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04 September 2025 | Story Lilitha Dingwayo | Photo Lunga Luthuli
Bibi Essop
Bibi Essop, newly elected Universal Access Officer of the Bloemfontein Campus CSRC, celebrates her election as a representative of CUADS and students living with disabilities at the UFS.

The University of the Free State (UFS) community proudly celebrates the appointment of Bibi Essop as the newly elected Campus Student Representative Council Universal Access Officer on the Bloemfontein Campus – a role of immense importance for inclusivity, representation, and student advocacy.

Living with brittle bone syndrome, Essop brings both personal insight and leadership to her portfolio, representing the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS). Her election is not only a personal milestone but also a testament to the university’s growing recognition of the importance of visible leadership by students with disabilities.

By stepping into this position, Essop embodies the empowerment of students who navigate both academic life and unique personal challenges. “This is the pinnacle of my achievements this year, as I have been working towards this for the past three to four years,” she says.

She emphasises that her first priority was to understand the needs of the community she represents. “I had to make sure I know the people I represent, which gave me the opportunity to learn about the other four cohorts on our campus: students with visual impairment, hearing impairment, and learning difficulties, since I am a part of the mobility impairment cohort,” she explains.

The role of Universal Access Officer is vital in ensuring that the needs of students with disabilities remain central to discussions about inclusivity, campus infrastructure, and academic support. Essop is determined to challenge misconceptions about the position. 

“Many people assume my portfolio is restricted to CUADS students only, whereas it is so diverse that it needs to be incorporated in every other portfolio. Accessibility at every event is essential for students living with disabilities,” she says. “Many students do not attend events because they presume that they will not be accommodated.” 

Looking beyond academics, Essop hopes to work closely with fellow CSRC members to ensure inclusivity across all aspects of student life. One initiative she is particularly excited about is Casual Day on 5 September 2025 - a celebration of different disabilities aimed at fostering awareness, education, and integration among all students. 

“The CSRC has reach and influence across all three campuses. By partnering with them, CUADS can amplify its work, ensure consistent messaging, and create opportunities for engagement that are student-driven. This collaboration allows us to step outside of formal support channels and become part of broader campus conversations, events, and initiatives,” says Mosa Moerane who is the liaison, advocacy and awareness officer for CUADS. 

Moerane explains that there are differences in challenges faced by students with disabilities on three campuses. “Bloemfontein, being the largest campus, often presents challenges around scale- serving a higher number of students with diverse needs. South Campus has its own dynamics, with many first-year students who may still be navigating disclosure and adjustment. Qwaqwa students face unique geographical and infrastructural challenges. CUADS responds by tailoring support through assistive technology, academic accommodations, or advocacy for improved accessibility while keeping the student’s lived experience at the centre,” said Moerane.

“The aim is always to make students in Qwaqwa and South Campuses feel as included as those in Bloemfontein. Also having offices at South Campus and Qwaqwa Campus with CUADS Coordinators assists in ensuring that our students are supported similarly to those on Bloemfontein Campus,” she added.

As UFS continues its journey towards greater inclusivity, Essop’s appointment serves as a reminder of the importance of representation across all student cohorts. It affirms that every voice, regardless of background or circumstance, deserves to be heard.

The university congratulates Bibi Essop on this well-deserved achievement. Her leadership represents a step towards ensuring that universal access is not just a policy, but a lived reality for all UFS students. 

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorate to global peace ambassador Dr Lakhdar Brahimi
2015-07-07

Professor Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS and Dr Lakhdar Brahimi.
Photo: Mike Rose from Mike Rose Photography

The Faculty of the Humanities and Centre for Africa Studies rewarded the contributions of Dr Lakhdar Brahimi, a prominent global peace leader, with an honorary doctorate on Thursday 2 July 2015.

The conferment formed one of the highlights of the 2015 Winter Graduations. Dr Brahimi’s work as a United Nations’ (UN) envoy, and African peace leader of note, was deeply respected by the university. Professor Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS, accepted the PhD on his behalf.

In his acceptance speech, read by Prof Hudson at the Chancellor’s Dinner the same evening, Dr Brahimi expressed his gratitude to the university. “I deeply appreciate your generous recognition, and even now, in the twilight years of my life, I shall try to be worthy of your confidence in everything I say or do.”

“My generation did its share: its successes and its failures are things of the past. We must accept to be judged by you, the graduates. You, the young graduates here at the University of the Free State, and your fellow members of the African intellectual elite, have an exciting opportunity to take on the challenges and fulfil the dreams you have. We must accept to be judged by you.”

Algerian-born Dr Brahimi was first involved with the UN in 1992 as rapporteur to the Earth Summit. Distinctively, he is the most-frequently appointed special envoy of the UN. Amongst many other countries, he has worked as a mediator for South Africa, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Burundi, Angola, Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of the UN.

Significant peacekeeping efforts in South Africa (1993- 1994)

The ambassador– in his capacity as special representative to South Africa from December 1993 to June 1994 –played a direct role in South Africa’s democratic transition.

Prof Hudson expressed appreciation for the ambassador’s role in facilitating a peaceful transition from South Africa’s Nationalist government into the current democratic dispensation.

“One of the reasons we selected him as recipient of the honorary doctorate, is because of what he did for the African continent,” she said.

In addition, she commented Dr Brahimi for being a living testament of Ubuntu. “He has displayed an ethic of humanism in everything that he has done, in the way that he has mediated in certain conflicts - his main contribution is as a mediator.

According to Hudson, his humility, modesty, and generosity are the epitome of Ubuntu which states that “I am because we are.”

Dr Brahimi as a global peace practitioner

Dr Brahimi served as Undersecretary-General of the Arab League, Arab League Special Envoy for Lebanon, and Foreign Minister of Algeria.

The UN Peace-building Commission was established as a result of recommendations in his2000 Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (Brahimi Report).

Since 2007, Dr Brahimi has been a member in The Elders - an alliance chaired by Kofi Annan -of peace and human rights advocates including Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Mary Robinson, and Jimmy Carter. His passion for justice led to his membership in the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

In 2010, he was Laureate of the Special Jury Prize for Conflict Prevention, awarded by the Chirac Foundation (France), which promotes international peace and security.

Dr Brahimi’s influence in Peace Education

The Brahimi Report has had an indelible impact on scholars specialising in the broad field of peace operations. Dr Brahimi’s writings have also contributed to knowledge on post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD), a signification part of the African Union’s narrative.

He is a distinguished senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics. He has taught a postgraduate course on Conflict Resolution at Sciences Po, Paris (2011); is Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University; and is affiliated to the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, where he was a visiting professor from 2006 to 2008.

In addition, Dr Brahimi is a founding member of the French-language Journal of Palestine Studies, and a board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.


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