Dr Taddy Blecher is a pioneer of the free tertiary education movement in South Africa. A man with a great vision, he believes that with an inwards-out approach to life, everyone has the ability to be successful. A philanthropic social entrepreneur, also known as the transcendental crusader, who looks like Harry Potter, Blecher is a bubble of energy […]

Andy Birkett and partner Sbonelo Zondi won the 2014 Dusi Canoe Marathon on Saturday, and 23-year-old Birkett joined an elite group of under-25s who can proudly boast their Dusi green numbers – an honour given to those who finish 10 marathons. A handful of youngsters have done 10 Dusis by their mid-20s, some having started […]

Two South African students have been named as finalists in the Student Focus competition of the Sony World Photography Awards – Tara Mette from Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography, and Russell Bruns from Rhodes University. The ten finalists were announced today by the World Photography Organisation. The Student Focus competition is one of the largest […]

South African tennis star Raven Klaasen continued his outstanding start to 2014 when he and partner Eric Butorac teamed up to capture the doubles title at the US National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis, USA, on Sunday. Seeded second, Butorac and Klaasen upset the top seeds and world number one pairing of Bob and Mike […]

The Big Apple will welcome South Africa for three weeks in October, when the city’s iconic Carnegie Hall will host a music and arts festival focusing on the nation, called Ubuntu. An exciting array of events has been planned for the famous space and for partner venues throughout New York City. Audiences will be able to explore the dynamic and […]

Around 800 photographs that “require a double take” and “slow you down and call for a response” fill two floors of Museum Africa in Johannesburg, in a monumental exhibition entitled Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the Bureaucracy of Everyday Life. Opening on Thursday 13 February, the exhibition features almost all South Africa’s significant photographers, […]

The Queen’s Baton Relay is in South Africa stirring up enthusiasm for the Commonwealth Games as well as creating fantastic photo opportunities. The Relay symbolises the coming together and showcasing of all 70 Commonwealth nations and territories, in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow which will be held later this year from 23 July […]

Like many young South Africans, Tanja Kappler had dreams of a life in Hollywood’s film industry, but after a six-month stint in Los Angeles, she realised it wasn’t for her. And so she moved to Barcelona and started taking beautiful photographs. Here she talks to SAPeople about life in a non-English country, her passion for photography […]

  Nine years ago Heshan de Silva was a suicidal, alcoholic, drug-addicted dropout. Seven years ago he used US$116 to start a small insurance business. Today the 25-year-old Kenyan venture capitalist, founder of the De Silva Group, is worth over $10-million. The De Silva Group is the holding company for DSGVenCap, a firm that makes seed […]

British director and Cannes and Venice film festival favorite Peter Greenaway has started lensing one of his most anticipated projects in Guanajuato, Mexico. The biopic of film director Sergei Eisenstein titled ‘Eisenstein In Guanajuato’.  The film stars former Capetonian resident and South African born and raised (for twenty years), Stelio Savante. Savante is best known […]

Zarni de Wet has a beautiful voice. American musician John Mayer says  “I just want to hear it again”. And we thought you may want to hear it too.  The 24-year-old singer-songwriter tells SAPeople about the inspiration behind her song ‘Feel Something’, her move to America, and the bittersweet importance of feelings. So, what was […]

Winnie Mandela, a film about the personal and political life of the activist and ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, will open in South Africa on 7 March, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) said in a statement on Monday. Starring Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson in the title role and Terrence […]

If one is seeking contenders to prevent Chad Ho from extending his run of four successive victories in the aQuelle Midmar Mile, look no further than two-time champion Troyden Prinsloo, who is looking forward to an opportunity to record a third victory in the world’s largest open water swimming event. A two-time Olympian, Prinsloo contested […]

Matt Cavanaugh’s TapShoot application allows mobile phone users to take photographs via remote control so that no-one is left out of the picture. A Windows phone developer based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Cavanaugh’s app earned him runner-up status in the Nokia Future/Capture contest, held in Sweden in 2013. The contest is a forum for Windows phone developers to […]

Ladysmith Black Mambazo has dedicated their latest Grammy award to the memory and legacy of former president Nelson Mandela, news agency AFP said on Monday. The traditional isicathamiya group shared the award with “flamenco fusionists” The Gipsy Kings for “best world music album” for their record Singing for Peace Around the World at the awards in Los Angeles in […]

South African wheelchair tennis star Lucas Sithole claimed runners-up finishes in both the quad singles and doubles at the Australian Open, becoming the first African to reach the final of both events at the first Grand Slam of the year.  Sithole faced world number one David Wagner in the final for the singles title, with […]

The Soweto Canoe and Recreation Club (Scarc) is aiming to make waves at this year’s Dusi Canoe Marathon, with a club record 20 members taking part in the event, including former podium finisher Loveday Zondi. With canoeing increasing in popularity among black South Africans, Scarc club captain and coach Nkosi Mzolo is optimistic about the […]

South African project myHandsandHeart, an online and mobile platform for matching organisations and youth volunteers, was named on Tuesday as one of six winners of a global competition for local initiatives that are having a positive impact on their communities. The competition, dubbed the Shaping a Better Future challenge, was open to members of the […]

South African tennis star Raven Klaasen is through to the doubles final of the Australian Open after he and his American partner Eric Butorac cruised past eighth seeds Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor in the semi-finals in Melbourne on Thursday. It has been a marvellous run for the unseeded pair, highlighted by their 7-6, 6-4 […]

South African actor Stelio Savante has just joined the cast of one of Peter Greenaway’s most highly anticipated films, Eisenstein in Guanajuato, which begins principle photography early 2014. The film highlights ten days during Eisenstein’s stay in Mexico that shook his life up. Greenaway is a four time Palme d’Or nominee, won “Best Artistic Contribution” at Cannes […]

Nthabiseng Hibbert is an ordinary South African woman who, for the past two decades, has lived in a modest home in Katlehong, one of the country’s largest – and poorest – black urban townships, some 35 kilometres east of Johannesburg. Fluent in English, Afrikaans and Sesotho, only one thing sets her apart from her neighbours: […]

In many of the photographs of Nelson Mandela, there is a familiar blonde woman standing to one side, a quiet but unmissable presence. The woman is Zelda La Grange, Mandela’s personal assistant, private secretary and rock. Her story is one that reflects the history of South Africa. She grew up with all the privileges of […]

The shortest distance between Mozambique and Madagascar is about 500 kilometres – a long way. But not long enough to deter two South Africans from swimming the distance over a month in March, in what will be a world first. No-one has swum this stretch of the Indian Ocean, and no-one has swum this distance […]

Casting real life gangsters in iNumber Number was a clever move; it turns the feature film into a believable slice of life that has caught the eye of Universal Pictures. The American movie studio has optioned the remake rights. It’s a fast-paced action thriller, in which the characters spiral into an abyss of corruption. In the iNumber Number world, the […]

The Sharks are coming to London! The KwaZulu Natal rugby union team will be playing Saracens on the 25th of January 2014 at 3pm as part of their preparations for the upcoming Super Rugby campaign. This clash of the hemispheres will take place at the Allianz Park which is situated in the Barnet Borough of London. The […]