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Next time you’re wandering along a beach, make some time to stop and look at the rocks. Can you see familiar shapes or patterns? Could they be more than just rocks? In 2018, an eagle-eyed walker on South Africa’s Cape south coast did just that. They spotted a rock shaped uncannily like a stingray and ended up sparking a scientific exploration that may have added critical knowledge to our understanding of ancient humans’ artistic endeavours. Charles Helm and Alan Whitfield explain.
The rich musical tradition forged by the late Maurice El Medioni, a Jewish musician born and trained in north Africa, has to be understood against the background of the tragic mass migration of Jews from Arab countries between 1949 and 1970. Before 1949 many cities across north Africa and the Middle East had vibrant Jewish communities. But the creation of the State of Israel triggered a mass migration which continued for 20 years. As Ilana Webster-Kogen explains, listening to El Medioni’s work is a deep dive into the history of north African Jews over the last 150 years, long pre-dating his birth. And, she writes, the unstinting support he gave young
artists in their efforts to re-connect with the music of their grandparents may well prove to be his greatest contribution.
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Natasha Joseph
Commissioning Editor
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Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University; Alan Whitfield, National Research Foundation
The sculpture might have begun with tracing a blue stingray specimen in the sand.
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Ilana Webster-Kogen, SOAS, University of London
Listening to El Medioni’s work is a deep dive into the history of north African Jews over the last 150 years, long pre-dating his birth.
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Business + Economy
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Johann Kirsten, Stellenbosch University
Meat from sheep that graze in South Africa’s Karoo and France’s Mont Saint-Michel lamb is deemed special.
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Franziska Sucker, University of the Witwatersrand
Africa holds the world’s largest untapped digital growth potential.
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Health + Medicine
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Grace Marie Jones, Touro University
A higher consumption of sugar leads to worse health outcomes, so we need to be mindful of the added sugar we eat.
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Politics
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Myriam Denov, McGill University
The 1994 Rwanda genocide has left lasting scars. Children born of sexual violence and mothers have shown immense strength in overcoming their histories of violence.
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Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, University of Rwanda
Kenya’s deployment to Haiti would contribute towards the country’s role in enhancing global peace and security.
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Thomas Mandrup, Stellenbosch University
The SADC mission shows how difficult it is to run a large-scale military intervention, especially if the host government is not taking full ownership and supporting the operation.
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Arts, Culture + Society
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Saheed Aderinto, Florida International University
Fuji music is a way of life for millions of Yoruba people. It’s the prism through which they understand their world.
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Energy + Environment
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Yolandi Ernst, University of the Witwatersrand; Sally Archibald, University of the Witwatersrand
Knowing which parts of Africa best help to store carbon means funding and policy efforts can be directed to protecting and increasing this carbon ‘land sink’.
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Joseph Ogutu, University of Hohenheim
Conservation strategies should promote equitable benefits across communities.
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Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Governments in southern Africa don’t invest enough in weather forecasting and fail to work together to prepare for natural disasters, leaving the most vulnerable exposed to successive droughts.
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Education
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Wendy Smidt, Cape Peninsula University of Technology; Zayd Waghid, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Making films meets many needs of young people by combining the learning of soft skills, computer literacy and artistic expression.
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9 April 2024
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Johannesburg
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11 April 2024
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Stellenbosch
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19 April 2024
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Cape Town
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4 May - 22 June 2024
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Cape Town
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