COP 17 Letter by Marlan Padayachee December 2011
AMID all the high drama, dissents, debates, discourses at the Durban COP 17 Climate Change conference, including a strong comeback to the frontline and fringes by civil society, non-governmental groups and young and old activists, it is hoped that the ‘Durban Protocol’ will give birth to a powerful commitment for a broader, worldwide movement to encourage people to get involved in green politics, issues, development and socio-economic sustainability. Within this context of the diverse landscape of this COP 17, let me share a perennial Native-American quote to inspire how we can navigate the future: : “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
MARLAN PADAYACHEE, via email
Durban-Westville
Friday, December 23, 2011
Letters to the City Hall - Speeches by Marlan Padayachee for the Office of the Mayor Durban-eThekwini Municipality South Africa
By Marlan Padayachee
POST PRESENTATION PAPER AND REPORT-BACK DOCUMENT TO THE INDIAN CONSUL-GENERAL, HIS EXCELLENCY, MR ANIL SHARAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARTICIPATION AT THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN NEW DELHI, INDIA, 7-9 JANUARY 2011, BY COUNCILLOR FAWZIA PEER
CITY COUNCLLOR AND CHIEF WHIP OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, CITY OF DURBAN, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
26TH January 2011
The Honourable Mr Anil Sharan
Consul-General
Government of India
City of Durban
Republic of South Africa
Dear Mr Sharan,
On behalf of the eThekwini Municipality and the people of the City of Durban, I extend our traditional greetings of Assalamu Alaikum, Vannakam, Namaste, Namaskarumu, Sawubona, Saniboni, and Molweni.
I also take this opportunity of conveying our felicitations and compliments of the season for the New Year to you, your family and your colleagues in the consular staff at the Durban Consulate of the Government of India.
This communiqué serves to confirm and record my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to you and your colleagues in the Government of India in New Delhi for the heartwarming hospitality, courtesy and high levels of protocol that was accorded to me in my capacity as the Chief Whip representing the Mayor of Durban, His Worship, Councillor Obed Mlaba, the eThekwini Municipality and the citizens of Durban during my participation at the 8th annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held recently in the capital city of the world’s largest democracy.
I also convey the similar sentiments and gratitude of my husband, Dr Peer, who had thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated pukka Indian hospitality.
I humbly salute you for your personal role and responsibility in ensuring that our visit to your ancient land of cultures and cuisines, and our attendance at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, was made all the more special and extraordinary through a programme of homemade hospitality and the humaneness of your peace-loving compatriots.
I was most heartened and delighted by the overall high standard of reception we had received in what will go down as one of our most memorable visits in recent years.
I was therefore most pleased to have represented our city and municipality at the Pravasi Bharitaya Divas, which provided some fascinating insights about the power of partnerships and the social networking of Indian communities living and working in diverse countries around the world, and yet all of us of Indian origin were sentimentally drawn to the magnetism of the beauty and splendor of India.
Furthermore, I was impressed by the amazing spirit of humanity and goodwill that prevailed over the symbolic meeting that brought together some of the most remarkable examples of Indians who have made spectacular strides in their field of business and expertise outside their motherland.
It was encouraging to note that both our countries share a common legacy of having being inspired by the teachings, principles, ethics, integrity and wisdom of one of the world’s iconic pacifists and peace gurus, the legendary Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in our respective quest for freedom, human dignity, social justice and economic empowerment.
I was therefore particularly thrilled to have been part of a celebration that paid homage to the arrival of Gandhiji in India after having spent 21 years in South Africa, where he had helped to shape our political resistance to colonial-apartheid’s autocratic rule over the indigenous people of my country, including the 1860 Indian indentured labourers who faced the same racial and human rights discrimination meted out to our African, Coloured and Chinese compatriots.
Reflecting on my personal experience and interaction with fellow delegates at this world platform of Indians, I am therefore pleased that droves of South Africans of Indian origin have continued to attend the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas ever since the inaugural gathering of people of Indian origin took place in New Delhi in 2003.
I am overwhelmed that there has always been a strong participation by many of our leaders, entrepreneurs, academic, religious and cultural personalties, in the main, from Durban to this prestigious conference.
The high quality of the speakers and presenters and the diverse range of topics and themes have provided invaluable insights for me to ensure that Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will always enjoy the full support and goodwill of our municipality and citizens.
The collective pool of the knowledge economy and the human resources capital from the diverse delegations will certainly serve not only to guide the high standards of future conferences, but also contributes as communication tools, templates, texts and referencing point for a myriad of topics and themes that makes up the three-day programme of debates and discourses centred on the future and wellbeing of Indians.
We therefore owe a debt of gratitude to the visionaries behind the LM Singhvi Committee on the Indian Diaspora for having pioneered this celebration of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a global gathering of Indians while honouring the priceless life’s work of Gandhiji on the 9th of January each year.
This conference is unique, in that it may be the only gathering of nationals and expatriates that come together on a prestige platform and programme that recognizes the contributions of individuals of Indian origin who are honoured for exceptional merit and outstanding achievement in their field and profession.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards ceremony also serves as a classic example of how a nation can truly recognise and honour its nationals at home or abroad.
Developing democracies like South Africa can also learn from the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that also focuses on issues and concerns that people of the diaspora face in their adopted countries, and how this programme of discourse and debate motivates people of Indian origin to assimilate to the local conditions on a socio-economic and political levels of their host adopted countries while maintaining strong linkages with India without losing touch with their motherland.
The high-level participation and support of the Government of India, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry further enhances the scope and uniqueness of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a broad-based social networking, business, cultural and investment facilitation platform for overseas Indians.
I am therefore impressed that an event of this high calibre, capacity and standard can only strengthen ties between India, the diaspora or non-resident communities and the people of Durban and South Africa as we embark on a journey to turn our regions into the new frontiers of economic growth, social cohesion and political stability.
Within this context, it is encouraging to note that that Durban enjoys a twinning sister-city relationship with Mumbai, and until recently the City of Chennai. It is matter of time before we embark on linking Durban to Delhi, thereby making this famous and historic host city our next port of call in our ongoing, cordial social, economic and political relations between the citizens of Durban and the people of these major Indian cities and India as a whole.
I had certainly left the conference, and as well as the culturally-enhancing melting pot that symbolizes all that is India, a much wiser and inspired visitor, delegate and friend of the people of India.
Outside the conference, we were accorded a right royal reception by support staff that ensured that the comfort and convenience of visit was not going to be compromised right down to the finest details.
The services of a professional and knowledgeable chauffeur further served to accentuate our personal joy of savouring sumptuous cuisines, old-fashioned courtesy and protocol that Indians excel in as our trip transformed into a home-from-home experience of note.
I must compliment you and the support team for the choice of superb and splendid hotels that made our stay most pleasant and unforgettable, for which we are truly grateful and thankful for.
India is a vast spectrum of cultures and a land of a multitude of languages and dialects, and our interaction with the local people brings home our attention to the importance of mother languages in India and the Indian Diaspora and the revival of ancestral languages.
The sights and sounds of India today, its beliefs and physical and economic landscapes further enriched our exploits of some of breathtaking sight-seeing landmarks.
We were taken into the labyrinthine world of Delhi’s old and the new metropolis, and other surrounding towns and villages, where some of the secrets and riches of incredible India reside.
Our sight-seeing programme was a breathtaking experience, further revealing the ancient secrets and romanticism of India. We were particularly awestruck by the majestic beauty and magnificence of the Akshardham Hindu temple complex in Delhi.
The Swaminarayan Akshardham is one of the wonders that are a repository for traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture.
We were enchanted to learn about how culture of Gandhian-inspired volunteerism involving 3 000 men and women who gave their labour of love to help 7 000 artisans to construct this holy shrine that stands as a lasting legacy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose footprints are etched in a temple in London.
As a representative of a multicultural city, the tourism dimension of this holy place of worship will certainly encourage Durban to further enhance our catalogue of ancient temples, churches and synagogues that stand side by side in our local landscape.
Crafted wholly of stone, the central monument highlights the life and times of Swaminarayan and the timeless mystique of India, and beautifully enhanced by a musical fountain and landscaped gardens would surely rate as an ‘out of the world’ spectacle.
Another highlight deserves mentioning is our visit to the Kingdom of Dreams and our sheer joy and excitement at the extravagant offerings of the theme-based entertainment experiences that brought to life India’s cultural diversity, and an ambitious architectural project that blends a choreography of traditional Indian performing arts, entertainment and cultural heritage.
Durban could learn lessons from India’s portfolio of tourism landmarks and we are encouraged by the potential to open a gateway for South Africans to visit the treasure troves of an ancient civilization steeped in tradition, culture, hospitality and humanity.
In the final analysis, India’s humanity and humility left me humbled, but inspired to spread the word of a democracy where peace, respect and tolerance reign supreme, and work harder towards sharing the knowledge and experience gained at the conference with my fellow colleagues, compatriots and comrades as we prepare for another milestone in our developing democracy, the 2011 local government elections in a few month’s time.
Once again, we are eternally grateful to you and the Government of India for blessing our passage to India with your friendship, grace and charm.
We thank you.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Fawzia Peer
POST PRESENTATION PAPER AND REPORT-BACK DOCUMENT TO THE INDIAN CONSUL-GENERAL, HIS EXCELLENCY, MR ANIL SHARAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARTICIPATION AT THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN NEW DELHI, INDIA, 7-9 JANUARY 2011, BY COUNCILLOR FAWZIA PEER
CITY COUNCLLOR AND CHIEF WHIP OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, CITY OF DURBAN, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
26TH January 2011
The Honourable Mr Anil Sharan
Consul-General
Government of India
City of Durban
Republic of South Africa
Dear Mr Sharan,
On behalf of the eThekwini Municipality and the people of the City of Durban, I extend our traditional greetings of Assalamu Alaikum, Vannakam, Namaste, Namaskarumu, Sawubona, Saniboni, and Molweni.
I also take this opportunity of conveying our felicitations and compliments of the season for the New Year to you, your family and your colleagues in the consular staff at the Durban Consulate of the Government of India.
This communiqué serves to confirm and record my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to you and your colleagues in the Government of India in New Delhi for the heartwarming hospitality, courtesy and high levels of protocol that was accorded to me in my capacity as the Chief Whip representing the Mayor of Durban, His Worship, Councillor Obed Mlaba, the eThekwini Municipality and the citizens of Durban during my participation at the 8th annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held recently in the capital city of the world’s largest democracy.
I also convey the similar sentiments and gratitude of my husband, Dr Peer, who had thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated pukka Indian hospitality.
I humbly salute you for your personal role and responsibility in ensuring that our visit to your ancient land of cultures and cuisines, and our attendance at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, was made all the more special and extraordinary through a programme of homemade hospitality and the humaneness of your peace-loving compatriots.
I was most heartened and delighted by the overall high standard of reception we had received in what will go down as one of our most memorable visits in recent years.
I was therefore most pleased to have represented our city and municipality at the Pravasi Bharitaya Divas, which provided some fascinating insights about the power of partnerships and the social networking of Indian communities living and working in diverse countries around the world, and yet all of us of Indian origin were sentimentally drawn to the magnetism of the beauty and splendor of India.
Furthermore, I was impressed by the amazing spirit of humanity and goodwill that prevailed over the symbolic meeting that brought together some of the most remarkable examples of Indians who have made spectacular strides in their field of business and expertise outside their motherland.
It was encouraging to note that both our countries share a common legacy of having being inspired by the teachings, principles, ethics, integrity and wisdom of one of the world’s iconic pacifists and peace gurus, the legendary Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in our respective quest for freedom, human dignity, social justice and economic empowerment.
I was therefore particularly thrilled to have been part of a celebration that paid homage to the arrival of Gandhiji in India after having spent 21 years in South Africa, where he had helped to shape our political resistance to colonial-apartheid’s autocratic rule over the indigenous people of my country, including the 1860 Indian indentured labourers who faced the same racial and human rights discrimination meted out to our African, Coloured and Chinese compatriots.
Reflecting on my personal experience and interaction with fellow delegates at this world platform of Indians, I am therefore pleased that droves of South Africans of Indian origin have continued to attend the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas ever since the inaugural gathering of people of Indian origin took place in New Delhi in 2003.
I am overwhelmed that there has always been a strong participation by many of our leaders, entrepreneurs, academic, religious and cultural personalties, in the main, from Durban to this prestigious conference.
The high quality of the speakers and presenters and the diverse range of topics and themes have provided invaluable insights for me to ensure that Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will always enjoy the full support and goodwill of our municipality and citizens.
The collective pool of the knowledge economy and the human resources capital from the diverse delegations will certainly serve not only to guide the high standards of future conferences, but also contributes as communication tools, templates, texts and referencing point for a myriad of topics and themes that makes up the three-day programme of debates and discourses centred on the future and wellbeing of Indians.
We therefore owe a debt of gratitude to the visionaries behind the LM Singhvi Committee on the Indian Diaspora for having pioneered this celebration of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a global gathering of Indians while honouring the priceless life’s work of Gandhiji on the 9th of January each year.
This conference is unique, in that it may be the only gathering of nationals and expatriates that come together on a prestige platform and programme that recognizes the contributions of individuals of Indian origin who are honoured for exceptional merit and outstanding achievement in their field and profession.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards ceremony also serves as a classic example of how a nation can truly recognise and honour its nationals at home or abroad.
Developing democracies like South Africa can also learn from the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that also focuses on issues and concerns that people of the diaspora face in their adopted countries, and how this programme of discourse and debate motivates people of Indian origin to assimilate to the local conditions on a socio-economic and political levels of their host adopted countries while maintaining strong linkages with India without losing touch with their motherland.
The high-level participation and support of the Government of India, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry further enhances the scope and uniqueness of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a broad-based social networking, business, cultural and investment facilitation platform for overseas Indians.
I am therefore impressed that an event of this high calibre, capacity and standard can only strengthen ties between India, the diaspora or non-resident communities and the people of Durban and South Africa as we embark on a journey to turn our regions into the new frontiers of economic growth, social cohesion and political stability.
Within this context, it is encouraging to note that that Durban enjoys a twinning sister-city relationship with Mumbai, and until recently the City of Chennai. It is matter of time before we embark on linking Durban to Delhi, thereby making this famous and historic host city our next port of call in our ongoing, cordial social, economic and political relations between the citizens of Durban and the people of these major Indian cities and India as a whole.
I had certainly left the conference, and as well as the culturally-enhancing melting pot that symbolizes all that is India, a much wiser and inspired visitor, delegate and friend of the people of India.
Outside the conference, we were accorded a right royal reception by support staff that ensured that the comfort and convenience of visit was not going to be compromised right down to the finest details.
The services of a professional and knowledgeable chauffeur further served to accentuate our personal joy of savouring sumptuous cuisines, old-fashioned courtesy and protocol that Indians excel in as our trip transformed into a home-from-home experience of note.
I must compliment you and the support team for the choice of superb and splendid hotels that made our stay most pleasant and unforgettable, for which we are truly grateful and thankful for.
India is a vast spectrum of cultures and a land of a multitude of languages and dialects, and our interaction with the local people brings home our attention to the importance of mother languages in India and the Indian Diaspora and the revival of ancestral languages.
The sights and sounds of India today, its beliefs and physical and economic landscapes further enriched our exploits of some of breathtaking sight-seeing landmarks.
We were taken into the labyrinthine world of Delhi’s old and the new metropolis, and other surrounding towns and villages, where some of the secrets and riches of incredible India reside.
Our sight-seeing programme was a breathtaking experience, further revealing the ancient secrets and romanticism of India. We were particularly awestruck by the majestic beauty and magnificence of the Akshardham Hindu temple complex in Delhi.
The Swaminarayan Akshardham is one of the wonders that are a repository for traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture.
We were enchanted to learn about how culture of Gandhian-inspired volunteerism involving 3 000 men and women who gave their labour of love to help 7 000 artisans to construct this holy shrine that stands as a lasting legacy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose footprints are etched in a temple in London.
As a representative of a multicultural city, the tourism dimension of this holy place of worship will certainly encourage Durban to further enhance our catalogue of ancient temples, churches and synagogues that stand side by side in our local landscape.
Crafted wholly of stone, the central monument highlights the life and times of Swaminarayan and the timeless mystique of India, and beautifully enhanced by a musical fountain and landscaped gardens would surely rate as an ‘out of the world’ spectacle.
Another highlight deserves mentioning is our visit to the Kingdom of Dreams and our sheer joy and excitement at the extravagant offerings of the theme-based entertainment experiences that brought to life India’s cultural diversity, and an ambitious architectural project that blends a choreography of traditional Indian performing arts, entertainment and cultural heritage.
Durban could learn lessons from India’s portfolio of tourism landmarks and we are encouraged by the potential to open a gateway for South Africans to visit the treasure troves of an ancient civilization steeped in tradition, culture, hospitality and humanity.
In the final analysis, India’s humanity and humility left me humbled, but inspired to spread the word of a democracy where peace, respect and tolerance reign supreme, and work harder towards sharing the knowledge and experience gained at the conference with my fellow colleagues, compatriots and comrades as we prepare for another milestone in our developing democracy, the 2011 local government elections in a few month’s time.
Once again, we are eternally grateful to you and the Government of India for blessing our passage to India with your friendship, grace and charm.
We thank you.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Fawzia Peer
Hong Kong Delegation in South Africa
By Marlan Padayachee
HONG KONG FINANCIAL SECRETARY HEADS TOP TRADE DELEGATION TO SOUTH AFRICA 4-11 DECEMBER 2011
TRADE and business relations between South Africa and Hong Kong is expected to be strengthened enormously when the Government of the Hong Kong Special Representative Region’s Financial Secretary, Mr John Chun-wah Tsang, heads a top-flight delegation of more than 50 corporate and business leaders and chambers of commerce and various financial, industrial and professional organisations to Johannesburg and other parts of the country from the 4-11 December 2011.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is scheduled to meet the Hong Kong delegation.
Hong Kong, highly ranked as a financial and economic gateway point into Asia, changed political and administrative hands from Britain to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.
Local hosts say the new trading culture with the strategically-positioned sovereign city-state should be hailed within the context of the burgeoning BRICS economic partnership bloc between Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa becoming part of this advancing economic cluster despite its tiny economy and population of under 50 million people.
Mr Rajen Pillay, South Africa’s Country Entry Strategist and Foreign Investment Adviser, said the high-level Hong King delegation would be particularly attracted to do business with established and emerging entrepreneurs within South Africa’s socio-economic diversity that continues to change the economic and business landscape since South Africa’s transition to democracy. A delegation headed by a Financial Secretary last visited South Africa in 1999.
Apart from a busy schedule of meetings and get-togethers, the delegation will be hosted by Mr Pillay’s Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Norma Xabiso Majokweni, chief executive officer of Business Unity South Africa, at a cocktail networking event in Sandton on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at 5.30pm.
“South African entrepreneurs and businesses across the demographic and gender spectrum would have a rare opportunity of networking, engaging and doing business with a diverse range of businesses and professional organisations. The involvement of Business Unity South Africa makes the international networking platform much more meaningful and focused to give our businesses insights into how one of the most successful financial hubs and global landmarks operates within its own cultural diversity,” said Pillay.
“Hong Kong, as one of China’s two Special Administrative Regions, provides an excellent platform to play a very important role as gateway for South Africa into the Asian sub-continent. This is the awakening of a refreshing, new economic dawn for our entrepreneurs too push back the frontiers of doing big business under the banner of the BRICS umbrella,” added Norma Xabiso Majokweni, Business Unity South Africa’s CEO.
Among the prominent personalities on the delegation are Margaret Fong, deputy director of Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, her colleague Stephen Wong of the Middle East and Africa desk, Eddy Fong, chairman of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Hye Cheng Cheah, chairman of Value Partners, Robin Lee, group chairman and CEO of SSC Mandarin Group, Kenny Lee, chairman of Chinese Academy of Governance, Gui Xian Wei, Alternate Chief Executive of the China Development Bank Corporation (Hong Kong), Junius Ho, President Law Society of Hong Kong, Philip Tsai, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chit Sun Cheong, Executive Director China State Construction International Holdings Limited, Otto Poon, President of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited, and several other influential delegates.
Ends
For Media Interviews and Photo Opportunities, contact Marlan Padayachee, media strategist and publicist on behalf of Rajen Pillay and AfroAsian Capital Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Business Unity South Africa, on the following contact details:
Email: marlan.padayachee@mtn.blackberrry.com/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com
Phone: + 00 27 31 266 2134 / 266 4293 (all hours)
Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 084 519 5931
Personal Assistants: Pinky Naidoo & Sally Nene: 078 076 8121
HONG KONG FINANCIAL SECRETARY HEADS TOP TRADE DELEGATION TO SOUTH AFRICA 4-11 DECEMBER 2011
TRADE and business relations between South Africa and Hong Kong is expected to be strengthened enormously when the Government of the Hong Kong Special Representative Region’s Financial Secretary, Mr John Chun-wah Tsang, heads a top-flight delegation of more than 50 corporate and business leaders and chambers of commerce and various financial, industrial and professional organisations to Johannesburg and other parts of the country from the 4-11 December 2011.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is scheduled to meet the Hong Kong delegation.
Hong Kong, highly ranked as a financial and economic gateway point into Asia, changed political and administrative hands from Britain to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.
Local hosts say the new trading culture with the strategically-positioned sovereign city-state should be hailed within the context of the burgeoning BRICS economic partnership bloc between Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa becoming part of this advancing economic cluster despite its tiny economy and population of under 50 million people.
Mr Rajen Pillay, South Africa’s Country Entry Strategist and Foreign Investment Adviser, said the high-level Hong King delegation would be particularly attracted to do business with established and emerging entrepreneurs within South Africa’s socio-economic diversity that continues to change the economic and business landscape since South Africa’s transition to democracy. A delegation headed by a Financial Secretary last visited South Africa in 1999.
Apart from a busy schedule of meetings and get-togethers, the delegation will be hosted by Mr Pillay’s Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Norma Xabiso Majokweni, chief executive officer of Business Unity South Africa, at a cocktail networking event in Sandton on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at 5.30pm.
“South African entrepreneurs and businesses across the demographic and gender spectrum would have a rare opportunity of networking, engaging and doing business with a diverse range of businesses and professional organisations. The involvement of Business Unity South Africa makes the international networking platform much more meaningful and focused to give our businesses insights into how one of the most successful financial hubs and global landmarks operates within its own cultural diversity,” said Pillay.
“Hong Kong, as one of China’s two Special Administrative Regions, provides an excellent platform to play a very important role as gateway for South Africa into the Asian sub-continent. This is the awakening of a refreshing, new economic dawn for our entrepreneurs too push back the frontiers of doing big business under the banner of the BRICS umbrella,” added Norma Xabiso Majokweni, Business Unity South Africa’s CEO.
Among the prominent personalities on the delegation are Margaret Fong, deputy director of Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, her colleague Stephen Wong of the Middle East and Africa desk, Eddy Fong, chairman of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Hye Cheng Cheah, chairman of Value Partners, Robin Lee, group chairman and CEO of SSC Mandarin Group, Kenny Lee, chairman of Chinese Academy of Governance, Gui Xian Wei, Alternate Chief Executive of the China Development Bank Corporation (Hong Kong), Junius Ho, President Law Society of Hong Kong, Philip Tsai, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chit Sun Cheong, Executive Director China State Construction International Holdings Limited, Otto Poon, President of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited, and several other influential delegates.
Ends
For Media Interviews and Photo Opportunities, contact Marlan Padayachee, media strategist and publicist on behalf of Rajen Pillay and AfroAsian Capital Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Business Unity South Africa, on the following contact details:
Email: marlan.padayachee@mtn.blackberrry.com/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com
Phone: + 00 27 31 266 2134 / 266 4293 (all hours)
Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 084 519 5931
Personal Assistants: Pinky Naidoo & Sally Nene: 078 076 8121
Friday, December 16, 2011
umAfrika Skills Project - the route to short courses
umAfrika Project Specialist
QUOTE: “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” – William A Ward.
Umafrika Project Specialists – A Model For Community Outreach Education As A Unique Platform For Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme To Complement South Africa’s Critical And Scarce Skills Development And Training Challenges.
WITHIN South Africa’s transforming education terrain, a homegrown education and skills development and training agency, umAfrika Project Specialists, housed in the historic ML Sultan Campus of the Durban University of Technology, is providing short courses for students and school-leavers to get a foothold in a competitive job market.
umAfrika is a community-driven Training Service Provider with innovative workshop programmes.
Founded by Ann Sewlal eight years ago, umAfrika continues to turn unskilled youth around, year in and year out, culminating in the annual graduation ceremony at the DUT’s Hotel School days after the Day of Reconciliation on 16 December.
Sewlal says the ‘the enabling and empowering environment of the campus city’s university’ has provided a niche for umAfrika to deliver basic skills training, learnership training and development for a broader corp of young people from economically marginalised and disadvantaged communities in the Greater Durban Region.
“umAfrika aims to become a model for Community Outreach Education as a unique platform for Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme in its quest to complement South Africa’s critical and scarce skills development pipeline and training challenges,” added Sewlal, the agency’s director.
Each year, umAfrika and its dedicated team leaders and service providers deliver turnkey solutions and knowledge economy to upskill and mentor young people for the reality check in the job market and marketplace.
Ahead of umAfrika’s tenth anniversary in 2013, Sewlal says a single historical event, South Africa’s dramatic transformation from an apartheid-based society to a democratic state, had propelled Sewlal to quit the comfort zone of a corporate job to launch a women-empowered skills development and training agency, aimed at upskilling African, Indian, Coloured, Chinese and other minority communities that were marginalied in the apartheid society.
Strategically located within the Abdul Hamed Building at the landmark ML Sultan Campus which provided technical education for disadvantaged communities, umAfrika provides easy access to post-school students, undergraduates and career candidates.
Despite the progress of a democratic country, millions of South Africans are still denied rudimentary services, like piped water, electricity, sanitation and sewerage system. In a post-apartheid environment, school children attend classes in wattle and daub and non-electrified schools, serviced by water tanks and bore holes that dot the rural landscapes: “These depressing conditions, coupled with rampant unemployment and grinding poverty, stymie the education growth and development of our young citizens who we should be nurturing and mentoring as future leaders,” added Sewlal.
However, government continues to redress the socio-economic imbalances and inequities of the old country, promoting a ‘developmental state’ concept of encouraging private-sector capacity to support the public-sector platform of realigning all spheres of social and economic activities in the new nation.
South Africa is still battling with high levels of illiteracy and scarce skills among disadvantaged communities.
umAfrika has identified this deficiency that continues to deny communities of their God-given right to education.
“umAfrika believes it is contributing to the skills shortage pipeline by training and retraining our youth and graduates. We support the culture of education in the formal and informal sectors that has earmarked community involvement as a cornerstone in the areas of teaching, research and skills development and training and applying these theoretical and practical inputs and outputs to the issues that are becoming increasingly relevant to the community at large.
“We believe the emergence of umAfrika has filled a necessary gap in providing subsidized training programmes, including training, examinations and certificates, free of charge.”
umAfrika specialises and focuses in offering streamlined and practical short courses for duration of 3-6 months to a year, in these skill shortage areas:
Computers;
Information Technology;
New Media – internet, emails and social networking;
Entrepreneurship;
Women and Youth in Business;
Black Empowerment Opportunities;
Business Management and Consulting;
Office Administration;
Call Centre Business Networking;
Communications;
Marketing;
Project Management;
Business Law;
Globalisation;
Quality Management;
Production Management;
Human Resources;
HIV and AIDS;
Ends
ABOUT UMAFRIKA
umAfrika’s education and skills development and training programme is based on extensive research in South African and international experiences.
umAfrika’s examinations are co-ordinated and supervised on an ongoing basis, aimed at directly conceptualizing and formulating issues according to the reality check of the possibilities and options available, especially to the disadvantaged, rural and disabled citizens and student population.
umAfrika is guided in its task by:
International and National provisions allocated towards the upliftment of skills development in our country.
Continual research and development undergoing towards what is immediately required for the upliftment of communities.
Integrating of International experience within our local framework, particularly in the development of candidates in accordance to our nations needs.
Design policies and programmes that will assist in developing and accomplishing the Vision and Mission statements of umAfrika.
umAfrika’s success could be attributed to a higher level of grassroots community involvement:
Projects consist of the construction of low-cost housing, schools, libraries, community halls, roads, clinics, IT Training, HIV Training, Leadership and Motivation courses; and viable and future start-up of Call Centres incorporating Help Desk facilities.
In addition, umAfrika focuses on the stimulation of economic development and community empowerment through interventions such as relevant training schemes and focus on Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) development and training.
The development of all projects incorporates the need to redress social injustices and promote black economic empowerment.
umAfrika is responsible for providing redevelopment and training. The agency engages strategic partners, like securing funding from the European Union, international education and training donor organisations, local, provincial and central government, and other funding and humanitarian aid agencies, locally and internationally.
umAfrika has developed IT Training and Business Studies programmes and has created a synergy to complement products and services suited to the common skills needed.
Says founding-director AnnSewlal: “Our human capital, our people, is our key strength in developing umAfrika into a local and national model for community outreach education at grassroots level.
“We select and nurture the best to create an awesome base of expertise and talent. Our wide footprint of embedded knowledge based on international accreditation covering all faculties extensively.”
umAfrika appears to be the open-door for candidates requiring training and skills development towards achieving a variety of skills, like a recent weekend workshop for computer training attracted 250 candidates, thereby revealing the ‘desperate need’ by young people to upskill themselves in computers and information technology.
Majority of the candidates hail from the INK cluster (Inanda, Newtown and Kwa-Mashu), a depressed job market pinpointed by Durban’s eThekwini Municipality for major economic development, and the inner-city suburbs, Phoenix, Canelands, Amaoti, Chatsworth, Lamontville, Isipingo, Umlazi and other areas.
Ends
umAfrika’s Core Vision and Mission
To employ and train previously disadvantaged throughout the country and to equip them with a competent level of a skill that will interact both theoretically and practically.
To enhance their chances of entering the working world and living their dreams.
To eliminate poverty, crime, violence by ongoing participation of outlined workshops.
To focus on gender and to ensure that equality is given.
To focus on people with disabilities on how to provide a workable environment, protecting against discrimination and any violation to human rights.
Transform candidates to adapt to the different cultural background of individuals within the workplace.
Promote globalization as it opens up possibilities for the improvement of life for the poor people, and the disabled.
Strategise to transform all faculties and departments both on a local and a corporate level.
To conduct ongoing (SWOT) analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
umAfrika will endeavour to:
Provide essential tools and resources for the upliftment of socio-economic development within our country.
Provide regular workshops and skills development and training to create ongoing participation within the communities.
Provide transparent and accountable projects whereby candidates are able to have ongoing support and infrastructure.
Strive among all cultures to achieve equality, non racialism, gender equality, economic growth, social cohesion, peace and stability to enhance nation building.
To ensure the efficient and effective delivery of all services and the creation of a safe, healthy and comfortable training environment.
Adapt individuals with skills to operate with a multi-skilling approach to maximize benefit to both the company and the individual.
Adopt a strategic, creative and innovative approach to meet new and current challenges.
Be proactive in achieving social objectives and maximize economic development and job creation opportunities.
Contribute to and create co-operative and supportive relationships within the localized communities and businesses.
The unique layout of designing content course material to provide precise, workable turnkey solutions.
Strive for wider acceptance and accreditation of training course and programme locally and globally.
As a fully-fledged Black Economic Empowerment and Women-empowered agency, umAfrika will continue to add value to the formal and informal education by providing and sharing skills and knowledge aimed at achieving service excellence and supporting the critical skills developing sector.
Copyright
This publication has been produced by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121/ Durban 266 2134/ 266 4293.
COPYRIGHT 2011 Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications. This material cannot be used, published or broadcasted without proper and prior consultation with the copyright licensee and holder. All inquiries regarding rights or concerns about this content should be directed to: Marlan Padayachee, email: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za; +00 27 31 266 2134 or 266 4293/ fax + 00 27 31 266 2134; Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121; Legal Advisors: Siven Samuel & Associates: South Africa; Karlen Padayachee (JD): Minneapolis, United States of America.
QUOTE: “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” – William A Ward.
Umafrika Project Specialists – A Model For Community Outreach Education As A Unique Platform For Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme To Complement South Africa’s Critical And Scarce Skills Development And Training Challenges.
WITHIN South Africa’s transforming education terrain, a homegrown education and skills development and training agency, umAfrika Project Specialists, housed in the historic ML Sultan Campus of the Durban University of Technology, is providing short courses for students and school-leavers to get a foothold in a competitive job market.
umAfrika is a community-driven Training Service Provider with innovative workshop programmes.
Founded by Ann Sewlal eight years ago, umAfrika continues to turn unskilled youth around, year in and year out, culminating in the annual graduation ceremony at the DUT’s Hotel School days after the Day of Reconciliation on 16 December.
Sewlal says the ‘the enabling and empowering environment of the campus city’s university’ has provided a niche for umAfrika to deliver basic skills training, learnership training and development for a broader corp of young people from economically marginalised and disadvantaged communities in the Greater Durban Region.
“umAfrika aims to become a model for Community Outreach Education as a unique platform for Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme in its quest to complement South Africa’s critical and scarce skills development pipeline and training challenges,” added Sewlal, the agency’s director.
Each year, umAfrika and its dedicated team leaders and service providers deliver turnkey solutions and knowledge economy to upskill and mentor young people for the reality check in the job market and marketplace.
Ahead of umAfrika’s tenth anniversary in 2013, Sewlal says a single historical event, South Africa’s dramatic transformation from an apartheid-based society to a democratic state, had propelled Sewlal to quit the comfort zone of a corporate job to launch a women-empowered skills development and training agency, aimed at upskilling African, Indian, Coloured, Chinese and other minority communities that were marginalied in the apartheid society.
Strategically located within the Abdul Hamed Building at the landmark ML Sultan Campus which provided technical education for disadvantaged communities, umAfrika provides easy access to post-school students, undergraduates and career candidates.
Despite the progress of a democratic country, millions of South Africans are still denied rudimentary services, like piped water, electricity, sanitation and sewerage system. In a post-apartheid environment, school children attend classes in wattle and daub and non-electrified schools, serviced by water tanks and bore holes that dot the rural landscapes: “These depressing conditions, coupled with rampant unemployment and grinding poverty, stymie the education growth and development of our young citizens who we should be nurturing and mentoring as future leaders,” added Sewlal.
However, government continues to redress the socio-economic imbalances and inequities of the old country, promoting a ‘developmental state’ concept of encouraging private-sector capacity to support the public-sector platform of realigning all spheres of social and economic activities in the new nation.
South Africa is still battling with high levels of illiteracy and scarce skills among disadvantaged communities.
umAfrika has identified this deficiency that continues to deny communities of their God-given right to education.
“umAfrika believes it is contributing to the skills shortage pipeline by training and retraining our youth and graduates. We support the culture of education in the formal and informal sectors that has earmarked community involvement as a cornerstone in the areas of teaching, research and skills development and training and applying these theoretical and practical inputs and outputs to the issues that are becoming increasingly relevant to the community at large.
“We believe the emergence of umAfrika has filled a necessary gap in providing subsidized training programmes, including training, examinations and certificates, free of charge.”
umAfrika specialises and focuses in offering streamlined and practical short courses for duration of 3-6 months to a year, in these skill shortage areas:
Computers;
Information Technology;
New Media – internet, emails and social networking;
Entrepreneurship;
Women and Youth in Business;
Black Empowerment Opportunities;
Business Management and Consulting;
Office Administration;
Call Centre Business Networking;
Communications;
Marketing;
Project Management;
Business Law;
Globalisation;
Quality Management;
Production Management;
Human Resources;
HIV and AIDS;
Ends
ABOUT UMAFRIKA
umAfrika’s education and skills development and training programme is based on extensive research in South African and international experiences.
umAfrika’s examinations are co-ordinated and supervised on an ongoing basis, aimed at directly conceptualizing and formulating issues according to the reality check of the possibilities and options available, especially to the disadvantaged, rural and disabled citizens and student population.
umAfrika is guided in its task by:
International and National provisions allocated towards the upliftment of skills development in our country.
Continual research and development undergoing towards what is immediately required for the upliftment of communities.
Integrating of International experience within our local framework, particularly in the development of candidates in accordance to our nations needs.
Design policies and programmes that will assist in developing and accomplishing the Vision and Mission statements of umAfrika.
umAfrika’s success could be attributed to a higher level of grassroots community involvement:
Projects consist of the construction of low-cost housing, schools, libraries, community halls, roads, clinics, IT Training, HIV Training, Leadership and Motivation courses; and viable and future start-up of Call Centres incorporating Help Desk facilities.
In addition, umAfrika focuses on the stimulation of economic development and community empowerment through interventions such as relevant training schemes and focus on Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) development and training.
The development of all projects incorporates the need to redress social injustices and promote black economic empowerment.
umAfrika is responsible for providing redevelopment and training. The agency engages strategic partners, like securing funding from the European Union, international education and training donor organisations, local, provincial and central government, and other funding and humanitarian aid agencies, locally and internationally.
umAfrika has developed IT Training and Business Studies programmes and has created a synergy to complement products and services suited to the common skills needed.
Says founding-director AnnSewlal: “Our human capital, our people, is our key strength in developing umAfrika into a local and national model for community outreach education at grassroots level.
“We select and nurture the best to create an awesome base of expertise and talent. Our wide footprint of embedded knowledge based on international accreditation covering all faculties extensively.”
umAfrika appears to be the open-door for candidates requiring training and skills development towards achieving a variety of skills, like a recent weekend workshop for computer training attracted 250 candidates, thereby revealing the ‘desperate need’ by young people to upskill themselves in computers and information technology.
Majority of the candidates hail from the INK cluster (Inanda, Newtown and Kwa-Mashu), a depressed job market pinpointed by Durban’s eThekwini Municipality for major economic development, and the inner-city suburbs, Phoenix, Canelands, Amaoti, Chatsworth, Lamontville, Isipingo, Umlazi and other areas.
Ends
umAfrika’s Core Vision and Mission
To employ and train previously disadvantaged throughout the country and to equip them with a competent level of a skill that will interact both theoretically and practically.
To enhance their chances of entering the working world and living their dreams.
To eliminate poverty, crime, violence by ongoing participation of outlined workshops.
To focus on gender and to ensure that equality is given.
To focus on people with disabilities on how to provide a workable environment, protecting against discrimination and any violation to human rights.
Transform candidates to adapt to the different cultural background of individuals within the workplace.
Promote globalization as it opens up possibilities for the improvement of life for the poor people, and the disabled.
Strategise to transform all faculties and departments both on a local and a corporate level.
To conduct ongoing (SWOT) analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
umAfrika will endeavour to:
Provide essential tools and resources for the upliftment of socio-economic development within our country.
Provide regular workshops and skills development and training to create ongoing participation within the communities.
Provide transparent and accountable projects whereby candidates are able to have ongoing support and infrastructure.
Strive among all cultures to achieve equality, non racialism, gender equality, economic growth, social cohesion, peace and stability to enhance nation building.
To ensure the efficient and effective delivery of all services and the creation of a safe, healthy and comfortable training environment.
Adapt individuals with skills to operate with a multi-skilling approach to maximize benefit to both the company and the individual.
Adopt a strategic, creative and innovative approach to meet new and current challenges.
Be proactive in achieving social objectives and maximize economic development and job creation opportunities.
Contribute to and create co-operative and supportive relationships within the localized communities and businesses.
The unique layout of designing content course material to provide precise, workable turnkey solutions.
Strive for wider acceptance and accreditation of training course and programme locally and globally.
As a fully-fledged Black Economic Empowerment and Women-empowered agency, umAfrika will continue to add value to the formal and informal education by providing and sharing skills and knowledge aimed at achieving service excellence and supporting the critical skills developing sector.
Copyright
This publication has been produced by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121/ Durban 266 2134/ 266 4293.
COPYRIGHT 2011 Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications. This material cannot be used, published or broadcasted without proper and prior consultation with the copyright licensee and holder. All inquiries regarding rights or concerns about this content should be directed to: Marlan Padayachee, email: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za; +00 27 31 266 2134 or 266 4293/ fax + 00 27 31 266 2134; Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121; Legal Advisors: Siven Samuel & Associates: South Africa; Karlen Padayachee (JD): Minneapolis, United States of America.
Don't Let Your CV End Up in File 13
UMAFRIKA GRADUATION – SPEECH BY MARLAN PADAYACHEE, MANAGING PARTNER OF GREENGOLD AFRICA COMMUNICATIONS AT DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY HOTEL SCHOOL 17.12.2011
THANK YOU, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR.
· ANN SEWLAL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· COUNCILLOR DIANA HOORZUK, REPRESENTING THE SPEAKER OF THE DURBAN-ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, COUNCILLOR LOGIE NAIDOO.
· ALL DISTINGUISHED DIGNITARIES, GUESTS, PARENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.
· AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF THE MOMENT, THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATED TO BECOME GRADUANDS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM HUMBLED AND HONOURED TO BE ADDRESSING YOU THIS AFTERNOON AS SOMEONE WHO LEARNT EARLY IN MY LIFE THAT ‘EDUCATION IS YOUR SALVATION’ AND ‘KNOWLEDGE IS POWER’ – THAT IS WHY I AM STANDING BEFORE YOU TO SHARE MY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY WITH ALL OF YOU.
IF YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT, YOU WILL NOTICE A GRADUATE NEXT SEATED NEXT TO YOU: YOUR PARENTS, GUARDIANS, GRANDPARENTS – ALL OF WHOM WORK TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION.
ALL OUR PARENTS DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND SOME ACADEMIC ACCOLADES, AS WELL.
THAT’S WHY MANY OF US BELIEVE AND LIVE BY THE ANCIENT AFRICAN MANTRA, UBUNTU (HUMANKIND), WHICH MEANS IN ISIZULU OR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES, ‘I AM BECAUSE OF YOU’.
THAT’S WHY WE ALSO SAY IN THE AFRICAN VERNACULAR: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’.
WE MAY LIVE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPETING FOR EACH OTHER FOR WEALTH, CASH, AND STATUS, AND DREAM FOR A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME .
THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO SUCCESS;
THERE IS NO SIDE ROAD TO ACCUMULATING WEALTH;
· THERE’S ONLY THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO SUCCESS AND ITS CALLED :
· HARD WORK;
· HONESTY;
· HUMILITY;
THE CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY MOST TELL A STORY OF A DINT OF HARD WORK, HONESTY AND HUMILITY.
IF YOU PRESENT FALSE INFORMATION ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE, THEN YOUR CAREER WILL BE CONDEMNED FOR LIFE.
IT’S CALLED ACADEMIC FRAUD.
YOUR EMPLOYER WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR THAT IS SIGN-POSTED AS ‘EXIT’.
SO, VALUE THIS CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY.
IT IS THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING.
LEARNING DOES NOT STOP HERE.
IT CONTINUES AND CONTINUES UNTIL YOU ARE A WELL ROUNDED CANDIDATE FOR CAREER SUCCESS.
TODAY, WE ARE LIVING IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, WHICH MEANS BY THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON YOU CAN CONTACT ANYONE IN THE WORLD, VIA CELLPHONE, VIA EMAIL, VIA INTERNET, VIA FACEBOOK, VIA TWITTER AND VIA ANY SOCIAL MEDIA.
I STAND BEFORE YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ANN SEWLAL’S UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
IN THESE TRYING TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNCAST WHERE JOBS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SCARCE AND POVERTY AND SOCIAL ILLS ARE REDUCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE GREATER DURBAN REGION, AND MANY OF THE COUNTRY, GOVERNMENT LED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS UNDER OUR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY SYSTEM, IS WORKING HARD TO GIVE US ‘A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL’.
JOBLESSNESS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST THREAT TO ALL US – PARTICULARLY OUR YOUTH POPULATION – OUR FUTURE CITIZENS – OUR FUTURE LEADERS.
UMAFRIKA, THROUGH AN SEWLAL’S VISION, OFFERS STUDENTS, SCHOOL-LEAVERS, UNDERGRADUATES AND POST-GRADUATES A PRAGMATIC ANSWER TO A VERY DIFFICULT JOB MARKET – AND THAT IS FOR YOUR TO GAIN NEW SKILLS.
TO DESCRIBE UMAFRIKA, WHICH COMPLIMENTS THE TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION WITH ITS RANGE OF SHORT COURSES, I WOULD AGREE THAT: ‘
· UMAFRIKA PROJECT SPECIALISTS IS A MODEL FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EDUCATION AS A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR ADVANCED, SHORT COURSES, WORKSHOP-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMME TO COMPLEMENT SOUTH AFRICA’S CRITICAL AND SCARCE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING CHALLENGES.
TODAY’S JOB MARKET ALSO DEMANDS THAT YOU ARE VERSATILE.
· YOU MUST STRIVE TO BE AN ALL-ROUNDER.
· YOU MUST SAY TO AM PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER AT A JOB INTERVIEW: ‘I AM MULTISKILLED; I AM A HARD WORKER AND HUMBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TEA OR COFFEE WHILE YOUR COMPANY TEACHES ME THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE’.
· WHILE SERVING THE TEA OR COFFEE, YOU MUST DEVELOP AN APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND BE WILLING TO LEARN, AND BECOME A TEAM PLAYER WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.
· THERE IS NO ‘I’ IN THE WORD ‘SUCCESS’.
· EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR JOBSEEKERS WHO CAN ADD VALUE TO THE PROFITABILITY AND VIABILITY OF A BUSINESS, AND IT’S CALLED BOTTOMLINES.
· LEARN TO SPEAK THE ECONOMIC LANGUAGE.
· IF YOU UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S BUSINESS, THEN YOU WILL GROW WITHIN THE WORKPLACE AND YOU WILL BE A BIGGER ASSET TO THE COMPNAY, AND THAT’S CALLED HUMAN CAPITAL.
IF YOU ARE A SLAVE TO WAGES OR SALARY THEN YOUR CAREER HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE AND YOU WILL BE WASTING VALUABLE TIME EMAILING AND DROPPING YOUR CV’S ALL OVER.
AND IF YOU CV IS NOT A HONEST STORY OF WHAT YOU CAN OFFER YOUR EMPLOYER, THEN IT ENDS UP IN FILE 13 – THE DUSTBIN.
THAT BRINGS ME TO SOME WORDS OF VISION:
· AN AMERICAN, PHILLIP J KRAWITH, WRITING ABOUT THE FIVE REVOLUTIONS - INDUSTRIAL, TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER AND INTERNET: “IF YOUR COMPANY HAS PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER, BETTER TRAINED, MORE INNOVATIVE AND MORE PASSIONATE THAN THE OPPOSITION, YOU WIN - AND THE IMPLICATIONS ARE PROFOUND.”
APART FROM LEARNING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, THE OTHER ASPECT OF SUCCESSFUL CAREER PATHING ARE MENTORING AND COACHING.
REMEMBER THAT ‘WITHOUT A MENTOR, AN INDIVIDUAL WILL LEARN LESS, MORE SLOWLY OR NOT AT ALL,’ SAYS MARIUS MEYER AND LEON FOURIE IN THEIR BOOK, ‘MENTORING AND COACHING’.
· THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS, TEAM LEADERS, FACILITATORS, MENTORS OR COACHES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO DO SOME FORM OF MENTORING AND COACHING AS PART OF THEIR JOBS.
· THE AUTHORS SAY ‘EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT ARE ESSNTIAL REALITIES OF THE NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT’.
· THAT’S WHAT IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE WORKPLACE – A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, A FAR CRY FROM THE WORKPLACE OF YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.
· COACHING, MENTORING AND TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT HOW ELL YOU PERFORM IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO, RECEIVING YOUR CERTIFICATES AND BEING HAPPILY PHOTOGRAPHED, IS THE START OF YOU’RE YOUR THOUSAND MILE JOURNEY INTO A LIFE WHICH IS REALLY IN YOUR HANDS.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ALTITUDE.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY.
· TAKE NOTE OF THESE TIPS:
· GOOD COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS;
· RESPECTFUL OF SELF AND OTHERS;
· WILLINGNESS TO SHARE;
· FLEXIBLE;
· ENCOURAGING;
· SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS;
· SELF-CONFIDENT;
· COMMITTED;
· SUPPORTIVE;
PUT ALL THE TIPS TOGETHER, IT’S A WORD CALLED ‘UBUNTU’ (HUMANENESS OR HUMANKIND).
WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER, NO-ONE IS INDISPENSABLE, NO-ONE IS AN ISLAND;
BE A TEAM PLAYER.
WE ALL KNOW WHO OPRAH WINFREY IS: WELL, SHE SAYS: “WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO STRENGTH.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER: “THERE ARE TWO THINGS NEEDED THESE DAYS; FIRST, FOR RICH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW POOR PEOPLE LIVE; AND SECOND, FOR POOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW RICH PEOPLE WORK.”
AND WILLIAM SPRAGUE ONCE SAID: “DO NOT WAIT TO STRIKE TILL THE IRON IS HOT; BUT MAKE IT HOT BY STRIKING.”
GOOD LUCK.
NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRIKA.
Marlan Padayachee
Marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ 073 625 8247/ (031) 266 4293/ 266 2134: PA Pinky Naidoo: 078 076 8121/ Professional coordinator & isiZulu tutor: Sally Nene: 082 686 7561
THANK YOU, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR.
· ANN SEWLAL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· COUNCILLOR DIANA HOORZUK, REPRESENTING THE SPEAKER OF THE DURBAN-ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, COUNCILLOR LOGIE NAIDOO.
· ALL DISTINGUISHED DIGNITARIES, GUESTS, PARENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.
· AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF THE MOMENT, THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATED TO BECOME GRADUANDS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM HUMBLED AND HONOURED TO BE ADDRESSING YOU THIS AFTERNOON AS SOMEONE WHO LEARNT EARLY IN MY LIFE THAT ‘EDUCATION IS YOUR SALVATION’ AND ‘KNOWLEDGE IS POWER’ – THAT IS WHY I AM STANDING BEFORE YOU TO SHARE MY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY WITH ALL OF YOU.
IF YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT, YOU WILL NOTICE A GRADUATE NEXT SEATED NEXT TO YOU: YOUR PARENTS, GUARDIANS, GRANDPARENTS – ALL OF WHOM WORK TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION.
ALL OUR PARENTS DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND SOME ACADEMIC ACCOLADES, AS WELL.
THAT’S WHY MANY OF US BELIEVE AND LIVE BY THE ANCIENT AFRICAN MANTRA, UBUNTU (HUMANKIND), WHICH MEANS IN ISIZULU OR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES, ‘I AM BECAUSE OF YOU’.
THAT’S WHY WE ALSO SAY IN THE AFRICAN VERNACULAR: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’.
WE MAY LIVE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPETING FOR EACH OTHER FOR WEALTH, CASH, AND STATUS, AND DREAM FOR A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME .
THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO SUCCESS;
THERE IS NO SIDE ROAD TO ACCUMULATING WEALTH;
· THERE’S ONLY THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO SUCCESS AND ITS CALLED :
· HARD WORK;
· HONESTY;
· HUMILITY;
THE CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY MOST TELL A STORY OF A DINT OF HARD WORK, HONESTY AND HUMILITY.
IF YOU PRESENT FALSE INFORMATION ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE, THEN YOUR CAREER WILL BE CONDEMNED FOR LIFE.
IT’S CALLED ACADEMIC FRAUD.
YOUR EMPLOYER WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR THAT IS SIGN-POSTED AS ‘EXIT’.
SO, VALUE THIS CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY.
IT IS THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING.
LEARNING DOES NOT STOP HERE.
IT CONTINUES AND CONTINUES UNTIL YOU ARE A WELL ROUNDED CANDIDATE FOR CAREER SUCCESS.
TODAY, WE ARE LIVING IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, WHICH MEANS BY THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON YOU CAN CONTACT ANYONE IN THE WORLD, VIA CELLPHONE, VIA EMAIL, VIA INTERNET, VIA FACEBOOK, VIA TWITTER AND VIA ANY SOCIAL MEDIA.
I STAND BEFORE YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ANN SEWLAL’S UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
IN THESE TRYING TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNCAST WHERE JOBS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SCARCE AND POVERTY AND SOCIAL ILLS ARE REDUCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE GREATER DURBAN REGION, AND MANY OF THE COUNTRY, GOVERNMENT LED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS UNDER OUR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY SYSTEM, IS WORKING HARD TO GIVE US ‘A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL’.
JOBLESSNESS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST THREAT TO ALL US – PARTICULARLY OUR YOUTH POPULATION – OUR FUTURE CITIZENS – OUR FUTURE LEADERS.
UMAFRIKA, THROUGH AN SEWLAL’S VISION, OFFERS STUDENTS, SCHOOL-LEAVERS, UNDERGRADUATES AND POST-GRADUATES A PRAGMATIC ANSWER TO A VERY DIFFICULT JOB MARKET – AND THAT IS FOR YOUR TO GAIN NEW SKILLS.
TO DESCRIBE UMAFRIKA, WHICH COMPLIMENTS THE TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION WITH ITS RANGE OF SHORT COURSES, I WOULD AGREE THAT: ‘
· UMAFRIKA PROJECT SPECIALISTS IS A MODEL FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EDUCATION AS A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR ADVANCED, SHORT COURSES, WORKSHOP-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMME TO COMPLEMENT SOUTH AFRICA’S CRITICAL AND SCARCE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING CHALLENGES.
TODAY’S JOB MARKET ALSO DEMANDS THAT YOU ARE VERSATILE.
· YOU MUST STRIVE TO BE AN ALL-ROUNDER.
· YOU MUST SAY TO AM PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER AT A JOB INTERVIEW: ‘I AM MULTISKILLED; I AM A HARD WORKER AND HUMBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TEA OR COFFEE WHILE YOUR COMPANY TEACHES ME THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE’.
· WHILE SERVING THE TEA OR COFFEE, YOU MUST DEVELOP AN APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND BE WILLING TO LEARN, AND BECOME A TEAM PLAYER WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.
· THERE IS NO ‘I’ IN THE WORD ‘SUCCESS’.
· EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR JOBSEEKERS WHO CAN ADD VALUE TO THE PROFITABILITY AND VIABILITY OF A BUSINESS, AND IT’S CALLED BOTTOMLINES.
· LEARN TO SPEAK THE ECONOMIC LANGUAGE.
· IF YOU UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S BUSINESS, THEN YOU WILL GROW WITHIN THE WORKPLACE AND YOU WILL BE A BIGGER ASSET TO THE COMPNAY, AND THAT’S CALLED HUMAN CAPITAL.
IF YOU ARE A SLAVE TO WAGES OR SALARY THEN YOUR CAREER HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE AND YOU WILL BE WASTING VALUABLE TIME EMAILING AND DROPPING YOUR CV’S ALL OVER.
AND IF YOU CV IS NOT A HONEST STORY OF WHAT YOU CAN OFFER YOUR EMPLOYER, THEN IT ENDS UP IN FILE 13 – THE DUSTBIN.
THAT BRINGS ME TO SOME WORDS OF VISION:
· AN AMERICAN, PHILLIP J KRAWITH, WRITING ABOUT THE FIVE REVOLUTIONS - INDUSTRIAL, TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER AND INTERNET: “IF YOUR COMPANY HAS PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER, BETTER TRAINED, MORE INNOVATIVE AND MORE PASSIONATE THAN THE OPPOSITION, YOU WIN - AND THE IMPLICATIONS ARE PROFOUND.”
APART FROM LEARNING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, THE OTHER ASPECT OF SUCCESSFUL CAREER PATHING ARE MENTORING AND COACHING.
REMEMBER THAT ‘WITHOUT A MENTOR, AN INDIVIDUAL WILL LEARN LESS, MORE SLOWLY OR NOT AT ALL,’ SAYS MARIUS MEYER AND LEON FOURIE IN THEIR BOOK, ‘MENTORING AND COACHING’.
· THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS, TEAM LEADERS, FACILITATORS, MENTORS OR COACHES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO DO SOME FORM OF MENTORING AND COACHING AS PART OF THEIR JOBS.
· THE AUTHORS SAY ‘EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT ARE ESSNTIAL REALITIES OF THE NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT’.
· THAT’S WHAT IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE WORKPLACE – A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, A FAR CRY FROM THE WORKPLACE OF YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.
· COACHING, MENTORING AND TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT HOW ELL YOU PERFORM IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO, RECEIVING YOUR CERTIFICATES AND BEING HAPPILY PHOTOGRAPHED, IS THE START OF YOU’RE YOUR THOUSAND MILE JOURNEY INTO A LIFE WHICH IS REALLY IN YOUR HANDS.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ALTITUDE.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY.
· TAKE NOTE OF THESE TIPS:
· GOOD COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS;
· RESPECTFUL OF SELF AND OTHERS;
· WILLINGNESS TO SHARE;
· FLEXIBLE;
· ENCOURAGING;
· SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS;
· SELF-CONFIDENT;
· COMMITTED;
· SUPPORTIVE;
PUT ALL THE TIPS TOGETHER, IT’S A WORD CALLED ‘UBUNTU’ (HUMANENESS OR HUMANKIND).
WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER, NO-ONE IS INDISPENSABLE, NO-ONE IS AN ISLAND;
BE A TEAM PLAYER.
WE ALL KNOW WHO OPRAH WINFREY IS: WELL, SHE SAYS: “WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO STRENGTH.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER: “THERE ARE TWO THINGS NEEDED THESE DAYS; FIRST, FOR RICH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW POOR PEOPLE LIVE; AND SECOND, FOR POOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW RICH PEOPLE WORK.”
AND WILLIAM SPRAGUE ONCE SAID: “DO NOT WAIT TO STRIKE TILL THE IRON IS HOT; BUT MAKE IT HOT BY STRIKING.”
GOOD LUCK.
NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRIKA.
Marlan Padayachee
Marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ 073 625 8247/ (031) 266 4293/ 266 2134: PA Pinky Naidoo: 078 076 8121/ Professional coordinator & isiZulu tutor: Sally Nene: 082 686 7561
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tribute to Fallen Journalists
A double blow for journalism – a tribute to Deon du Plessis and Patrick Leeman
By Marlan Padayachee
KANTHAN Pillay provided an insightful portrait and anecdotes of the newspapering life of Deon du Plessis. This is how I recall a fallen colleague, who ensured that I covered President Nelson Mandela's historic visit to India, once the ANC's strongest ally, for Independent Newspapers and Post, in 1995.
More so, journalism was dealt a double blow: the paragon of publishing, founder of the Daily Sun and stalwart of the mainstream media, has passed on, leaving behind a legacy of an old-fashioned newspaperman, with his sleeves folded and booming voice, that provided excellent editorial leadership and humanity.
Diametrically opposed and a quieter personality was Patrick Leeman, who passed away a day after Du Plessis’s demise on 9/11.
Within the context of the newsroom environment at Natal Newspapers (Independent Newspapers), both wordsmiths touched the lives of peers, colleagues, workers and the public through their unique brand of journalism, human touch and their ability to engage people across the colour lines during the apartheid-democracy era.
Leeman was no Sunday Christian. He brought his Catholicism into his profession, often expressing favourable or dissenting views within the challenges of the industry, championing society’s underclass, while remaining committed to journalism and Paddy Kearney’s Diakonia Council of Churches that assisted striking black media workers in the 1980s.
Du Plessis also showed his hand and craftsmanship during the Media Workers Association of South Africa’s 13-week industrial action in a national protest against newsroom inequalities, racism and lack of career opportunities for disadvantaged reporters and poor pay and working conditions for workers.
As Deputy Editor of the Sunday Tribune, one of the Argus/SAAN publications hit by the strike, Du Plessis tackled the pros and the cons of the strike issue in his column about the ‘three empty desks’ – a reference to the absence of journalists, Ticks Chetty, Shami Harichunder and I from our work stations. The strike separated white and black colleagues on industry politics and ideological grounds.
The union remained unswerving to bring about the changes that presently prevail in the print and electronic media. MWASA won the day. Workers were reinstated and not even a big-hearted and boorish giant like Du Plessis bore any resentment to those who reoccupied the ‘three empty desks’.
He understood the growing militancy and the political terrain of the time. He also stopped short of sanctioning unionised journalists who raised their clenched fists, black-power style, at the launch of an ethnic political party headed by a controversial House of Delegates’ politician. Despite fielding the complaint, Du Plessis argued cogently about the objectivity of journalists, whether we enjoyed political rights, but still respected our action.
Heading back to Johannesburg, straight-talking Du Plessis left an indelible mark in the business of news gathering. Despite his ideological chasm, Afrikaner culture and fiercely independent mind, many of us looked up to this towering practitioner with admiration and respect.
This firm and fair, and yet colourful persona, is journalism’s loss .
The success of his top-circulation tabloid for blue-collar and working-class readers bears testimony to his integrity, honesty, management style, professional passion and inimitable common touch.
His legacy and contribution serves to inspire editors and journalists to continue reporting and publishing without fear or favour, and be damned, particularly at a time when the media landscape is at the crossroads of our young constitutional democracy.
Ends
· Marlan Padayachee, Journalist, Researcher and Media and Communications Strategist, GreenGold House, 1 Hillside Road, Dawncliffe, Westville, South Africa: marlan.padayachee@greengoldmedia.com/ (031) 266 2134/ 266 4293/ Cell: 073 625 8247.
By Marlan Padayachee
KANTHAN Pillay provided an insightful portrait and anecdotes of the newspapering life of Deon du Plessis. This is how I recall a fallen colleague, who ensured that I covered President Nelson Mandela's historic visit to India, once the ANC's strongest ally, for Independent Newspapers and Post, in 1995.
More so, journalism was dealt a double blow: the paragon of publishing, founder of the Daily Sun and stalwart of the mainstream media, has passed on, leaving behind a legacy of an old-fashioned newspaperman, with his sleeves folded and booming voice, that provided excellent editorial leadership and humanity.
Diametrically opposed and a quieter personality was Patrick Leeman, who passed away a day after Du Plessis’s demise on 9/11.
Within the context of the newsroom environment at Natal Newspapers (Independent Newspapers), both wordsmiths touched the lives of peers, colleagues, workers and the public through their unique brand of journalism, human touch and their ability to engage people across the colour lines during the apartheid-democracy era.
Leeman was no Sunday Christian. He brought his Catholicism into his profession, often expressing favourable or dissenting views within the challenges of the industry, championing society’s underclass, while remaining committed to journalism and Paddy Kearney’s Diakonia Council of Churches that assisted striking black media workers in the 1980s.
Du Plessis also showed his hand and craftsmanship during the Media Workers Association of South Africa’s 13-week industrial action in a national protest against newsroom inequalities, racism and lack of career opportunities for disadvantaged reporters and poor pay and working conditions for workers.
As Deputy Editor of the Sunday Tribune, one of the Argus/SAAN publications hit by the strike, Du Plessis tackled the pros and the cons of the strike issue in his column about the ‘three empty desks’ – a reference to the absence of journalists, Ticks Chetty, Shami Harichunder and I from our work stations. The strike separated white and black colleagues on industry politics and ideological grounds.
The union remained unswerving to bring about the changes that presently prevail in the print and electronic media. MWASA won the day. Workers were reinstated and not even a big-hearted and boorish giant like Du Plessis bore any resentment to those who reoccupied the ‘three empty desks’.
He understood the growing militancy and the political terrain of the time. He also stopped short of sanctioning unionised journalists who raised their clenched fists, black-power style, at the launch of an ethnic political party headed by a controversial House of Delegates’ politician. Despite fielding the complaint, Du Plessis argued cogently about the objectivity of journalists, whether we enjoyed political rights, but still respected our action.
Heading back to Johannesburg, straight-talking Du Plessis left an indelible mark in the business of news gathering. Despite his ideological chasm, Afrikaner culture and fiercely independent mind, many of us looked up to this towering practitioner with admiration and respect.
This firm and fair, and yet colourful persona, is journalism’s loss .
The success of his top-circulation tabloid for blue-collar and working-class readers bears testimony to his integrity, honesty, management style, professional passion and inimitable common touch.
His legacy and contribution serves to inspire editors and journalists to continue reporting and publishing without fear or favour, and be damned, particularly at a time when the media landscape is at the crossroads of our young constitutional democracy.
Ends
· Marlan Padayachee, Journalist, Researcher and Media and Communications Strategist, GreenGold House, 1 Hillside Road, Dawncliffe, Westville, South Africa: marlan.padayachee@greengoldmedia.com/ (031) 266 2134/ 266 4293/ Cell: 073 625 8247.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Durban's Fozy Peer is rising in radiography ranks
Durban’s Fozy Peer – Rising Within the World of Radiography
By Marlan Padayachee
WHEN radiographers in South Africa and rest of the globe celebrate World Radiography Day on 8th November, one of its chief campaigners, Dr Fozy Peer of Durban, will be in the company of some of leading scientists at the conference of the International Atomic Energy Association in Vienna, Austria.
Dr Peer, a senior manager in nuclear medicine at the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, is among the delegates attending this week’s four-day IAEA’s conference that will also focus on the latest Pet-Scan Imaging diagnostics purposes used to treat mainly cancer patients.
She said her attendance and participation at the conference will bring her to the coalface of nuclear medicine, radiography and radiology issues on a world scale as the conference has attracted some of the leading thought leaders, academics and exponents in the professions.
Back at home and in many countries around the world, including Africa, radiographers will be holding workshops, seminars, goodwill fellowships and get-togethers to mark World Radiography Day under the theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, at government and private hospitals and medical centres and institutions.
Each year, the Society of Radiographers of South Africa, of which Dr Peer is a spokeswoman and board member, gather to pay homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895, an outstanding academic achievement that made him the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
Said Dr Peer, the first woman in the country to achieve a doctorate in radiography, and a director of public-relations and board member of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians: “World Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays, and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment.”
Hospitals and health care centres here and abroad will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector
In the medical field, radiographers play a key role as frontline health workers, particularly during the upcoming holiday season when road fatalities and pedestrian injuries escalate at crisis proportions through speeding, reckless driving practices, especially drink-driving and drug abuse behind the wheel.
“World Radiography Day also highlights career opportunities for young graduates, promotes opportunities for radiographers to start their own practices, and puts the focus on how government can partner the private sector in stemming the flow of the flight skills. Scarce skills are bound to affect the quality of healthcare for patients across South Africa.”
Dr Peer, who has been credited locally and internationally for having brought the first World Congress of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians to Durban, South in 2008, and then responsible for the hosting of the first joint conference of the Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the Radiological Society of South Africa in Durban this year, also confirmed the second joint Durban Congress of both disciplines will be held in the city from 18-21 April in 2013.
The next World Congress takes place in Toronto, Canada, in 2012.
SOUTH AFRICA CELEBRATES WORLD RADIOGRAPHY DAY 8 NOVEMBER 2011
RADIOGRAPHERS and medical support staff will join the rest of the world in celebrating and commemorating World Radiography Day on Tuesday, 8 November.
The Society of Radiographers of South Africa will observe this year’s theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, in homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895 and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
“Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment,” said Dr Fozy Peer, spokeswoman for Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians.
Hospitals and health care centres in South Africa and across the globe will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector.
Marlan Padayachee is a journalist and media consultant to the Society of Radiographers of South Africa.
Ends
By Marlan Padayachee
WHEN radiographers in South Africa and rest of the globe celebrate World Radiography Day on 8th November, one of its chief campaigners, Dr Fozy Peer of Durban, will be in the company of some of leading scientists at the conference of the International Atomic Energy Association in Vienna, Austria.
Dr Peer, a senior manager in nuclear medicine at the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, is among the delegates attending this week’s four-day IAEA’s conference that will also focus on the latest Pet-Scan Imaging diagnostics purposes used to treat mainly cancer patients.
She said her attendance and participation at the conference will bring her to the coalface of nuclear medicine, radiography and radiology issues on a world scale as the conference has attracted some of the leading thought leaders, academics and exponents in the professions.
Back at home and in many countries around the world, including Africa, radiographers will be holding workshops, seminars, goodwill fellowships and get-togethers to mark World Radiography Day under the theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, at government and private hospitals and medical centres and institutions.
Each year, the Society of Radiographers of South Africa, of which Dr Peer is a spokeswoman and board member, gather to pay homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895, an outstanding academic achievement that made him the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
Said Dr Peer, the first woman in the country to achieve a doctorate in radiography, and a director of public-relations and board member of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians: “World Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays, and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment.”
Hospitals and health care centres here and abroad will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector
In the medical field, radiographers play a key role as frontline health workers, particularly during the upcoming holiday season when road fatalities and pedestrian injuries escalate at crisis proportions through speeding, reckless driving practices, especially drink-driving and drug abuse behind the wheel.
“World Radiography Day also highlights career opportunities for young graduates, promotes opportunities for radiographers to start their own practices, and puts the focus on how government can partner the private sector in stemming the flow of the flight skills. Scarce skills are bound to affect the quality of healthcare for patients across South Africa.”
Dr Peer, who has been credited locally and internationally for having brought the first World Congress of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians to Durban, South in 2008, and then responsible for the hosting of the first joint conference of the Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the Radiological Society of South Africa in Durban this year, also confirmed the second joint Durban Congress of both disciplines will be held in the city from 18-21 April in 2013.
The next World Congress takes place in Toronto, Canada, in 2012.
SOUTH AFRICA CELEBRATES WORLD RADIOGRAPHY DAY 8 NOVEMBER 2011
RADIOGRAPHERS and medical support staff will join the rest of the world in celebrating and commemorating World Radiography Day on Tuesday, 8 November.
The Society of Radiographers of South Africa will observe this year’s theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, in homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895 and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
“Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment,” said Dr Fozy Peer, spokeswoman for Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians.
Hospitals and health care centres in South Africa and across the globe will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector.
Marlan Padayachee is a journalist and media consultant to the Society of Radiographers of South Africa.
Ends
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