Good News

BULLETIN 27 May 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# Miss World South Africa, Zoalize Jansen van Rensburg, has won the prestigious World Designer Award at Miss World 2025 in Hyderabad, India. Dressed in a protea-inspired gown by designer Juan William Aria, the Pretoria-born beauty stunned judges with a vibrant tribute to South Africa’s flora and unity. The satin-glass masterpiece features hand-embroidered motifs and custom artwork. She expressed heartfelt thanks, calling it a celebration of who South Africans are. The Miss World finale takes place on Saturday.

# South Africa’s music sensation, Tyla, won the Favourite Afrobeats Artist category at the American Music Awards held in Las Vegas. Billie Eilish was the big winner with seven awards, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Hit Me Hard Soft, Favourite Female Pop Artist, and Song of the Year for Birds of a Feather. Beyoncé, SZA, and Eminem won two awards each. Gracie Abrams was awarded New Artist of the Year. Rod Stewart was given the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Janet Jackson received the Icon Award.

# The University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Humanities awarded an honorary doctorate to the wife of former president Thabo Mbeki, Zanele, for her lifelong advocacy for an inclusive society and for championing the rights of women. This focused particularly on empowering rural women and amplifying their voices. Mbeki established the organisation Women in Dialogue to give voice to women across Africa. She urged graduates to use the skills they have to pull themselves out of poverty:

# Hillbrow in Johannesburg’s streets came alive during the ‘Hey Hillbrow! Let’s Dlala!’ festival, featuring music, dance, theatre and acrobatics. Over 300 artists, including youth and disability groups, took part in the public arts event under the theme, Time travel through dreaming. The event is aimed at reclaiming and reimagining Johannesburg’s inner city. Organised by The Windybrow Arts Centre and local partners, the event showcased creativity, inclusion and resilience. Festival curator Tamzyn Botha says the arts are vital for community transformation.

# And finally: The City of Cape Town says more than four-thousand-500 learners have attended the its 13 library-based career expos so far this year. The expos nearly doubled last year’s total – and confirmed the growing demand for youth opportunity programmes. They have been facilitated by the Library and Information Services and the Community, Arts and Culture Development Department. The metro says these career expos reflect its ongoing commitment to building a safer, healthier city by investing in young people.

Stay tuned for more news………….