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11 September 2024
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Anthony Mthembu and Chelsea Carolus
From the left: Geraldine Lengau, Senior Officer in the Unit for Institutional Change at the UFS; and Oratile Reina, West College Prime.
As part of the initiatives lined up for College Week, the student leaders of West College at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted a dialogue that primarily focused on discussing social justice as a value of Vision 130. The dialogue was held at Outeniqua Residence on 3 September 2024 and was well attended by students within West College.
According to Oratile Reina, West College Prime, “the motivation for the dialogue was to prepare newly elected leaders and our college community to align their efforts with Vision 130 – a vision that aims to create a more inclusive, equitable, and socially just environment on campus”. As such, she highlights that the dialogue was an opportunity for leaders to discuss practical strategies for implementing these values in their respective spaces, and to encourage those in West College to become better citizens inside and outside the university.
A conversation on social justice
The dialogue was facilitated by Geraldine Lengau, Senior Officer in the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice at the UFS. Lengau touched on several aspects pertaining to the topic of discussion. Firstly, she allowed the audience to give their definition of social justice, especially as students within the institution. In addition, she went on to talk to the audience about sexual assault in the context of social justice. In this instance, Lengau gauged whether the students knew which processes to follow in the event of a sexual assault incident, and whether they were acquainted with the UFS Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, and Sexual Violence Policy. Furthermore, the audience was given the opportunity to outline what social justice looks like to them in the spaces they occupy, including in their respective faculties, the sports they play, and the leadership structures they form part of. “I was encouraged to see that students take their right to a socially just university in very high regard, and that they were willing to break it down from what Vision 130 proposes, in order to align it with their common understanding,” said Lengau.
As the dialogue concluded, the audience signed a pledge committing to uphold the values of Vision 130. According to Reina, “The pledge represents a promise to take concrete steps towards fostering an inclusive and equitable campus culture. By signing the pledge, the leaders are not only agreeing to embody these principles in their leadership roles but are also holding themselves accountable to their peers and the broader university community.”
Book Prize for Distinguished Scholarship awarded to Dr Christian Williams
2016-03-24
Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State and Dr Christian Williams, senior lecturer at the UFS Department of Anthropology.
Photo: Johan Roux |
When Dr Christian Williams moved from the United States to Namibia in January 2000 as part of the WorldTeach volunteer programme for teachers, he had not anticipated an award-winning piece of scholarship in his future. It was during these visits to Namibia, though, that the seeds for his highly-acclaimed book were sewn.
While volunteering at the St. Therese Secondary School in Tses at that time, Dr Williams – now a senior lecturer at the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Anthropology – became acquainted with some of the school’s alumni. The stories these individuals started sharing with him soon revealed personal histories of exile and violence by fellow SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) members.
These experiences ultimately resulted in Dr Williams’ book, National liberation in postcolonial southern Africa: a historical ethnography of SWAPO’s exile camps, published last year. Due to the book’s literary impact, the university awarded Dr Williams the UFS Book Prize for Distinguished Scholarship on Friday 19 February 2016. Dr Williams is the second academic to be awarded this prize.
Politics of the past
In the 1960s, Namibians mobilised and retaliated against colonial rule under the liberation movement known as SWAPO. This created political tension which resulted in the flight of many SWAPO members to exile camps administered by the party.
“Over its three decades in exile, SWAPO was responsible for the welfare of roughly 60 000 Namibians. This was about 4% of the total Namibian population at independence – most of whom lived in camps,” says Dr Williams. The research originally used as a basis for his doctoral thesis was subsequently developed into this prize-winning book.
Advancing the Human Project
“It’s an honour to receive recognition from the university; it means that they value the kind of work that I am doing. I think it’s great for universities to have such prizes,” Dr Williams says.
Supporting the UFS Human Project, Dr Williams will donate a portion of the R25 000 prize money towards the UFS Student Bursary Fund Campaign, as well as the school in Namibia.The rest will subsidise the purchase of the book for distribution to libraries and as gifts.