Good News

BULLETIN 15 October

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# South African Wim van den Heever has been announced as the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his image titled Ghost Town Visitor. The image is of a brown hyena standing beside the ruins of an abandoned diamond mining settlement in the ghost town of Kolmanskop in Namibia. The photograph was selected from a record-breaking 60-thousand-636 entries from 113 countries and territories. Van den Heever says it took him ten years to get this single image:

# The Western Cape’s Blombos Museum of Archaeology in Stilbaai has been named as the best innovative project in the Field of Museums, Heritage and Geographical Names. The project by the University of the Witwatersrand and SapienCE Blombos Museum of Archaeology was recently recognised by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the extraordinary journey of early ancestors and the remarkable discoveries that have shaped the understanding of human prehistory. This exhibition is part of Wits’ outreach and education initiatives.

# South Africa has been ranked among the world’s top five luxury travel destinations in the inaugural Roxstar Luxury Travel Trends Report 2025. Top of the list is the USA, followed by the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, South Africa, and France. Roxstar Luxury Travel founder, Roxy Robinson, says Cape Town combines vibrant urban culture with some of the world’s most beautiful natural scenery, while the safari lodges in the north provide a complete escape. She says a few destinations offer such a compelling mix.

Cape Town is also officially the world’s third happiest city, according to the results of a global survey by TimeOut. The happiness survey is part of the magazine’s annual index that seeks to determine the best city in the world, based on metrics such as culture, nightlife, food, walkability, affordability, quality of life and happiness. This year’s list was topped by the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, followed by Medellin in Colombia. Cape Town was followed by Mexico City and Mumbai, India, in fourth and fifth place respectively.

# And finally: The National Business Initiative has launched the Installation, Repair and Maintenance Initiative, which is a nationwide campaign linking township youth, TVET students, and small enterprises with green economy opportunities. The initiative introduces digital tools including the Green Economy Toolkit, Installation, Repair and Maintenance hub portal, and learning app, to support training, business growth, and certification. Over the next two months, initiative aims to register 100-thousand young people and small, medium, and micro enterprises across multiple regions.

Stay tuned for more news………….