Development Talk

Creative Consulting & Development Works opposes Secrecy Bill

 

September 28, 2011

Creative Consulting & Development Works joined the Right2Know march to parliament on Saturday 17th September in opposition to the controversial “Secrecy Bill” which threatens freedom of information and could impose harsh prison sentences on whistle-blowers. Right2Know are a grassroots coalition against the proposed Secrecy Bill which successfully managed to co-ordinate 2 000 protesters on the march to parliament including at least one former ANC cabinet minister, the premier of the Western Cape, the Mayor of Cape Town, academics and journalists. The bill was to come before parliament 3 days after the march to be voted into law and was withdrawn for consultation.  PengaTV interviewed activists including Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and Creative Consulting & Development Works Communications Co-ordinator Michelle Cruywagen. Comment on the PengaTV video clip below.  Have your say! What’s your take on the Secrecy Bill?

 

Why the Secrecy Bill is a threat to community struggles for local democracy and service delivery?

According to Right2Know the Protection of Information Bill (The Secrecy Bill) is a proposed law that threatens to turn our country into a nation of secrets and thus undermine many of our hard-won freedoms. The Right2Know Campaign along with many others have been fighting to get this Bill scrapped. Even though the government and the ANC have agreed that there are serious problems with the Bill and have promised to engage in further parliamentary debate, the fight against the Secrecy Bill cannot stop and must be intensified. If passed in its current form, it will give government officials huge powers to hide all kinds of important information from you and your community.

 

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Hands Of Love (HALO): Giving back to deprived communities

 

July 5, 2011

Hands of Love sent pupils to School.Photo:HALO

Creative Consulting & Development Works has been promoting the great work of Hands of Love Outreach (HALO) since we first heard about them in 2010. Based in Mthatha, this amazing organization aims to reach out and improve lives of people living in resource deprived communities.

Recently, the organization expanded its mission beyond providing for the immediate needs of their clientele (like food and warm clothing) by opening a residential shelter onCallaway Streetin Mthatha which caters to their long term needs.  Recently, they went as far as adopting an entire extended family group that consists of approximately 38 members in Ngangelizwe near Mthatha.

A member of HALO, Sinethemba Dywili, says 13 of the kids from the family were sent to different schools around their community. The Grade 9 pupil is attending classes at Zimele School, the grade 11 is at Ngangelizwe High School and the rest are enrolled at Nxeko Mtirara Primary School.

“The organization would like to get financial assistance to fulfill their dream of sending half, if not all of the children living there to school next year,” Dywili said.

We encourage all of our readers to help Hands of Love Outreach (HALO).  To find out more and to donate please click here.

Filed under: basic human right,children,civil society,community,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,education,Family,Homeless,NGOs,poverty,Safety and Security,spatial poverty,Uncategorized,youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 4:54 pm

Dance for All: An invitation to help make dreams come true!

 

June 29, 2011

Dancers showcase their skills. Photo: Nondumiso Ntsengentsu

Many South Africans have dreams, desires and interests that they are unable to pursue, due to the limited availability of information in their community. Faced with this challenge, they often lose hope and begin to believe drugs and alcohol abuse as well as violence and crime are the only things that help them to feel fulfilled. With increased focus on personal development and access to information it would be possible for community organizations to help community members fulfill their dreams and avoid the pitfalls of substance abuse and violence in their own lives.

Dance for all, an Athlone based Outreach Programme, looked at the challenges facing community members and came up with a solution. They aimed to offer children in historically deprived communities with an opportunity for enjoyment, upliftment and promotion of self – esteem through the medium of dance, as well as training for young people who hope to become professional dancers. This has lead to the development of a unique, indigenous dance company that embodies creativity and culture. They also offer these classes at other service points in the surrounding townships of Gugulethu, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Langa.

Eight dance teachers from the United States (US) are expected to come and share their dancing skills with participants.  The list of visiting teachers includes founder of the LEAP programme at St Mary’s College Claire Sheridan, a regular visitor to Dance for All, Kristine Elliot, Geren Scribner, Lucy Van Cleef, Olivia Ramsay, David Tamaki, Annie Colbeck and Alejandro Piris Nino. They will work with students over the next two weeks designing and producing an on-site dance that includes movement classes, repertory and choreographic workshops.

Anyone who is interested in this amazing dance experience is exclusively invited to two performances offered by this initiative from Friday 08 July at 16:30 or Saturday, 9 July at 11:30 in their Dance for All studios in Athlone.

The entrance fee of R25.00 for an adult and one of R15.00 for kids will help you to get inspired and assist you in finding your new hobby.

We can all rise above our current situations and become what we want to be in lives!!!

Filed under: Access to Information,Awareness,children,civil society,community,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,History,Hope,initiative,inspiration,media,spatial poverty,Training,youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 5:19 pm

Hot off the presses: Edition 16 of Development e-News!

 

June 24, 2011

 Edition 16 shines a spotlight on CSI and CSI works:

  • We explore industry benchmarks in corporate social investment (CSI) spend and how this impacts on national social economic development (SED).
  • We guide you on how best you can increase the sustainability of your CSI programme.
  • We consider the importance of establishing partnerships – a hot topic at the CSI Matters conference.
  • Finally, we share some valuable development lessons from Africa via Dr Pandelani Mathoma, GM of Old Mutual Corporate Affairs guest speaker at the conference.

We hope you enjoy our newsletter and are able to leave with new insights and inspiration. You’re welcome to make contact via email should you have any questions, if you would like to further discuss topics highlighted in our newsletter or require more information on our services!

Read the newsletter by clicking here!

Warm Greetings from our Team!
Creative Consulting & Development Works

Filed under: Access to Information,Africa,aid,arts,Awareness,basic human right,better life for all,blogging,campaign,civil society,Communications,community,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,cultural issues,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,dialogue,donors,education,ethical leadership,inspiration,inspire,internet,marketing,media,philanthropists,Social media,social transformation,South Africa,Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 4:53 pm

Kader Asmal (8 October 1934 – 22 June 2011)

 

June 23, 2011

Click for photo source

Creative Consulting and Development Works would like to extend our sympathy to the Asmal family as we join the rest of South Africa in celebrating Kader Asmal and his life as an activist academic and politician.  His ANC comrades hail him as a “selfless man of honour” and that “his death must be a reminder for all of us of the non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa we committed to build”.  Kader represented the anti-Apartheid movement as a committed ANC member from the United Kingdom during his early professional life after being exiled by the Apartheid government.  In exile he was awarded the Prix UNESCO award for his work in human rights, founded the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, and served as Chairperson for the Irish Apartheid movement.  When he returned to South Africa he became a professor of human rights at University of the Western Cape before he was tapped by the first democratic government to be the Minister of Water and Forestry and later as Minister of Education (a position for which he was appointed personally by President Nelson Mandela).  He was also involved in many other anti-racism and human rights commissions and movements throughout his life. 

Professor Asmal’s memoir will be released in August, and the official launch for the book will be in September at the Open Book Festival in Cape Town.

Full story

Filed under: Africa,Awareness,basic human right,better life for all,Breaking New Ground,civil society,community,Constitution,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,democracy,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,education,election,ethical leadership,ethics,Family,Fatherhood,forgiveness,Government,History,Hope,identity,Inequality,legislation,nationhood,Parliament,Policy,politics,power,race,reconciliation,rights,social transformation,South Africa,TRC,Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:39 pm
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