University of Mpumalanga celebrates Africa Day with six nations
UMP students represented different countries and did their performances on stage and the best three were awarded for what they presented.
The University of Mpumalanga (UMP) hosted the 2024 Africa Day Lecture at the Mbombela Campus’s multipurpose hall on Thursday May 23.The theme of the event was celebrating diversity and showcasing Africanness. Africa Day is commemorated annually on May 25.
Some UMP students who represented various countries did presentations and performances on stage. The top three were awarded trophies for their performances. The countries that won are Botswana, Egypt and Ethiopia.
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The UMP’s vice-chancellor, Prof Thoko Mayekiso, said: “This year we are celebrating Africa Day, focusing on the following six countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Botswana, Cameroon and Chad. We are showing that Africa Day is a day of great importance to the continent and its people. It is a celebration of African unity. At the same time, it creates a platform for us to reaffair our commitments to work in partnership with other Africans to realise our potential.”
She said as the UMP community, they embrace and celebrate the connectedness to the African continent. “Africa Day in the South African context provides African brothers and sisters from all over the continent and opportunity to get to understand and appreciate one another.
It provides us an opportunity to distance ourselves from xenophobia and all the evils associated with it. We seek to be an African university leading in creating opportunities for sustainable development through innovation,” she said.
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During the interview with Mpumalanga News, Dimakatso Kekana Nkonyane, who represented Ethopia, said: “Throughout this Africa Day ceremony the school has held, we actually had to learn about this country we did not even know about. For me to learn something so important taught me to take accountability. I need to aware of things happening around our continent.”
Omphile Makoe, who represented Botswana, said: “I am very proud to be one of the South Africans. This day gives us an opportunity to celebrate and look back at different countries in South Africa and celebrate one another.”
