch, Department of Private Law, and the Free State Centre for Human Rights. Other closely associated research collaborators are Public Affairs Research Institute and the UFS Centre for Development Studies.

The International Interdisciplinary Security of Land Tenure Conference presents a unique platform for stakeholders to engage in critical discussions, share insights, and propose innovative solutions towards securing land rights for rural communities and fostering sustainable development. Join us for this pivotal event aimed at transforming the rural land economy for the betterment of society. The conference is strongly aligned with Vision 130 and the Sustainable Development Goals (8) Economic growth, (10) Reduced inequalities, (11) Sustainable communities, and (15) Life on land.

Contact information:

For general enquiries, contact Riekie Viljoen via email at viljoenr@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

Up to 60% of students do not have enough to eat

2013-11-15

15 November 2013

A report of the University of the Free State has revealed the shocking statistics that almost two-thirds of the students at the university don’t have enough money to buy food, and suffer from hunger during terms.

The study, conducted internally by the university’s Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, was a response to a growing international concern that students worldwide were not getting enough to eat. While studies were conducted in the USA and Australia, no similar research has been done in South Africa.

“There have been many studies on the impact of poor nutrition on school kids,” says Dr Louise van den Berg, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, “but almost no research on university students. South Africa is, overall, a food-insecure country, and the university wanted to establish how widespread this problem is among our students.”

The reasons given by students invariably referred to a lack of money, as many students were also supporting families. Some students admitted they lacked the knowledge to feed themselves properly, some admitted to borrowing money to buy food, and some even admitted to stealing food to survive.

“This research has confirmed something we have suspected for a long time,” Dr van den Berg states.

A number of students disclosed that they were reluctant to resort to the university feeding scheme, as they were ashamed to admit they did not have money to buy food.

This study is the first of its kind in South Africa, and underlines the fact that tertiary students are particularly vulnerable when it comes to food security. Often a student has to juggle their studies with their role as breadwinner.

A tiny ray of hope to students who find themselves as food insecure, is the No Student Hungry Programme that offers a food bursary to qualifying students.

This programme, initially established by Prof Jonathan Jansen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector, and now managed by Grace Jansen and Karen Buys, offers a small allowance of about R30 per day to hungry students with an average academic achievement of 60% and above. This criterion discourages entitlement thinking and builds a strong sense of responsibility on the part of those who benefit from the food bursary.

Melanie, a second-year Geography and Environmental Management student, as well as a single mother, is a beneficiary of the NSH Programme. “This bursary helps me to get a balanced meal every day. It is one less worry for me. I dream of completing my studies so that I can be independent and provide my son with the life he deserves.”

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