Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Pursuing people-powered change: Global Social Innovation Indaba sparks action

07 October 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Stephen Collett

Insightful, thought-provoking and inspiring: These were some of the words used to describe the 2024 Global Social Innovation Indaba, which took place at the Centenary Complex on the University of the Free State’s (UFS’s) Bloemfontein Campus from 30 September to 2 October 2024.

The three-day conference was hosted by the global Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) in collaboration with the UFS, under the theme ‘People Powered Change’. The conference brought together leaders and innovators from South Africa and several other countries, including Louise Pulford, CEO of SIX; Markus Lux, Senior Vice-President at Robert Bosch Stiftung, and Desmond D’Sa from the South Durban Community Environment Alliance (SDCEA), among others.

In her opening address, Acting UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Anthea Rhoda welcomed the guests and described the conference as an opportunity to “deliberate, debate, and dissect ideas around the all-important topic of harnessing people-powered change in order to build successful societies”.

Powering social change

As part of the conference guests engaged in a series of panel discussions and activities, and attended presentations on various topics.

D’Sa was one of the first speakers, delivering a keynote address titled ‘An activist guide to people-powered change’. He referred to moments throughout his career in which he has actively worked towards change in his community and beyond, and highlighted some of the work the SDCEA continues to do. Guests were also treated to a spoken word performance by Napo Masheane, Artistic Director at the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS).

Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi touched on several points in his talk, such as what the law meant or means to indigenous people. He explored this by referring back to the colonialist era. Ngcukaitobi, who described law as the most ubiquitous and most stable concept that European settlers brought, indicated that it was brought in two faces: the face of justice, and the face of violence. Therefore, he said, “… the future of law that has been most enduring is the ability of the law to transform itself from violence to justice.”

Guests said they regarded the presentations and dialogues as insightful, and also highlighted their appreciation for being able to interact with the campus itself. This sentiment in large part stemmed from the attendees being split into smaller groups and taken to see different parts of the campus. They also got to see an exhibition exploring the role of art in social justice at the Department of Fine Arts.

Lessons from the conference

The last day featured a panel discussion titled ‘Challenging power dynamics and redefining global exchange’, which included an engagement session with the audience. Guests were able to reflect on the information they had acquired at the conference and challenged themselves to continue working towards change and innovation.

“What I learnt from these three days is that since we all want to do the right thing, we all know what the job that needs to be done is,” said Michael Ngigi, CEO of Thinkplace Africa. “As such, we need to be bold in going for that, and really push back on the status quo that is formed by the places we represent.”

News Archive

Fundraising campaign launched to help feed hungry students

2012-03-28

From the left is Dr. Carin Buys (Patron of NSH), Ms. Nicky Abdinor (guest speaker), Mrs. Grace Jansen (patron of NSH) and Redi Tlhabi (master of ceremonies).
Photo: Johan Roux
28 March 2012

Video clip (YouTube)

The University of the Free State (UFS) received over R200 000 for its No Student Hungry (NSH) Programme at the NSH launch dinner on Friday 23 March 2012 in Bloemfontein.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS as well as founder of the NSH Programme donated R100 000 from the proceeds of his book We Need to Talk to this programme. Standard Bank also donated R30 000.

An additional amount of about R90 000 was raised by means of pledges made by guests and the auctioning of several items. These items were donated by local companies and university staff.

The No Student Hungry Programme (NSH) aims to raise funds to provide modest food bursaries for needy students and give them daily access to a balanced meal.
Prof. Jansen started the NSH programme in 2011 with the proceeds of his book, We Need to Talk.

The NSH funds more than 100 students in the hope of helping them to excel in their academic endeavours and, ultimately, to obtain their degrees.

In 2011, Prof. Jansen discovered that a significant number of students were studying without eating on a regular basis. These were often students with strong academic records but without adequate funding to sustain themselves with regular meals.

The project was established in January 2011 when the NSH Team started to develop the structure and processes of the programme. The first 100 students who were awarded the food bursaries started using their student cards for daily meals on campus on 1 April 2011.

“The No Student Hungry Campaign is not only about creating a university campus that cares. It is about creating a country where being human matters. Our students on the NSH project are amazing young people. They struggle to get by, but they have great potential and achieve good marks," Prof. Jansen said on Friday.

Prof. Jansen’s wife, Grace, and Dr Carin Buys, wife of Mr Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, volunteered to drive the programme and raise funds to address the problem. They are supported by various divisions within the university.

Students apply for the bursaries and are selected on the basis of their financial needs, good academic results, active participation in student life programmes and commitment to give something back to the community.

The raising of funds is a continuous process involving awareness campaigns, seeking of partnerships with companies and institutions and support from the general public, staff and individuals.

An agreement has been made with several food outlets/restaurants on campus who offer healthy, balanced meals to NSH students when they swipe their student cards that are funded by the programme.

At the end of the year the process is reviewed and students who still qualify are reinstated on the programme, whilst those whose circumstances have changed or are no longer in need of the bursaries, make way for new applications.

The NSH Team meets with students on a regular basis with the purpose of offering training, motivation and opportunities for personal growth and career development. Students are also expected to become involved in projects as a way of ploughing back into the community.

The goal is to expand the project annually as support for it grows.
Ms Nicky Abdinor, a clinical psychologist from Cape Town, who was born without arms and with shortened legs, provided an entertaining motivational speech at the launch. Ms Abdinor, founder of the Nicky's Drive organisation, also visited the UFS’ Unit for Students with disabilities where she delivered a talk on independence for people living with disabilities.

To become involved with the NSH Programme, please contact Mrs René Pelser on +27(0)51 4019087 or e-mail pelserr@ufs.ac.za.

Media Release
28 March 2012
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

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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