Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
04 October 2024 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling | Photo Supplied
DoDay QR Code 2024
Scan the QR Code to unlock 30 days of exciting challenges to enhance your mental well-being.

During October this year, the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Student Counselling and Development (SCD) invites all staff and students to play an active part in their own mental health. Every day. You can do one small thing each day to improve your mental health. That is why the campaign is called DoDay – do something today and make it a do day.

For 30 days, doable mental health activities will be shared on the UFS and SCD Instagram and Facebook pages. You will be invited to participate in the activity and to share your experience online. We encourage you to take up the challenge and share the skills for better mental health.

Be successful

As we approach the mid-year exam when staff and students are experiencing added pressure and anxiety, it is the perfect time to dedicate 10 to 15 minutes daily to your mental health. Each week we will focus on five different mental health building blocks: social wellness, emotional wellness, intellectual wellness, physical wellness, and spiritual wellness. By participating in the different activities each day, you will cover all the different wellness areas.

Be informed

During the campaign, we will also release insightful podcast interviews with experts who share their personal and professional experiences with each wellness area. It is no secret that communities are stronger together. Let us all work towards collectively improving our mental well-being and supporting one another on this journey.

Be happy

Improved mental health supports your professional and academic performance. It also helps you to make better decisions and enjoy life more. Improving your mental well-being has never been easier than following the DoDay calendar. You will receive clear guidelines on what to do each day, and you can mark off your progress and share your activities as you go.

Be a DoDay-er

Remember that maintaining mental well-being is like brushing your teeth, so we recommend it daily! Join the UFS Mental Health DoDay drive and take one small daily action for 30 days towards better mental health. Download your 30-day DoDay calendar – and remember to share and inspire others. Make every day a Mental Health DoDay

News Archive

Statement from Prof Jonathan Jansen regarding a misquote about Madiba
2013-04-10

08 April 2013

Comments made by learners who attended the Leadership Summit (pdf)

Prof Jonathan Jansen: Presentation about Great Leaders (pdf)

The news article that first appeared in Volksblad of Monday 8 April 2013 claiming that I wanted Madiba to die, refers.

This is a complete misrepresentation of what I said. My argument was that Madiba had done so much for South Africa, that he had served South Africa well, and that sometimes you just wish that people would leave him alone so that he can pass his final days quietly.

Like all South Africans, I want Madiba to live as long as possible, but without the constant glare and speculation of the media and others. He needs to be left alone to rest and die in peace. That was the content and context of what I said.

To misrepresent a lengthy statement on a talk which was entirely devoted to extolling Madiba’s leadership — alongside that of Luthuli, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr (this was the main photograph on the screen) — is mischievous. The seven characteristics of leadership of Mandela, and the other three, were what the one hour and ten minute talk was about — something completely ignored in the misrepresentation.

It is true that I depicted the crises from Marikana to the Catholic Church as crises of leadership and not primarily military or religious blunders.

It is also true that I argued that the official representation of the hospital visits as ‘routine checkups’ was inaccurate for aged people, since at the age of 94 no hospital visit is ‘routine.’ That is what I said.

- Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, University of the Free State

Media Release
08 April 2013
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: +27(0)51 401 2584
Cell: +27(0)83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept