Good News

BULLETIN 9 October 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# Cape Town has been nominated among the world’s best cities in the Travel plus Leisure India and South Asia Best Awards 2025, under the International Destinations, Best City category. Themed Art of Discovery, the awards celebrate places that inspire exploration and connection. Cape Town Tourism’s Briony Brookes says the nomination reaffirms the Mother City’s unmatched global appeal, while urging Capetonians to vote and help secure the top spot:

# A Master’s student at the Northern Cape’s Sol Plaatjie University, Tshepiso Sebeela, has been awarded the prestigious Abe Bailey Travel Bursary. The bursary recognises university students who demonstrate exceptional academic performance, leadership and a deep sense of social responsibility. Each year, recipients embark on a three-week educational tour of England and Scotland, an opportunity to broaden their understanding of leadership, democracy and service. Sebeela says this honour reflects years of dedication to academic excellence, servant leadership and community impact. 

# Two students from the North-West University were first runner-up at the South African Institute for Industrial Engineering Student Competition. The team known as AndyX, consisting of final-year industrial engineering students Andile Madlala and Xayaan Maasdorp, designed a mobile healthcare tricycle with an enclosed cabin to improve access to medical care in rural South Africa. The two say this achievement has strengthened their determination to pursue solutions that create meaningful change. First place went to SyncHealth Solutions from the University of Witwatersrand.

# The 29th edition of Poetry Africa, presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is currently happening at Seabrooke’s Theatre in Durban. The theme is Poetry Architecture of Social Justice. This year’s featured poet is Ari Sitas, who is the recipient of the Order of Mapungubwe in Silver, for his contribution to the social sciences and the arts. This year, Poetry Africa welcomes 70 poets from countries including South Africa, the US and Ukraine.

# And finally: Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has the biggest first-week numbers ever recorded for an album in the streaming era. According to Billboard, the album has surpassed 3.5 million equivalent album units, representing consumption across both sales and streaming. This surpasses the record previously held by Adele‘s album 25, which had 3.482 million units in 2015. Swift’s newest theatrical effort, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, also topped the global box office charts over the weekend. 

Stay tuned for more news………….