© 2017 South Africa - The Good News
Fighting Back: SA can be global inspiration again
by Steuart Pennington
The 8th “No Confidence” debate has come and gone. It was an emetic event, rather like a car crash, or an earthquake, or a tsunami. All over the ‘head-lines’ with much interest, international focus, currency casualty, crowing opponents and then…………
to-morrow the ‘headlines’ will change as we move on.
But what is not in the ‘head-lines’ is what is happening on the ground, the ‘process’.
South Africans are fighting back, on the streets, in their political parties, in their unions, in their NGO’s, in their business institutions!
But………….sadly, ‘processes’ don’t make the ‘headlines’.
The Intelligence Bulletin www.theintelligencebulletin.co.za published a well-researched document on this ‘fight-back’.
“There is a good South African story to tell, but it is not the ANC’s. It, in fact, comes despite the ANC and what it became to represent since Polokwane 2007.
While the present dominant South African narrative is one of doom and gloom – of a country in the grips of state capture, of failing service delivery, failing state enterprises, an economy in recession, rising unemployment, tense race relations, and above all, of a head of state with a string of corruption charges hanging of his head with a highly destructive factional battle to succeed him raging within the governing party.
That, however, is only one side of the SA story.
We are fighting back
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Share stories not stereotypes this Women’s Month
Words have power. They have the power to unite or divide, heal or hurt. This Women’s Month, social change NGO Heartlines is encouraging South Africans to change the narrative around women by embracing platforms like What’s Your Story? – a values-inspired campaign that uses the power of storytelling to promote understanding, trust and reconciliation.
“We live in a world where our stories are told in 140 characters and women’s issues are reduced to hashtags and headlines. If we don’t stop to ask, listen and tell our stories, we will never break down gender barriers or start to have real conversations that will promote tolerance and understanding,” says Heartlines project manager, Nevelia Moloi.
Women’s Month is the perfect time to reflect and address the current narrative around women, which is too commonly centred around violence, abuse, oppression or inequality. By giving ordinary South Africans the power of storytelling, mass media campaigns like What’s Your Story? can help create new ways of speaking about women, identity and gender relationships.
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ChefMLK launches in-house apprenticeship programme
The concept of apprenticeships is almost as old as the concept of work. Some 4 000 years ago, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi compelled artisans to teach their crafts to the next generation.
Through the centuries, apprenticeship practices have evolved to what we know today. In the culinary world, particularly in Europe, it is common for a young person to train in-house and learn from an established chef.
Following this proud tradition of young people learning from masters, ChefMLK School of Cooking is introducing an apprenticeship programme of its own. “We are expanding opportunities for young people by extending the apprenticeship entry into the industry,” says Amelia Hutchinson, senior culinary lecturer at ChefMLK School of Cooking. “We are also the only school of cooking on the East Rand, which makes the apprenticeship programme great news for youngsters from around here.”
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THIS WEEK'S FAST FACT
Women
Women in parliament: 42% of parliamentarians in South Africa are women. Just 6 countries in the world have a higher proportion of female parliamentarians than South Africa, with Rwanda having the highest at 64%. (www.Eighty20.co.za)
