Good News

BULLETIN 24 April 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, is leading a special celebration in honour of Katrina Essau in Upington in the Northern Cape today. Essau is widely recognised as a living human treasure and a revered figure in the preservation of the N|uu language and Khoi-San cultural heritage. The department’s spokesperson, Stacey-Lee Khojane, says the event will pay tribute to Essau’s extraordinary efforts in safeguarding and promoting her mother tongue, as well as Khoi-San literature and culture:

# The Unisa Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, in partnership with the Miriam Makeba Foundation, are hosting the third annual Miriam Makeba Memorial Lecture at Unisa’s main campus in Tshwane today. The event marks 30 years since South Africa’s 1994 political settlement and will honour the artist and activist’s legacy. Speakers include Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse and Ringo Madlingozi.

# Rhodes University alumnus and current Master’s student, Lazarus Kgageng, has officially published his debut novel, The Chords of a Hymn. The novel confronts themes of gender-based violence, queer identity, parental expectations, and survival. The book was accepted and selected for publication through the 2024 Publish’d Afrika Magazine Adopt-An-Author Programme. Kgageng says The Chords of a Hymn is not just a novel, it is a tool for healing, a voice for the unheard, and a validation of lived experiences.

# The 78th Cannes Film Festival has added more movies to its official selection for this year. These include Die, My Love starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water, and Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t! Hollywood will have a large presence with already confirmed Tom Cruise premiering Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, and Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest starring Denzel Washington. The festival will take place from the 13th to the 24th of May.

# And finally: The South African Bone Marrow Registry has found its first stem cell match through a global donor drive. Bradley Peters, from the United Kingdom, matched with a patient in South America after joining the campaign during an awareness event last year. The drive, called Matches on the Map, was started by transplant survivor Robin Lewis and his wife. The team has travelled across several countries to recruit more donors. The registry says more sign-ups could help save many more lives.

Stay tuned for more news………….