Unisa online - Unisa Principal calls for intellectual and academic offerings

Unisa’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Barney Pityana, has urged scholars and academic staff of both the Vrije University Amsterdam and Unisa to offer ideas and thoughts that can advance the academic projects of the 2010 Soccer World Cup event. He was speaking at the official launch of a series of celebratory and academic events to be held around three of South Africa’s big cities. Unisa has partnered with the Vrije University in support of the South African and Dutch national teams during the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2010. “We share a common desire to make an academic contribution to this global event of soccer. I urge our scholars to recognise and enter into the 2010 activities in the way we know best and strive to share our academic and intellectual understanding of this global sport,” said Prof Pityana.

The event was attended by Vrije University’s Deputy Registrar, Prof Bauke Oudega; Dr Leepile Taunyane, Premier Soccer League Life President; and South Africa’s celebrated soccer legends, Marks Maponyane, Desiree Ellis and David Nyathi.

Prof Bauke Oudega said the two universities will be working together in the field of sport sciences and other disciplines.

“Our university plans and expects to continue working with Unisa long after 2010 has faded away. Our academic cooperation with Unisa will see scientific articles, based on the soccer seminars and clinics that will be held soon, to be written and then published by Unisa Press. There will be youth from disadvantaged background. They will play soccer and experience everything soccer stands for in terms of health, movement, body, training and discipline,” he explained.

More than 300 children will take part in the soccer clinics to be held in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

The seminars and the soccer clinics aim to contribute to nation building through sports, teaching and scholarship.