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UFS Qwaqwa Campus Empowers Students through Human Rights Dialogue

03 May 2024 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Supplied

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

KovsieTennis wins gold at USSA – again

2014-12-10

The annual University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament was hosted by the KovsieTennis Club from 1 – 5 December 2014 in Bloemfontein.

This year was the first time that KovsieTennis entered two teams in the tournament. Our first team played in section A, while our second team competed in section B. Both sections were divided into two pools with round robin matches during the first three days. Thursday presented the cross-over with the finals taking place on that Friday.

During the round robin phase, our first team beat Rhodes University, University of Witwatersrand and University of Pretoria. On the Thursday, they met North West University (Pukke) in the semi-final and beat them 8-5 in matches. The last match was not played, since Kovsies already won the semi-final. For the third year in a row, Kovsies faced Stellenbosch University (Maties) in the final. After some brilliant tennis in sweltering heat, Kovsies found themselves 7-5 down in matches with the last two mixed doubles still to be played.

Janine Erasmus and Duke Munro, as number one couple, and Arne Nel and Heidi Murray, as number two couple, played outstanding mix doubles to win both matches, tying the score on 7-7. Due to the fact that Kovsies lost three of their matches in three sets they were crowned champions, winning with 17-14 on sets.

It is the eighth year in a row that the Kovsie club managed to win gold during USSA. We are also the only team that has won the tournament since the format changed to combined teams from 2010.

After the tournament Arne Nel, Duke Munro and Christi Potgieter were included in the squad from which a team will be selected, should tennis feature at the World Student Games in Korea during July 2015. Janine de Kock , KovsieTennis manager, was also appointed as manager of the SA Student team and Marnus Kleinhans from Kovsies will be their coach.

The second team beat Tshwane University of Technology, University of Kwa-Zulu- Natal and University of Cape Town during the round robin and in the semi-finals they won against University of Pretoria. Unfortunately they lost in the final against the North West University, but the club is extremely proud of the players since it was the first time all of them played in a USSA tournament. They gained a lot of experience that will greatly contribute to the value they will add to the team next year.

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