Monthly Archives: February 2012
Advertising and development on “Challenging Change”
29 February 2012
Should companies market their corporate social investment efforts? How often does this turn into a product or brand image being pushed on the back of communities and individuals who have fallen by the wayside of life?
Should we blame this situation on bad advice given them by advertising agencies sometimes staffed by an out-of-touch creative middle class?
This week, we chat to Dale Hefer, Managing Director of Chillibush Communications, about whether NGOs should consider the ad industry to be a development partner, or whether they are helping their clients exploit suffering for perceived image and commercial gain.
Listen to the podcast by clicking the ‘play’ icon below:
All episodes of Challenging Change are archived in our audio gallery. Listen to Challenging Change on Mondays at 18:30 on Radio Today at 1485 AM or on DSTV audio channel 169, repeated on Thursdays at 19:20.
What kind of South Africa do you want to live in?
28 February 2012
In November last year, the National Planning Commission (NPC) published a 444-page National Development Plan, which outlines how they believe our country can have a brighter, more sustainable future by 2030.
Now, the NPC is encouraging ordinary South African citizens to familiarise themselves with the document and contribute their ideas and suggestions, cleverly using a series of animated videos to explain how their efforts will directly impact people’s lives.
Calling the Young, Wise and Undiscovered
22 February 2012
This March, Johannesburg joins 14 cities on 6 continents in hosting TED 2013 Worldwide Auditions, a public search to uncover new talents, voices and ideas the world needs to hear, themed “The Young, The Wise, The Undiscovered”.
The online application process for the Johannesburg auditions runs for 20 days from Friday, 24 February to Thursday 15 March 2012. Applicants are encouraged to include a 1-minute video of themselves, and 30 of the best applicants will be invited to each audition.
Financial literacy on “Challenging Change”
21 February 2012
Many South Africans lack even the most basic banking knowledge which means that they are excluded from certain opportunities that could be a means out of poverty.
This week, we chat to Linda McClune, managing director of Junior Achievement SA, about why financial literacy should never be excluded when we teach young South Africans.
Listen to the podcast by clicking the ‘play’ icon below:
All episodes of Challenging Change are archived in our audio gallery. Listen to Challenging Change on Mondays at 18:30 on Radio Today at 1485 AM or on DSTV audio channel 169, repeated on Thursdays at 19:20.
WHO clarifies guidance on contraception and HIV
20 February 2012
Four months after a study suggested women on hormonal contraception may be at an increased HIV risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reaffirmed the birth control method’s safety, but strongly recommends that women on progesterone-only injections, like Depo-Provera, also use condoms to prevent HIV infection.
Migrants face unlawful arrests and hasty deportations
17 February 2012
Four months ago, Clemence Uzizo, 21, a welder living in Soweto, made the mistake of venturing out to a local shop without his asylum-seeker permit. Neither the police who arrested him, nor the immigration officials who detained him, verified Uzizo’s legal status before deporting him to Zimbabwe, the country of his birth.
“My permit was at home but I didn’t have a cell phone to call to ask someone to bring it. Since my father brought me [to South Africa] in 1992 I’ve lived here, so I don’t know anyone in Zimbabwe.”
Malnutrition undermines economic growth
15 February 2012
Save The Children has just released the results of its 2011 survey of developing countries, A Life Free from Hunger, which notes that 2012 is a vital year.
By mid-2013 it will already be too late to provide protection from stunting for the last generation of children who will reach their second birthday – a key nutrition milestone – by the deadline set by the UN’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals.
Dangerous assumptions about admitting failure
14 February 2012
Engineers Without Borders Canada's fourth annual Failure Report. PR exercise or innovative internal learning document?
In the last six months, debate surrounding admitting failure in development work has escalated, swinging periodically between two “absolutelys” – yes and no. Tshikululu’s senior communications specialist, Gina de Villiers, discovers that the concept itself could be doomed to failure.
No one is arguing that increased transparency and knowledge about the realities of working in development would be a bad thing. In fact, in this debate, that’s probably all that everyone agrees upon.
The organisations admitting failure very publicly, and creating platforms on which others can do the same (see www.admittingfailure.com, the website launched by Engineers Without Borders Canada), assert that better clarity and communication is exactly what lies at the heart of this movement.
Those calling the movement a fad and the phrase a “meaningless buzzword” have pointed out that a noble cause could become one that is dangerous to development’s millions of beneficiaries, should funding be threatened.
Dignity in death on “Challenging Change”
Too often, social investors shy away from the work of treating the dying. It’s not sexy, but South Africa’s health challenges (including HIV/Aids and TB) means that we need the support of organisations like hospice.
This week, we chat to Gail Heasley, General Manager of Wide Horizon Hospice, about why this is true.
Listen to the podcast by clicking the ‘play’ icon below:
All episodes of Challenging Change are archived in our audio gallery. Listen to Challenging Change on Mondays at 18:30 on Radio Today at 1485 AM or on DSTV audio channel 169, repeated on Thursdays at 19:20.
South Africa to invest R1 billion in ARV plant
13 February 2012
The state is to invest R1 billion in the construction of a pharmaceuticals plant which is aiming to produce antiretroviral (ARV) ingredients by 2016.
Currently the state purchases ARVs from one of four companies that produce the life-saving drugs in South Africa. However, these companies must import the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from overseas, which raises costs.
