Mike Bruton talks about the role of science festivals in promoting innovation. This year SciFest is focusing on innovation with its theme, ‘Innovation 4.0’. Promoting innovation, and nurturing an ethos of creativity, is a core function of science festivals. Science festivals are events where the construction of meaning takes place and scientific and technological advances are understood in their appropriate contexts. Inventions and innovations play many roles in society. Some improve our efficiency, others soften our impact on the environment and promote sustainable living, yet others facilitate connections between people, things and institutions. Inventors and entrepreneurs are the backbone of…
Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors
Grocott's Mail Contributors
Grocott's Mail Contributors includes content submitted by members of the public, and public and private institutions and organisations - regular and occasional, expert and citizen, opinion and analysis.
Read More
By RUTH WOUDSTRA Very often, we spend our lives looking for an answer. When we find the answer (for example, “Ah, I now know how to live right,”) we close off possibilities by setting the solution in stone. Access Consciousness Bars (ACB) is a worldwide movement in which people are encouraged to find value in asking questions, rather than deciding on answers, as there is seldom one right answer to any given question. Janet Leslie, a local ACB practitioner, says that when you have a point of view about a situation, you often close the doors of potentialities. “If you…
By RUTH WOUDSTRA Very often, we spend our lives looking for an answer. When we find the answer (for example, “Ah, I now know how to live right,”) we close off possibilities by setting the solution in stone. Access Consciousness Bars (ACB) is a worldwide movement in which people are encouraged to find value in asking questions, rather than deciding on answers. Janet Leslie, a local ACB practitioner, says, “If you can stay in the present moment and have the willingness to see possibilities, there is a good chance of finding a creative solutions to a situation.” “In an Access…
Book Review: Healthy Outrage – A lucky life in community health and politics by Trudy Thomas Reviewer: Roger Walsh I was delighted to be asked to review the above book, as the author Trudy Thomas was the MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape when I first worked in the province as a physician at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane in 1996. I met her and spoke to her on a few occasions when she was involved in NGO work in East London during the mid-2000s. I was then the clinical manager for Primary Health Care in Buffalo City and…
Dr Billy Graham, that well-known evangelist who died recently, described John 3:16 as the heart of the Gospel. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Indeed, it is difficult for find another verse that says so much in just a few words: God’s all-embracing love; the gift of his Son; belief; being saved from death; the gift of eternal or everlasting life. There is a wealth of truth and wonder in this verse. The initiative of God in reaching out to our…
By CHRIS TOTOBELA The XI Attackers hosted Golden brothers from Alexandria in a tight SAB regional league clash that ended in a goalless draw on Saturday 3 March In the main game of the day Maru beat Sakhulutsha 3-2 in one of the local derbies. Unusually Sakhulutsha started the game with only 10 players; and while both teams started well, the Maru forwards were often caught offside. Sakhulutsha tried to control the game and pressed even more and were rewarded when Bongani Hashe opened the scoring with a tap-in from a well-played cross from the right wing. Maru slowly fought…
By CHRIS TOTOBELA Our very own professional boxer and champ Mzoxolo Ndwayana is hard at training preparing for his next fight on the 30th of March at the Orient Theatre in East London against Ntuthuko Memela from KZN. The two boxers will exchanging blows in an 8 rounds welterweight contest. Ndwayana left Grahamstown four months ago to join trainer Saun Smith in his gym in pursuit of his dream of becoming the SA champ. Ndwayana says it was never an easy decision to leave his home town but had no choice as he felt that there were no opportunities here.…
Pet owners are urged to ensure that their animals are vaccinated against rabies following a report that five cases of rabies in humans have been confirmed in South Africa since December 2017. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the cases were recorded in patients from Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and two patients in KwaZulu-Natal. Rabies vaccines are available through all the vets in Grahamstown. The Grahamstown SPCA and the State Vet have also been proactively vaccinating against rabies within the townships and outlying areas as part of our outreach work to help control this risk. For more information…
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s address at the South African Cultural Observatory’s third international conference at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth. This year marks the centenary birth of two of the finest South Africans, President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and Ma Nontsikelelo Sisulu. We also observed the 40th anniversary of the untimely passing of that eminent African Scholar and a leader of our people Professor Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. We shall draw inspiration from the work they did during their life time. The progressive world community shall join us in celebrating the lives of these giants of our liberation…