Good News

BULLETIN 30 May 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# South Africa continues to be a leader in tourism in Africa, as the country has ranked the highest in the African region in the 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index. The list by the World Economic Forum covers 119 economies and measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the tourism sector. South Africa was ranked 55th among 119 countries, moving up seven places. Last year, South Africa welcomed close to 8.5-million international visitors of which 6.4-million were from Africa.

# University of South Africa’s doctor Siphamandla Mncube was awarded the Principal’s Award for Research Excellence. This is for his research focusing on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitalisation, with specific reference to ICT as an enabler in the appropriation of e-learning. The Department of Information Science’s senior lecturer was also recently appointed as editor-in-chief of the newly developed journal African Journal of Information Science, Fine Arts and Speech Studies.

# The University of Pretoria’s Department of Political Sciences hosted a public lecture in honour of professor Toyin Falola, to pay homage to the impact of his work in African studies. His work has been instrumental in providing a more nuanced and insightful understanding of African history, culture and politics. Falola’s work supports the key argument that Africans must redefine modernity to represent their unique experiences and worldviews.

# Building work on the new Mediclinic in York Street in George in the Western Cape is on schedule, with completion expected in early 2026. General manager Kassie Karstens confirmed the hospital, costing over one-billion-rand, will replace the existing facilities entirely. The new hospital will feature 231 beds, a day hospital with 20 beds, and three theatres, relieving current capacity issues. Future expansions can add 72 beds without disrupting current operations. The hospital will also include a heart unit, a first for George.

# And finally: Caravaggio’s last painting, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, is attracting record crowds at The National Gallery in London as part of its 200th-anniversary celebrations. The painting stands as the last self-portrait of the artist; the crop-haired figure behind the martyr, of grim, deathly pallor who looks into the void, though his facial disfigurement is hidden. Curator Francesca Whitlum-Cooper says Caravaggio makes his Martyrdom of Saint Ursula very intimate, very brutal, and very personal in a way that most other artists didn’t at the time.

Stay tuned for more news………….