Saturday, June 29, 2013

Opportunity of a Lifetime for Young African Leaders


Opportunity of a Lifetime for Young African Leaders

U.S.A. President Barack Obama announced at a Town Hall Meeting in Soweto, South Africa Today details
of the Young African Leaders Initiative.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Young People from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Successful candidates will get to interact with President Obama.  They will have training
in leadership and mentoring.  They will also meet with US Government leaders.

You have to be between 25 - 35 years of age, speak and write english well and be from
Sub-Saharan Africa.

For all the details visit their website

http://youngafricanleaders.state.gov/washington-fellows/

(Source - US Embassy)


McDonald's Street Rhythm winners announced

DJ Jonathan B.jpg

DJ Jonathan B

Dance Crew_Primitive.jpg

Dance Crew Primitive


McDonald’s Street Rhythm Winners Crowned

Johannesburg, 28 June 2013: Zone 6 in Diepkloof, Soweto was pumping this evening when the winners of the McDonald’s Street Rhythm competition were announced.  DJ Jonathan B and Primitive dance crew both from Cape Town battled it out in an exciting finale against three other candidates in each genre to finally be crowned McDonald’s Street Rhythm champions on the night.

McDonald’s Street Rhythm has travelled the country over the past three months to seek out, discover and showcase local talent in the areas of music (DJ mixing) and dance.  After several grueling rounds, eight finalists (four DJ’s and four dance crews) were selected to compete at the finale.

According to the winners the McDonald’s  Street Rhythm competition has already opened up doors for them by offering them additional exposure and the opportunity to perform at more gigs.  They have also had the chance to meet and mingle with other DJ’s and artists, and spend time with their idols getting firsthand knowledge of what it really takes to succeed.

DJ Jonathan B - “People experience music in different ways I use DJ’ing to bring the finer details of the music to the people.”
Jonathan has been DJ’ing for six years, which offers him the opportunity to really enjoy his passion for music, allows him to showcase new songs and experiment with mixing. He aspires to names like Leo Large, Ryan the DJ and international talent such as Shift and is looking forward to getting more exposure and recognition so that he can take his love for music to an even wider audience.
To see why he made it to the finals - click on the attached link to see him in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SKFseLhu1c

Primitive (dance crew) - “Dancing provides us with a way to tell a story about our experiences and feelings so that other people can feel what we feel.The passion we have as a team is indescribable as we live to dance it also helps us to build confidence and face our fears
Primitive consists of five female members who chose dancing as a means of expression as they feel there is a freedom in dancing; they aren't guided by rules but rather by the discipline of Hip-hop. Dance allows them to show others who they really are, as their individuality is shown in every piece. Going forward the crew would like to become more established and gain recognition across SA as a dance crew and build a bigger name for themselves via exposure to a wider market . They want to create and inspire by becoming ambassadors for the country, of the hip hop culture and the youth. They would also like to work towards giving back to the community by teaching workshops, especially in under privileged areas.
To see why they made it to the finals - click on the attached link to see them in action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw4antqO5bg

McDonald’s Street Rhythm, a national competition that encourages individuals and groups to showcase their talent for DJ mixing or dance, is an evolution of the previous McDonald’s ‘Top Jock’ campaign and continues to recognize, build-on and harness South African's talent in the genre of music and dance.

The McDonald’s Street Rhythm concept was born out of the understanding that music and dance are the universal languages of South Africa’s youth as it gives them a voice and an opportunity for expression. Creatively expressing themselves allows the youth to move beyond limitations and dream big. It offers them the platform to make a difference in their lives and harnesses the power of a generation, encouraging a move for growth and change in their own lives and that of society.

The ‘Street Rhythm’ campaign brought together established, well known local DJ’s such as; Euphonik, DJ Shimza, Major League, DJ Sphectacula, DJ Naves, DJ Warras and DJ Franky.  McDonald’s partnered with these ambassadors, who had given of their own time to work with finalists, giving entrants an opportunity to showcase their talent with the help of high profile personalities.

Prizes for the winners, which will help them further their careers, included R50 000 (inclusive of DJ equipment and management contract or cash divided evenly between dance crew members), Shure SHR550DJ Headset valued at R2 000 (for DJ Jonathan B), professional portfolio photo shoot by Christiaan Hattingh, Butan Street Wear and Nike clothing hampers, Nokia Lumia valued at R8 500 and a exclusive full page interview with ISpeakHipHop Magazine.

The McDonald’s Street Rhythm 2014 competition will build on the success of the 2013 campaign and offer even more opportunities and entertainment. Until those details are revealed keep an eye on the current winners who are destined to make waves in the industry.

For more information visit http://www.streetrhythm.co.za or follow McDonald’s Street Rhythm on Facebook or Twitter.

#streetrhythm

(Source - McDonald's)


Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

News from Blackberry and Theatre News


Info for You from Blackberry


BlackBerry Secures iOS and Android in the Enterprise Without Sacrificing the User Experience

Secure Work Space separates work and personal apps and data on iOS and Android devices

Waterloo, ON – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) today announced the availability of a new security solution that separates work and personal apps and data on iOS® and Android devices. Secure Work Space for iOS and Android is a new option with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (version 10.1.1) that offers customers with a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy, a solution with the best combination of security, user experience and total cost of ownership. BlackBerry designed Secure Work Space to meet the management, security and cost needs of the CIO, and the user experience and functionality that employees demand.

Since launching in January 2013, 18,000 BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 servers have been installed by customers around the world and Secure Work Space for iOS and Android has been trialed globally with BlackBerry customers since the launch, including Netherlands-based e-office mobile b.v. For the past 22 years e-office has been creating virtual working environments for their clients, and to ensure they are always staying current on their clients’ mobility needs, e-office took part in BlackBerry’s early adopter program for Secure Work Space.

“Secure Work Space builds on BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, and we found that BlackBerry’s secure infrastructure offered our company the best containerization solution to help mobilize our multi-platform environment, while maintaining a great user experience,” said Thierry Lammers, Director and co-founder, e-office mobile. “We’re looking forward to deploying this solution across our organization and to our customers in the coming months and bringing the separation of work and personal data to life on iOS and Android devices.”

According to Forrester Research, Inc., in 2016, 350 million employees will use smartphones and 200 million will bring their own devices to the workplace(1)Secure Work Space offers an ideal BYOD mobile security solution, providing organizations the flexibility to embrace BYOD without sacrificing security. On a personal iOS or Android device, users with Secure Work Space get integrated email (with attachment viewing), calendar and contacts for productivity, as well as secure browser access to intranets and document editing capabilities with BlackBerry’s Documents To Go™. With corporate data separated and controlled within the Secure Work Space container, these standard apps can be deployed with confidence to any user, together with other apps chosen by the company.

BlackBerry is working closely with app partners such as Box to power business collaboration in the cloud.

“Content sits at the center of every successful business and Box ensures that today’s mobile enterprise can securely access their information from any device, in any location and at any time,” said Whitney Bouck, Senior Vice President & GM, Enterprise at Box. “Box and BlackBerry are powering enterprise mobility for today’s knowledge workers.”

BlackBerry provides security at the device, server and network level. Secure Work Space leverages the same trusted behind-the-firewall connection available for BlackBerry smartphones and extends BlackBerry security capabilities for data-at-rest and data-in-transit to iOS and Android devices. The Secure Work Space container is managed through BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, making it easy and convenient to manage all devices from its single console.

“Mobility is fundamentally transforming how we live and work. As our dependency on mobile solutions grows, and as a greater variety of mobile devices enter the workplace, the need for solutions to manage and secure these devices has never been greater," said David J. Smith, EVP, Enterprise Mobile Computing at BlackBerry. "In today’s ‘bring your own device world’, Secure Work Space is a differentiated solution that brings key elements of the BlackBerry security platform and mobile device management to iOS and Android devices."  

The Secure Work Space solution also enables customers to save considerable effort, administration and expense as they no longer need to configure and manage expensive VPN infrastructures to provide mobile device access to data and apps that reside behind their corporate firewalls. With end-to-end enterprise mobility management, easy deployment, and BlackBerry’s global technical support, BlackBerry continues to offer innovative, secure and reliable solutions to enterprises and governments around the world.

Availability
The BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 server software is free to download. Annual client access licenses (CALs) for Secure Work Space are $99 (MSRP) per year per device. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 is also available as a sixty (60) day free trial bundle that includes 50 EMM Corporate CALs (providing device management for BlackBerry 10, iOS, and Android devices) and 50 Secure Work Space CALs. The free trial can be downloaded here.

For more information on BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 visit www.bes10.com.  

About BlackBerry
A global leader in wireless innovation, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. BlackBerry is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: BBRY) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BB). For more information, visitwww.blackberry.com.

(1)     Forrester Research, Inc., “Mobile Is The New Face Of Engagement”, February 23, 2012


(Source - Blackberry) 



Theatre News



Baxter Theatre invites you to a matinee show of Mies Julie.
Date: 26 June 2013 (Only!)
Time: 2pm
Venue: Baxter Golden Arrow studio
Entrance: Free

To book a seat(s) please send your full name to nono@pansa.org.za or phone 021 448 3513 before 17h30 today.


(Source - Pansa) 


Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday, June 20, 2013

African Gothic to premiere at Durban International Film Festival 2013



African Gothic – A new film based on Reza de Wet’s Masterpiece, Diepe Grond, is to premiere at the Durban International Film Festival 2013.




This is a grimy, brooding drama set in a decaying farmhouse in the desolate heart of the Free State.  It is about a dangerous and passionate relationship between deeply troubled siblings, their benign domestic worker and a hapless lawyer who pays them a visit. 
The production features two South African actors Damon Shalit who plays the menacing Frikkie and Chella Ferrow who plays his complex, child-woman sister.
Shalit also wrote the screenplay and produced the film.  The film is directed by Gabriel Bologna.
They are supported by established British actor Jonny Coyne who plays Mr Grove. He was most recently seen in Hangover 3.  The housekeeper is played by US singer and actress Connie Jackson.



Look out for screenings at the following cinema’s
20 July 12:00 Musgrave B
24 July 15:30 Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre
25 July 18:00 Suncoast C

For more info on the movie go to www.africangothic.com  
(Source – DIFF) 
Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

How to successfully manage the BYOD Trend via @alexza of @BlackBerry_ZA


Some tips here via Alexandra Zagury of Blackberry



The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is transforming the IT industry and how businesses tackle the challenges of personal mobile devices brought to work by employees.  IT leaders are faced with risks and rewards as BYOD has become the rule rather than the exception.  To minimise risk, they need to balance the demands of business customers with the security of corporate data, whilst providing a consistent experience for productivity.

Alexandra Zagury, MD for South and Southern Africa at BlackBerry® says that some companies see BYOD as a major cost-saving opportunity, while some worry that the obstacles of BYOD is increased information security risk. However the CIO or IT manager feels about BYOD, it is essential for any enterprise to develop a strategy for the inclusion of mobile devices in the business.  This is especially true as the younger connected generation graduate into today’s workforce.

Here are three ways that BlackBerry is helping customers to successful manage the BYOD trend:

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10
BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 has evolved in a direct response to the needs of businesses around the world. “We’ve met with CIO’s and IT administrators and are heavily involved in the mobile landscape for business in a wide range of applications,” says Alexandra. “We have built our solution based on their needs and feedback.”

BlackBerry has 50 enterprise customers fully up and running with BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 in South Africa. Based on current proof of concepts (POCs) and trials in process, it will have more than 150 customers on BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 by mid-year. These include Alexander Forbes, Bowman Gilfillan, Dimension Data, Edcon, Netcare, Tiger Brands, First National Bank, Investec, ABSA, Bowman Gilfillan, AEL, PWC, Aveng Grinaker, Edcon, and Omnia.

In an increasingly complex mobile world, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 provides an integrated platform for large businesses to securely manage mobile devices. It provides a platform for IT managers to manage, provision, and activate devices, administer controls, push mandatory applications, and more, all from a single web-based console.

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 brings together not only BlackBerry® smartphones and tablets, but other device platforms that employees are bringing into the workplace. In particular, network administrators can add and import iOS® and Android™ users, create group memberships, view user and device information, manage applications, and much more.

With the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 version 10.1 update, BlackBerry has added a wealth of new features such as “regulated-level” IT policy controls and settings for government agencies and customers in regulated industries who require an advanced level of security, control and logging of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. It also allows customers to support BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS smartphones from a single server.

With 10.1, BlackBerry has  also unveiled BlackBerry Enterprise Instant Messaging (Enterprise IM) 3.0, a free update of the company’s enterprise instant messaging solution, enabling customers with BlackBerry 10 smartphones to securely communicate over Microsoft® Lync®, Microsoft® Office Communication Server or IBM® Lotus® Sametime.

Provide business end users with seamless separation of work and personal data
BYOD has resulted in a growing need to manage both work and personal profiles on the same mobile device. With BYOD, some businesses have enabled employees to use personal devices for work purposes.

Alexandra adds: “This trend increases the challenges of protecting corporate data, which can be compromised due to malware attacks, personal use applications, and other susceptibilities. BlackBerry 10 has the capability to help address this.”

BlackBerry 10 smartphones managed by BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 have been tightly integrated with BlackBerry® Balance™ technology, which is designed to separate corporate and personal data within the operating system. On a corporate level, businesses can now draw a defined line between work and personal perimeters, thus separating the respective applications, connections, and data. BlackBerry Balance provides end users with a seamless, gesture-based transition between their work and personal data.

Security capabilities across mobile platforms
In addition to the existing enterprise mobility management capabilities of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, BlackBerry is expanding its security capabilities withSecure Work Space for iOS and Android devices.

Alexandra concludes: “This offering extends BlackBerry security to third party devices, essentially creating a separate and secure work space to hold corporate apps, work email, calendar, contacts, and more, without the need for a third party MDM provider, a costly VPN infrastructure, or multiple vendors.”

(Source - Blackberry) 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Art News, Theatre News, Auditions, Music News, Film News and read about the Blackberry apps lab


News Around SA

Please click here to see more about Infecting The City

The Africa Centre is calling for proposals for its Infecting The City Public Arts Festival that will be held from the 11th – 15th March 2014*.  

Infecting The City is a public arts festival that happens on the streets and various spaces of Cape Town, South Africa. The Festival provides an unusual opportunity for art, music, dance and performance to leave the confines of theatres and galleries and engage with or disrupt the daily activity on the streets and communal places of Cape Town’s Central Business District (CBD). The Festival's programme challenges audiences, breaches boundaries, shifts perspectives and helps to make sense of the public spaces we occupy.

This call is looking for works from two categories: New Works and Restaged Works. Visual and performing artists and practitioners from other disciplines are invited to submit. The work can be a full ensemble piece, an intervention, a live performance, a visual art piece, an installation, a video, a happening, via social media, totally interactive or some other form newly imagined. All works should translate to or work within a public environment, and actively engage intentional and incidental audiences.  For more details about the call, time frames and process go to the webpage.

The deadline for this submission is the 15th August 2013 at 17h00. The short list will be released in mid-September 2013. Please watch the Facebook page for announcements.

(Source - Africa Centre) 



















BlackBerry today announced the opening of its third BlackBerry apps lab in South Africa, to be based at the JoziHub mobile and ICT co-creation hub in Milpark, Johannesburg.
                                                                                  
As a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship for aspiring students and developers, JoziHub is an ideal site for the new BlackBerry apps lab. The opening of the new lab follows the opening of the BlackBerry apps labs in Cape Town at the Bandwidth Barn in November 2012 and at the University of Pretoria (UP) in May 2012, which are now well established and successful institutions.

(Source - BlackBerry) 


Auditions & Art & Theatre News 

Cape Town Opera Chorus Auditions
Cape Town Opera will be holding auditions for ad hoc chorus singers for participation in their staged productions, concerts and international tours.

All experienced chorus singers are invited to audition on Friday 14 June and Saturday 15 June 2013 at the Artscape Theatre Centre, Foreshore, Cape Town. Candidates will be required to prepare 2 Operatic Arias. A piano accompanist will be provided.

Please note: no audition will be granted without an appointment. Book by 10 June 2013. To book an audition slot, contact Philisa Sibeko on PhilisaS@capetownopera.co.za and 021 410 9850, or Marvin Kernelle on MarvinK@capetownopera.co.za and 021 410 9999.

Cape Town Opera won the Opera Chorus of the Year award at the first international Opera Awards held in London in April this year.  Now you have a chance to join this very dynamic group of choral singers
.


The programme is designed to support musicians and music professionals with an established practice in South Africa, but who have carried out little or no work internationally.

The opening date for applications in the second round is 1st July 2013. The deadline for the submission of applications for the second round is 31st July 2013.

Please submit your Application Form including the attachments to Naseema Yusuf (naseema.yusuf@samro.org.za) SAMRO Foundation, 20 De Korte Street, 4th Floor, 2017, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.


kykNET Silwerskerm Filmfees
Do you have an existing short film, feature film or documentary?
kykNET Silwerskerm Fees has an open category this year, where you can enter your existing short film, feature film or documentary.
This will give your film the platform it needs to be seen by industry specialists.
Everyone who is anyone in the film industry will be at this film festival.
Entries close on the 30th June 2013.
Come and enjoy your own film premier at the festival in August.
See link below on how to enter and for additional information:


(Source - Pansa) 



Urgent Audition for Female Actress

PACOFS Bloemfontein is looking for a white, female actress with an Afrikaans accent, aged 50 - 60 to take over a role (the butcher's wife) in the production of "Madonna of Excelsior". An intensive three day rehearsal period starts on Monday the 10th June in Bloemfontein. The show has been performed previously, and the rehearsals are to settle the new performer into the role.
The tour starts on 13 June and includes shows in Bloem, Pretoria (State Theatre) and on the main programme of NAF in Grahamstown. The tour ends on the 28th of June.

The show is directed by Dutch director Roel Twijnstra and South African director Jerry Pooe.

More info, pictures and registration can be found on www.roeltwijnstra.nl/madonna-of-excelcior/
Transport and accommodation are paid for, and a fee is offered for the period from 10 th till the 28th of june.

Interested actresses are asked to email a photograph, short motivation letter and a CV to rtwijnstra@gmail.com by the end of today, THURSDAY.
Applicants will be contacted by Friday 7th of June.

Roel Twijnstra & Jerry Pooe
www.roeltwijnstra.nl
www.twistprojects.co.za

00 27 (0)79 2619986
rtwijnstra@gmail.com

 
(Source - Pansa) 






Enhanced by Zemanta

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

News from AFDA, Auditions for MC's, Theatre News and News for Writer's


News from AFDA

AFDA  (The South African school of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) is hosts an Experimental Film,TV and Music Festival around the country
AFDA (The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) will host Experimental Film, TV and Music Festivals at their three campuses throughout South Africa over the June long weekend: Durban on Friday, June 14 and Johannesburg and Cape Town on Friday and Saturday, June 14 and 15.
The festival is an annual event that focuses on the third year students Experimental Module that they do in the first semester of the year. With Durban campus being so young, it will be screening their current first years’ short films made this semester and include the top third year experimental short films from the Johannesburg and Cape Town campuses. A selection of the best theatre and musical pieces from their current students will also be performed.

‘This mini festival concept is great for students as they get an opportunity to gauge audience reaction to their work.” says Garth Holmes, Chairman of AFDA. “From here they are able to refine their work further as they head for the final six months of their degrees.”

In Durban there will be food and beverages on sale and music in the outdoor entertainment area. Once off entry is R20 per person, which allows one to attend any of the screenings and theatre productions in the programme.  Tickets for Johannesburg are R15 per movie and in R10 in Cape Town.

For further details on the Durban programme email dbncampus@afda.co.zaor call 079 833 1682. For Cape Towncontactrushaan@afda.co.za or call  021- 448 7600 and Johannesburg contact kirsten@afda.co.za or call 011 482 8345.

For more info about the Festival and starting times go to www.afda.co.za.

(Source - AFDA) 

Want to be an MC? 

Auditions for Aspiring MCs

Aspiring presenters are invited to audition to MC the Finals of the ACT | DALRO | Nedbank 2013 Scholarship Awards.

After a series of countrywide auditions due to take place in July, the fifth annual ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships will culminate in a final performance, hosted by UJ Arts & Culture at the University of Johannesburg, on 30 September 2013. Six finalists will have the opportunity to showcase their acting, dancing and singing abilities to a live audience and an independent panel of judges as they compete to win one of three performing arts scholarships, with a combined value of R315 000. Performed in the format of a variety show, the showcase of their talents needs to be brought together by a charismatic presenter into a seamless performance for the audience and judges to enjoy.

“MCing the Performing Arts Scholarship Awards was the best thing that has happened to me!” says Bongani Nomcweya, host of the 2013 Scholarship Awards Finals. He went on to say “MCing the competition opened another door in the Nedbank house – as a result, I also MCed the Nedbank Community Builder's Awards Ceremony and it was also a great success - I was told I did an ‘Outstanding Job’!” His advice to those auditioning: “They must remember to be their best and to 'ar-ticu-late' - one of the things I kept on forgetting to do - and to the one who is going to get it, they must work to keeping the audience’s stomachs painful throughout, but most of all they should have FUN!”

Auditions for the person to fulfill this role of ‘dynamic host’ will take place around the country on the same dates as the auditions for the Scholarships themselves. There is no registration fee, and interested candidates can apply in writing, to Rahiem at rahiem@act.org.za.

Auditions will take place:
22 June: Durban, Hosted by the Stable Theatre
24 and 25 June: Cape Town, hosted by the Theatre Arts Admin Collective
27 June: Port Elizabeth, hosted by the PE Opera House
8 and 9 July: Johannesburg, hosted by UJ Arts & Culture
13 July: Bloemfontein, hosted by the Mangaung Drama and Dance Group

For more information or to register for participation in the scholarships programme, please visit www.act.org.za

(Source - Pansa) 

Theatre News


On 6 June, for one night only, Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival and the Catalina Theatre brings you the award winning production, Sunday Morning. A delightful play performed by James Cunningham and written by Nick Warren. Tickets for Sunday Morning are available from Computicket at R80 a ticket. To book visit http://online.computicket.com/web/event/sunday_morning_catalina. All proceeds of the show will go towards the Theatre Benevolent Fund (TBF) as part of the Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival cycle tour.

(Source - Pansa) 


 Can You Feel It? 

The 2013 Young Performers project staged by PANSA in Durban between 29 June and 14 July is written and directed by Peter Court and Charon Williams-Ros.

The Performing Arts Network of South Africa KZN (PANSA) is pleased to announce that the 13th annual Rainbow Young Performers Project for 2013 is going to be the original production, Can You Feel It?, written and directed by Peter Court and Charon Williams-Ros, which will be at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from 29 June until 14 July.

Bookings through Computicket.

(Source - Pansa )


News For Writers

WGSA Knowledge Sharing Session Tonight for all Writers.  

Venue:  Ike's Bookshop, 48a Florida Road, Durban
Time: 6pm 

Entrance is free but all bookings must be done through admin@writersguildsa.org.  Limited space available– so BOOK YOUR SPACE NOW!!!!

(Source - WGSA) 





Enhanced by Zemanta