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EDSA Awards - 2024
At the 2024 EDSA Prestige Awards (from left): Temba Hlasho, Executive Director of Student Affairs; Siphilangenkosi Dlamini, Student of the Year; and Prof Anthea Rhoda, acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

The 2024 Executive Director of Student Affairs (EDSA) Prestige Awards, hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS) on 12 October on South Campus, was a celebration of student excellence, leadership and holistic development. The third annual event recognised exceptional achievements across academia, sport, community engagement and innovative activities, aligning with the university’s broader Vision 130 strategy, which emphasises excellence, innovation and social impact.

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UFS, highlighted how the awards reflect the university’s commitment to nurturing well-rounded students who are capable of excelling on the global stage. She emphasised that categories like ‘Most Innovative Fundraising Activity,’ ‘Best Undergraduate’ and ‘Best Sportsman’ embody the values of Vision 130.

“The awards encourage students to strive for excellence in several areas of their student experience, similarly to how UFS aspires to achieve excellence in various spheres where it is a role player,” she said.

The decision to host the ceremony on South Campus marked a significant step towards inclusivity across all UFS campuses. Prof Rhoda noted that this choice reiterated UFS’s identity as “one university with three campuses”. She expressed optimism for the future of South Campus, calling it a hub for academic and student activities, and signalling its potential to host even larger events in the future.

Through its Division of Student Affairs, UFS plays a pivotal role in supporting students in both academic and extracurricular pursuits. According to Prof Rhoda, the university has formulated a strategic framework that emphasises student success, well-being and development. She highlighted that students are given ample opportunities to excel, whether through academic support systems or through initiatives like entrepreneurial programmes and sports infrastructure. This well-rounded support system equips UFS students with the tools to compete globally, both academically and in extracurricular endeavours.

Among the many students honoured was Mthi Mthimkhulu, a first-year who is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree specialising in Language Practice. The rising 400-metre sprint star participated at the South African Under-23 Championships in Pretoria earlier this year, finishing with a time of 46 seconds, as well as in the African Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, logging a time of 46.50.

On the night of the EDSA Prestige Awards, Mthimkhulu walked away with three gongs: the Club Sports Star of the Year, Kovsie National Sports Representative of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year.

The big winner on the night was Siphilangenkosi Dlamini, who took home the Student of the Year award. Dlamini, a student and research assistant at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, is also the Provincial Chairperson of the BRICS Student Commission in the Free State. Along with being named Student of the Year, he also took home a cash prize of R1 500.

“Winning the Student of the Year award is an incredible honour, both personally and professionally,” Dlamini said. “It represents the culmination of years of dedication to leadership, academic excellence and social impact.”

His leadership extends beyond UFS, with initiatives focused on decolonising education and youth entrepreneurship. Dlamini also leads the Initiative for Creative African Narratives (iCAN) project, which empowers African youth to reclaim their narratives by writing in their own languages. This initiative, which now includes 10 South African languages, exemplifies his dedication to fostering innovation and cultural pride among African youth.

The 2024 EDSA Prestige Awards not only celebrated excellence but also reinforced UFS's dedication to creating a vibrant student life that enhances leadership, personal growth and community engagement, in line with Vision 130.

Click to view documentClick here for the list of all the categories and the winners.

News Archive

Middle East activists speak about peace on the Bloemfontein Campus
2012-03-15

 

Bassem Eid (left) and Benjamin Pogrund discuss the situation in the Middle East.
Photo: Johan Roux
15 March 2012

Peace is a big word in the Middle East, particularly amongst Israelis and Palestinians. After years of conflict, people yearn for peace; they want an end to the killings and the uncertainty. The problem is that both sides are actively doing things that undermine the prospect of peace. There is also double talk, lies and evasion with each side pointing fingers. This was the word from Benjamin Pogrund, an Israeli peace activist, addressing staff and students on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State. He and fellow peace activist Bassem Eid, a Palestinian, visited the campus to speak about the situation in the Middle East.

Both men agreed that peace efforts were hindered by the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders. According to Pogrund, neither the Palestinians, nor the Israelis are leading the way in accepting that the conflict must end.
 
“Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders say let us get together with no pre-conditions. Then the Israeli leaders say, Jerusalem we cannot share, that is not for negotiation. And, they say to the Palestinians you must recognise Israel as a Jewish state. So, what they say is unless you agree to these pre-conditions there can be no talks without pre-conditions.
 
“And the Palestinians in turn say the settlement construction must cease immediately, and unless that happened, there is no point in meeting. And they say we will never acknowledge you as a Jewish state so do not even bother talking about it. And we insist on the right of return of Palestinian refugees. So they also say unless you acknowledge these pre-conditions there is no point in meeting with our pre-conditions. So as you can gather each side blames the other side, each side points the finger and says you are responsible for the lack of progress.”
 
Pogrund said both the Israelis and the Palestinians could demand legitimacy in that part of the world.
 
“Both Jewish and Arabs can say we have history on our side. We have religion on our side, culture.”
 
To compare Israel to Apartheid South Africa is wrong, he said.
 
“It is an occupation, it is repression, but it is not Apartheid.”
 
Eid, who is the director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, said the Palestinians were close to having a complete independent Palestinian state from 1994 to 1999.
 
“But in one rocket former Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon destroyed it.”
 
He said Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not bring political unity.
 
“We, the Palestinians, were supposed to start building the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip but unfortunately Hamas started dancing on that Israeli disengagement and considered it as their own success because of their military resistance against the occupation.” He also said Hamas is satisfied with its hold in the Gaza Strip and Fatah is also very satisfied with its hold in the West Bank. According to Eid, it is convenient for the Israelis that the Palestinians are separated.

 

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