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03 May 2024 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Supplied
Human Rights Dialogue
From left Royal house representative Morena Ernest Moloi from Makholokoeng Royal House , Lecholo Nkabiti from the South African Human Rights Commission, Prof Sethulego Matebesi from the Department of Sociology, Zoleka Dotwana, Director of Student Affairs , Gcina Mtengwana program Director for the day and also a lecturer , Ayanda Madiba SRC , Campus Principal Prof Prince Ngobeni and Siyanda Magayana from the Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Office.

On 25 April 2024, the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus held a Round-table Dialogue on Human Rights in collaboration with the Division of Student Affairs, Residence Life, and Human Rights Ambassadors. This event aimed to educate students about their human rights and empower them to stand up for themselves.

The Mopeli, Bakoena, and Batlokwa Royal houses all showed their support by attending the dialogue, emphasised the importance of open discussion in her welcome address. "We want people to share views and engage so that we learn from each other about human rights," Dotwana said.

The dialogue, held at the Kutlwano Gazelle (SHU-7), provided a platform for open discussion about human rights. This discussion is crucial to ensure that students understand their rights and feel equipped to advocate for themselves. The event also aimed to raise awareness about lesser-known rights to prevent students from unknowingly surrendering their power to others.

The round-table discussion included Campus Principal Prof Prince Ngobeni, Prof Sethulego Matebesi from the Department of Sociology, Lecholo Nkabiti from the South African Human Rights Commission, and Siyanda Magayana from the Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Office.

Prof Ngobeni spoke about the access to education that students now have in South Africa's democracy, and the government's efforts to ensure this access. He also highlighted the importance of royal leadership, indigenous practices in leading communities, and incorporating these practices to move forward as a country. Additionally, he mentioned the importance of including agriculture in future plans to create more employment opportunities.

Prof Matebesi urged the audience to reflect on the legacy they are leaving behind. "What legacy are we leaving?" he questioned. "We won't live forever, and there will come a time when we can't reflect on these issues."

Lecholo Ntabiti emphasised the importance of pursuing rights and accessing freedoms within a legal framework. "Freedom comes with responsibility," he stressed. "Go vote on 29 May 29 so your voice can be heard in this democracy."

This initiative demonstrates the UFS Qwaqwa Campus' commitment to fostering a well-informed and empowered student body regarding their human rights. The event coincided with South Africa's Freedom Day and the upcoming national elections in May. The dialogue addressed various human rights topics, including economic freedom and freedom of speech.

The engaging round table concluded with a lively question-and-answer session, ensuring that students left the event informed and equipped to advocate for their rights, marking a significant step towards a more empowered student generation on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus.

News Archive

Seminar puts language issues under spotlight
2012-06-29

The South African Languages Bill does not meet the Constitution’s requirements and is not doing much to curb English monolingualism.

This viewpoint of a number of critics was discussed at a language seminar at the University of the Free State (UFS) this week.

The Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS presented the seminar on the Bloemfontein Campus, where interested parties could discuss issues and developments relating to the South African Languages Bill.

The seminar formed part of the combined annual conference of the South African Applied Linguistics Association, the Linguistic Society of Southern Africa and the South African Association for Language Teachers.

At the conference, the rich diversity of language and also the complexity of language in South Africa was recognised.

The latest South African Languages Bill has attracted much interest and varied viewpoints this past year.

One of the most significant - and also the most controversial - suggestion of the present bill is to extend the present bi-language obligation to a four-language obligation, which implies that at least one African language is added to the present formula.

Furthermore, there are other important stipulations regarding the establishment of language units that will have implications for the public service, and specifically, for language practitioners.

Prof. Koos Malan, a Constitutional Law expert from the University of Pretoria, speaking during a discussion session, said: “Language determination in constitutions and language legislation are indications of the official ideology towards dealing with language and cultural diversity in the specific state. The ideology can range from the support of multilingualism – at the one extreme – to the other extreme, where only one language will get preference as the official language.”

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