Posted on 26 July 2010 by Betsie
The Department of Science and Technology will this week host a week-long expo to raise public awareness and understanding of the Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS).
The IKS Expo, which kicks off on Monday at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC), will be opened by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor.
Through the IKS Expo, the department hopes to raise public awareness and understanding of IKS in South Africa. Indigenous knowledge is described as facts about medicinal plants, indigenous games, indigenous food crops and musical instruments to mention but a few.
Continue Reading
Posted on 21 July 2010 by Ulwazi Web Editor
It’s that time of year again when film enthusiasts can satisfy their motion picture mania. The 31st Durban International Film Festival runs from the 22 July to 1 August promising eleven days of cinematic indulgence.
In the festival’s wide selection of films from around the world is a selection of thrilling, edgy, thought-provoking and downright funny films from India and the Indian diaspora.
Zooming in on political accountability, Peepli Live explores the realities of poverty-stricken farmers whose only way out is committing suicide so that their families may receive government compensation. This surprisingly hilarious film was produced by the legendary Indian actor Aamir Khan.
Continue Reading
Posted on 06 July 2010 by Betsie
“Libraries, especially digital libraries, are truly at the heart of knowledge societies; they enable people to access, share and apply knowledge. UNESCO is committed to further expand universal participation in the World Digital Library (WDL) which reflects the values and priorities of our Organization” said UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Communication and Information at the opening of the first official meeting of the WDL partners held in Washington, DC on June 22-23.
Under the same grant, which was awarded in July 2009, the World Digital Library worked with the National Library of Uganda (NLU) to establish a Digital Conversion Center at the NLU in Kampala. This center, the first of its kind in Uganda and one of very few in sub-Saharan Africa, is enabling the National Library to digitize documents relating to the history and culture of Uganda for inclusion on its own website and on the WDL. The items digitized are from the NLU and other cooperating institutions in Uganda. Future activities planned under the grant include efforts to build capacity at libraries in South Africa so they, too can contribute collections to the WDL.
The meeting elected a 7-member Executive Council, including UNESCO and the Library of Congress in their capacity as ex-officio members. In connection with this meeting the Carnegie Corporation of New York supported a conference of directors and technical staff from libraries, archives, and museums in 11 countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – to identify important documents and collections from these countries that should be added to the WDL.
Continue Reading
Posted on 05 July 2010 by Betsie
Daring, innovative and controversial films and filmmakers from around the world will take the spotlight at the 31 st Durban International Film Festival which takes place from 22 July to 1 August. The festival programmers have scoured the globe for films that excite, thrill, raise awareness and provoke. These films will be presented in over 200 screenings at venues across Durban and in surrounding communities. Alongside the screenings of films, the festival offers an extensive workshop and seminar programme, as well as training and industry events. The festival is particularly pleased that, in a difficult funding climate, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) has come aboard as a principal funder.
The festival will open with the world premiere of Khalo Matabane’s State Of Violence, a powerful tale of revenge, history and memory. The closing film is Josh Appignanesi’s hilarious comedy, The Infidel, about a British Muslim who discovers that he was born Jewish. Between these two outstanding films, film-lovers will find daring films from new talents, superb new works by established masters, award-winners from around the world, and an unprecedented number of world premieres of new South African films. Including State Of Violence, DIFF will present 9 World Premieres of South African feature films, as well as the African Premiere of Life, Above All, the recent Cannes hit directed by Oliver Schmitz (Mapantsula, Hijack Stories). South African feature films making their debut at the festival are Jahmil XT Qubekas’ stylish and original A Small Town Called Descent, starring Vusi Kunene and Hlubi Mboya, Jann Turner’s much-anticipated follow-up to White Wedding, Paradise Stop which features Rapulana Seiphemo and Kenneth Nkosi, the hilarious Attack Of The Indian Werewolf by Masood Boomgard, Jyoti Mistry’s striking experimental film The Bull On The Roof (Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit), Regardt van den Bergh’s charming The Incredible Adventures Of Hanna Hoekom (Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom), the gangland action film Jozi Kings by Jonathan Boynton-Lee and Jamie Ramsay, the inspirational Machansa by Muntu Zwane, and the quirky romantic comedy Visa/Vie by Elan Gamaker.
Continue Reading
Posted on 30 June 2010 by Ulwazi Web Editor
The Municipality is calling for the public to nominate people in their communities to stand in for the Living Legends awards. Nominees should be people who were born within the Municipal area and who have excelled in the following categories: music, sports, arts and drama, politics and social responsibility. This will be the third Living Legends Awards to be held in September.
Director of the Local History Museum, Mlungisi Ngubane, said the Municipality intends to award or recognise people who have done exceptionally well in their respective fields. These should be individuals whom communities feel have made valuable contributions to society and deserve to be respected and honoured, he said.
Continue Reading
