Good News

BULLETIN 18 March 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# South African-developed coding game, Rangers, is set to feature in an international educational project in Ireland. The initiative, called Enabling Digital Technology in Primary School, aims to equip all primary schools in Ireland with free offline digital technology kits. Rangers is developed by Tangible Africa, which is an engagement project of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department. Tangible Africa founder, Jean Greyling, says introducing coding in schools is imperative, as it helps with critical thinking.

# Two young South African scientists will showcase their research projects at this year’s International Festival of Engineering, Science and Technology in Tunisia this week. A Grade 12 leader from Bryanston High School in Johannesburg, Keerthana Kishor Nair’s research detects pulmonary TB and also generates instantaneous results, which makes it more efficient than traditional TB detection methods. A Grade 10 learner from Parktown High School for Girls in Johannesburg, Alexia Hilton Smedmor, used different fuel cells as a nature-based technology to bring about environmental remediation while producing energy.

# The Enviro Solutions Centre says it is making strides in promoting food gardening across South Africa by distributing free vegetable seeds to support more homegrown produce. The organisation recently announced a significant milestone in its seed-sharing initiative, registering 30 community workers in six provinces including Gauteng and the Western Cape. Over two-thousand-200 seeds have been provided to backyard food gardeners. ESC says it now plans to reach four-thousand growers by the next distribution in September.

# The Johan Cruyff Foundation hopes to introduce more social sports programmes in underprivileged areas across South Africa. CEO Neils Meyer from the Netherlands recently visited Diepsloot, following the unveiling of the Afrika Tikkun outdoor sports facility. He highlighted the need to prioritise children and youth who lack access to regular sporting opportunities. Meyer believes South Africa has great potential to develop young players and have a lasting impact:

# And finally: The City of Cape Town has initiated a first-of-its-kind initiative involving senior city lifeguards, the South African Police Service Water Policing and Diving Services, and SANParks Rangers. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says the initiative started with an idea to provide water safety training to approximately 100 SANParks Rangers of Table Mountain National Park. She says while this is a short-term undertaking, there is immense value to be unlocked:

Stay tuned for more news………….