Good News
BULLETIN 27 June
Good afternoon, here is your Good News:
# President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on being honoured by the World Justice Project. He has received the prestigious Rule of Law Award in recognition of his unwavering commitment to justice and accountability through his leadership of the state capture commission. Ramaphosa says government will continue to honour Zondo by acting on his recommendations from the commission’s report, which he presented three years ago.
# Rhodes University says it is deepening its long-standing relationship with the National Arts Festival this year, with a powerful offering that fuses research and performance. At the heart of the programme is A Childhood in Chalk, created by the university’s Drama and Education Departments, which draws from the school boycotts in Fingo Village. Storytelling takes a different form in Umbhobho – The Red Pipe, by Master’s student Siphosethu Mankai, while interplay between art and science also finds form in the exhibition Layers and Light. The festival ends next Sunday.
# Multi award-winning singer, songwriter and social activist, Simphiwe Dana, is celebrating 20-years in the music industry with a concert at the Baxter Theatre concert hall in Cape Town today and tomorrow. She will explore the many amazing songs from her repertoire, including those from her debut album Zandisile. Dana points to her vocal evolution as tangible proof of her growth over the past two decades. She told Newzroom Afrika she never viewed herself as a celebrity:
# A recent PhD graduate from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Humanities, Megan Knoetze, is hoping to use her research skills to help large numbers of South Africans gain access to over-the-counter hearing aids when they need them. Unlike in the US, where those hearing aids are approved and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, South Africa does not yet have formal regulations or recognition for them. Knoetze says her interest in audiology stems from a deep-seated desire to improve access to hearing healthcare more widely.
# And finally: Four University of Cape Town alumni have responded to the alarming literacy levels in the country by creating a repository of children’s books titled TAQA in video-book format. This integrates the written, illustrated, and audio components of a book to create engaging children’s stories. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, more than 80-percent of children in Grade 4 cannot read for meaning. The books are in all eleven official South African spoken languages, while the South African Sign Language collection is in the works.
Stay tuned for more news………….