The below speech was given by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt yesterday at the BBC Radio Theatre in central London as part of BBC News World on the Move, a day of special coverage examining how the movement of people is changing the world we live in (more information here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/all-day-today). It was broadcast live on BBC News Channel, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and BBC World News.

You can also see a clip here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36303688

If using please credit BBC News. Continue reading →

Bob James, José James, Houston Person, Kendrick Scott and Kahil El’Zabar join SA luminaries Jonathan Butler and Sibongile Khumalo in three days of not-to-be missed

performances and collaborations

Standard Bank Joy of Jazz – now in its19^thyear –  reinforces its status as South Africa’s foremost jazz festival, and one of the best on the African continent, thanks to a stellar line-up of musicians from around the globe.

American jazz giant Gerald Albright and South Africa’s Jonathan Butler join forces at the opening night of Standard Bank Joy of Jazz and kick-start  South Africa’s premier jazz festival which runs at the Sandton Convention Centre for three days from September 15 to 17.

Renowned American musician Bob James will join the galaxy of stars at the event. James is  two-time Grammy Award-winning smooth jazz keyboardist, arranger and record producer. He is recognised as one of the original founders of smooth jazz, is renowned for the dcomplexity of his arrangements and instrumentals. Continue reading →

From 29 April – 2 May, 5FM were in Polokwane for their first annual Small Town Live Loud takeover weekend. The station, along with the entire complement of DJs, was in the city for four days of non-stop partying. The weekend offered up a party every night and live broadcasts as well as a CSi initiative at the Samaritan Children’s Home.

The weekend kicked off with an Instawalk on Friday, 29 April, with media and Instagrammers from Polokwane, where the station showed off the city on their social media platforms. Later that evening the station hosted the Live Loud Club Night party at Jembe Tavern at Meropa Casino. On Saturday, 30 April, the station hosted a DJ seminar in partnership with Bridges for Music with DJ Fresh, Euphonik, Rob Forbes, Roger Goode and Fix speaking to youngsters about the various aspects of DJ-ing as a career. Continue reading →

Johannesburg, 13 May 2016: MTV (DStv channel 130) is messing with everyday tech devices – with hilarious results – in its new international prank show Bugging Out. Watch as smart phones, apps, fitness trackers, car GPS systems, ATMs and more turn on their unsuspecting users in this hidden camera show for the digital generation.
Bugging Out is hosted by YouTube personality and prankster Rob Anderson, who will be joined by entertainment presenter and stand-up comedian Traci Stumpf, MTV’s BuggingOut airs on MTV every Wednesday night at 22:00 CAT.

Commented Monde Twala, VP, BET, Youth & Music, VIMN Africa, “We know MTV viewers are going to big fans of“Bugging Out” – our viewers love to laugh, and clip shows like Ridiculousness and prank shows like #YouGotGot are regularly the highest rated shows on the channel. The latest season of Ridiculousness had over 90,000 viewers tuning in per episode. Over 96,000 viewers tuned in per episode during Season 1 of #YouGotGot, while the premiere episode for Season 2 on Monday 9 May was watched by over 179,000 viewers.” Continue reading →

Stokvel groups around the country were invited to enter the 2016 Stokvel Cooking Challenge, sponsored by White Star Super Maize Meal and Royco® in partnership with Move! Magazine, to show off their creative culinary skills and win a share of the R50 000 cash prize. Stokvels responded overwhelmingly to the call, submitting recipes, their photographs and motivation as to why they should be considered to take part in the cook-off. Now, the top three in four regions have been selected to take part in the semi-final round.

On Saturday, 14 May the Eastern Cape semi-finals will kick-off at the Powertrade Cash & Carry, Taxi City based in East London, The Golden Girls, Siyancendana and S’nako Stokvel will start the cooking challenge at 11:30am where they will have to showcase their culinary skills to the star judges – singer, actress and White Star celebrity chef, Lucia Mthiyane, and MasterChef SA 2014 runner-up, Siphokazi Mdlankomo. Continue reading →

LIVING in a country where finding employment or a decent paying job is almost impossible, we see many female entrepreneurs emerging every year to help grow themselves and be financially stable. The public sector is now encouraging young black women to become entrepreneurs; this is something they have successfully fought for many years.

It is still a sad case that this has not made things easier. Many are still struggling to become successful. It’s either they just don’t have enough knowledge, don’t know the right people in the industry, or have no funding. In turn it takes them many years to pick up business, some even give up and return to their 9 – 5 jobs. However, initiatives such as the NYDA have been put in place to ensure that small businesses have the right equipment to grow. It is up to the aspiring entrepreneurs to research how to build a business, where to find help, and more about the industry they would like to go into. There is now an amazing growth in the communications industry with Public Relations companies mostly owned by women. Continue reading →

Summer storms brewing over the Highveld, the mists of Victoria Falls, Cape Town’s unmistakeable Table Mountain from 500 km away, and the world’s oldest meteor scar.

These are just a few of the African scenes named as favourites by British Airways pilots in the “Ask The Pilot” section of the airline’s inflight magazine, Highlife SA, which publishes its 50^thedition  next month. The magazine is complimentary to passengers on British Airways (operated by Comair) and combines local and international content. It’s an eclectic mix that’s proved popular with travellers and includes a monthly column by veteran foreign correspondent and BBC World Affairs Editor, John Simpson. Continue reading →

Two teams from Lagos have today been selected to pilot a unique digital idea they have developed to help the BBC reach young African audiences. The teams: Codulab, a small company based in Lagos, and a collaborative team of Nigerian innovators (Team Timerail), have been chosen for the next stage of the digital innovation programme from BBC Connected Studio and the BBC World Service.

In January this year, a briefing session for 100 people within the tech community of Lagos was held in partnership with the Co-Creation Hub and was streamed live online. The brief for teams was to reach the growing mobile audiences in Nigeria with an innovative digital idea and special workshops with digital experts were held to further help potential entrants. Submitted ideas were then scored and shortlisted by a judging panel, these shortlisted teams were asked to submit a further detailed plan and undergo a Q&A session with BBC experts. Following this period, the judges then selected two of the four shortlisted ideas to be taken forward and built into pilots throughout the year. Continue reading →

Celebrating South African culture from the townships to the backyards of suburbia has been at the heart of ChesaNyama – South Africa’s best loved and fastest growing food franchise.

A star studded red carpet affair, the launch of ChesaNyama’s first Grill House concept store in Braamfontein, Johannesburg today on the 12th May was attended by the country’s A-listers including celebrities, Soccer Star Daniel Cardoso, and YFM Melo Maoka, who were clearly wowed by the by the urban vibe. The event marks the brand’s entry into the casual dining restaurant space.

Stelio Nathanael, founder and CEO of ChesaNyama, says, “The quintessential braai or shisa is the common meeting point for South African’s of all walks of life and is at the heart of celebrations from weddings to funerals, births, birthdays and national holidays. I created ChesaNyama to fill an unmet niche for fast food that delivers the national braai flavour in a convenient take-away for enjoyment any day of the week.” Continue reading →

Venue: Joubert-Tradauw Wine Farm, Barrydale, Route 62.

Albert Frost, Majozi, Nomadic Orchestra, Manouche, Slow Jack, Hatchetman, DJ Dirtroad.
Every year the Joubert-Tradauw Wine Cellar open their farm in true Karoo hospitality style and welcome visitors from all over to join them for a fun-filled weekend of good live music, food and wine.  The organizers, Red Hot Events, bring you an array of popular SA musicians throughout the weekend, including the blues rock phenomenon Albert Frost; the enigmatic Majozi who`s hit single “The River” played on major radio stations including 5fm and KFM and SA`s favorite instrumental dance band Nomadic Orchestra. Add to that the stylish gypsy jazz sounds of Manouche, the raw melodic rock of the much talked about newcomers Slow Jack andHatchetman, three men who wrap their remarkable blend of three-part harmony around an intoxicating brew of original songs. Wrap it all up with the fabulous DJ Dirtroad`s “50’s,60’s,70’s,80’s, and some 90’s beats” – and the weekend promises to be the best party the Klein Karoo has ever seen. Continue reading →