Development Talk

Education and Development work hand in hand

 

January 4, 2012

Thousands of matriculants across the country are waiting anxiously for their final exam results from last year to be released. This is a crucial step in the process of development for any young adult as the future of their education will be based on these very results.

An interesting article was posted in the Mail&Guardian recently highlighting the importance of knowledge and innovation. It spoke about the impact of education on the development of a country and compared South Africa’s statistics to those of the other Brics nations that include Brazil, Russia, India and China. It covers the strategy of a development document put together by the National Planning Committee. According to the strategy titled “the 2030 vision”, emphasis must be placed on innovation  and stems from a belief that the development of knowledge at tertiary level is key to the overall economic performance of a country.

This development is further emphasized by goals of doubling the number of scientists, quadrupling the number of doctoral graduates as well as increasing the number of doctoral staff at universities from the current 34% to 75%. The interesting point to note here is the length of time that this plan has been given to take place when compared to the success and progress of a country like Brazil who have put similar measures in place to spark technological advancement in their country rather than just continuing to lose its intellectual capital to first world nations.

With South Africa being the most junior member of the Brics collective, its clear that we will be needing to punch way above our weight if we plan on becoming a giant amongst the developing nations of the world. Brazil and China’s economic growth is proof that education is instrumental to development and that there is no reason why it should take a country with a much older and established range of quality tertiary institutions so long to obtain the targets they have set out.

Below is a link to the full article on the M&G website:

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-12-09-where-the-2030-vision-blurs

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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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Nelson Mandela Foundation to Launch “Critical Thinking Programme” for Youth

 

August 3, 2011

As reported in the Sunday Times, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has announced plans to launch a programme that address the shortage of guidance and support for young people. The Champion Within programme will address the pressing need for formal training in critical thinking for South Africa’s young People. Their recipe for success in built upon the approach that they will support youngsters who are already making strides towards a better life. The key is to harness the existing potential for success by identifying independent thinkers who, in spite of social pressures to buy into a culture of anti-intellectualism, pursue lofty academic and professional goals. The programme is estimated to cost 5.6 million ZAR and funding will be an issue according to Life College founder Pat Pillai. However, organisers stress that raising the funds is a hurdle that can and will be surmounted and should not be a factor that precludes students from participating.

For more information about how you can participate in or help support this programme please visit the Nelson Mandela Fund website.

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July 13, 2011

Masande Drama Group entetained at the celebration: Photo: Development Works

Catholic Welfare and Development (CDW) has re-launched its Bonne Esperance Refugee Shelter for Woman and Children. They recently celebrated this momentous occasion with a special post –Refugee Day gathering.

The celebration kicked off with CDW Director, Lungisa Huna giving a brief history of Bonne Esperance and linked the work they have done to the Cape Townbased development organization’s mission of unleashing the ability of individuals and supporting community independence.  Representatives Vanessa Coulson and Chae Li Diong from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) grabbed the audience’s attention as they spoke of the international lawful situation, relating to refugee and why the role of amenities like Bonne Esperance are vital to the local refugee response.

There was an especially memorable moment when a Home Affairs representative addressed the serious challenges asylum seekers face during the application process and how Bonne Esperance has assisted with addressing backlogs.  It was mentioned that Bonne Esperance made sure that “no stones are left unturned” when it comes to helping foreigners in need.  Survivors of conflict, trauma and dislocation from their home countries and former Bonne Esperance residents, also made appearances at the launch to testify to the Shelter staff’s commitment.

According to a press release for the event, through Bonne Esperance, vulnerable women are supported and the cycle of violence is breached and young people are guided towards heartwarming lives. The Shelter also encourages local integration that includes getting South Africans to understand reasons behind refugee migration intoSouth Africaby facilitating educational training in response to the racism, xenophobic attacks that surfaced in May 2008. To date Bonne Esperance has assisted approximately 20 000 people; opened its doors to the defenseless and helped them transition into a reconstruction and healing phase ; as well as assisted over 60 families with rehabilitation and reintegration  into communities around Cape Town.

 

To learn more about the Bonne Esperance Shelter please visit their website by clicking here.

 

 

 

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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.

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