Good News

BULLETIN 11 June 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# South African winemaker Johan Jordaan of Spier outside Stellenbosch has been crowned the 2025 Global Chenin Blanc Master Winemaker at the Master Winemaker 100 Awards in Paris. This honour follows two Spier Chenin Blancs winning Master gold medals. The recognition adds to South Africa’s growing reputation for producing world-class wines on the global stage. Jordaan credited the efforts of the team and praised the hands-on nature of working with chenin.

# University of Pretoria’s senior lecturer in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, doctor Bernard Coetzee, has been recognised as part of The Explorers Club 50’s Class of 2025. Founded in 1904, the club says the cohort of 50 explorers are changing the world through vital work in their communities and globally to promote science and exploration. Coetzee says the fates of humanity and biodiversity are inextricably linked, and this reasoning alone should be sufficient to attract the attention of everyone, not just conservationists and explorers. 

# Two final-year Bachelor of Architecture students from Tshwane University of Technology, Damian Ciaglia and Dineo Mogane, have won the national Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest. Their project, Re:Light, reimagines sustainable design by integrating light, timber and local heritage to create a vibrant community hub. Ciaglia and Mogane will now represent South Africa at the international Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest in France next week. This marks the third consecutive year TUT students will represent the country at this prestigious competition.

# Lebo’s Backpackers and Toura Travel Therapy have partnered to present the Soweto Art Route, a journey through the Johannesburg township’s vibrant culture and history. The tour weaves storytelling with visits to galleries, murals, and artist studios, including stops at the famous mural of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, and the once iconic Eyethu Theatre, the first black-owned cinema in Soweto. This creative collaboration continues to frame Soweto’s rich heritage in canvas, mosaic, and mural, offering an unforgettable cultural experience.

# And finally: Ride-hailing firm Uber will launch self-driving taxis in London next year when England trials new driverless services. Under the Uber pilot scheme, services will initially have a human in the driver’s seat who can take control of the vehicle in an emergency, but the trials will eventually transition to being fully driverless. The government announcement will see companies including Uber allowed to trial commercial driverless services without a human presence for the first time in the UK. They will include taxis and bus-like services.

Stay tuned for more news………….