iStart2 Vision, Mission & Values

Vision

 

A “Sustainability-Through- Arts” global movement

in which communities will participate

in re-imagining and implementing solutions

towards ensuring sustainable footprints

for our children.

Mission:

To provide a platform where people can take hands across boundaries and connect to create and re-imagine practical solutions for a sustainable future. 

 

Using the arts to communicate in a fun and positive way that talks to the head

and hearts of diverse communities and inspire them to use their hands in

saving water, energy and waste 

 

Building bridges and form partnerships with world leaders, their foundations

and the networks supporting them 

 

People with “all abilities”, disadvantaged communities and Indigenous Peoples

of the world will form the core of the iStart2 movement interconnected with

Artists, Business, Government, The Media, Religious Communities, Schools, Universities, Colleges, Elderly Folk (and Old Age Homes)

Main Objectives for 2012

Inspiring 1 million people in South Africa to commit to saying “I Start 2… do one thing to contribute to a sustainable world

Contribute through massive and extensive marketing to the government’s goal of placing 1 million solar geysers in homes across South Africa and reducing the countries overall power consumption.

Committing to exchange a minimum of 24 thousand light bulbs with LED lights in each suburb across 45 towns & cities in South Africa.

Using our ‘iStar’ Arts competition to highlight sustainability projects of organisations that are already making a contribution to the lives of communities across the country.

Assisting ‘differently abled’ schools in 45 Towns across South Africa by generating funding for the upliftment of school facilities.

Contribute to the creation and imagination of new sustainable solutions for a better, healthier and brighter future across South African rural areas

A Show of Hands

Moral Magic at iStart2 Holy Cow Weekend

The Holy Cow Weekend on the 17 & 18th March 2012, celebrated our rich and diverse communities through performances by leading indigenous and sacred musicians and discussion sessions by leading academics, comedians and other experts.

Nadiem Solomon with an enlightening discussion on the Art of War…

風　Swift as the wind
林　Quiet as the forest
火　Conquer like the fire
山　Steady as the mountain

You have to believe in yourself.
Sun Tzu

Nadiem also milked some holy cows with his wonderful rendition of Jan Spies and other wonderful stories about the richness of South Africa’s diverse cultural groups.

Dr Abel Pienaar juggled the concepts of certainty, doubt and uncertainty… His T-shirt said it all…

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

Prof Christina Landman entertained us with changing shirts, introduced new concepts like “Moral Ecstasy” and  enlightened us with her “moral magic”. Yeah, “normal” people are really scary. ;-)

Swannie Swanevelder.  His hands are sore but his heart is full … to quote John Malcovich.... his wife asked him: why dont you get a proper job? he answered: "But I’m a puppeteer"! Thanx Swannie for letting the little people talk! Good luck in Taiwan. Make South Africa proud, Boet!

JP du Toit. Young poet and writer, shared some poems and continued his story on “The Six”…

“A twenty-something white male was driving from Brooklyn to Centurion accompanied by a twenty-something beautiful black female and her twenty-something frumpy white female friend at 2AM in the morning of Thursday the 29th. It was as their motor vehicle joined the M18 that they encountered a road block. A policeman standing in the road signalled for them to pull over to the side…” 

World renowned jazz muso, Pops Mohamed and Yusuf  Ganief & Lynn Holmes-Ganief from Desertrose, fused South Africa's abundant and varied sacred music and engaged with a delighted audience,  engaging them in an evening filled with magical music.

Pops Mohamed has been leading the battle to retain the indigenous African sounds so they are not overrun by the American pop sounds and on his quest has been joined by numerous African legends including jazz great Moses Khumalo.

His nickname Pops dates back to his childhood enthusiasm for the comic seaman Popeye. The prolific and multi-talented South African singer songwriter Pops Mohamed has been attracting international attention for almost two decades for his effortless versatility on in playing traditional and for his ability to fuse a startling scope of regional African styles with his elegant original compositions.

Thank you Pops Mohamed for joining the iStart2 journey. It was wonderful to spend a weekend with you. We learned so much. We look foward to continue the journey in the months to come.

All events during the weekend explored a larger vision of getting people to take hands across barriers and contribute to a sustainable earth. Be sure to be at our next Holy Cow Event and experience the greatness of moral magic … magical moments you will never forget...

Pops Mohamed at iStart2 Holy Cow event - Centurion

Holy Cow - An opportunity to experience the musical magic of one of the greatest musicians in South Africa.

Pops Mohamed is a well-travelled multi instrumentalist, who has taken it upon himself to keep traditional sounds – from mbqanga to ...kwela and marabi – alive. He specialises in indigenous instruments; the Kora (a harp from West Africa), the Mbira (a thumb piano from Zimbabwe), the Didgeridoo (native to the Aboriginal people of Australia) and the Birimbau and the African Mouth Bow – developed by the South American Indians and the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert respectively.

His Kalamazoo and Sophiatown albums, released in 1991 and 1992 were both nominated for “Best Jazz Album” in South Africa”s OKTV Awards. Pops is also a record producer, who has travelled widely recording ancient music and producing what is now being labelled as “World Music”. Pop”s produced Moses Molelekwa”s double award winning album “Finding Ones Self”, which won both the “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” and “Best Traditional Jazz Album” in the 1996 FNB music awards.

Recently Pops toured Switzerland with Andreas Vollenweider”s band featuring Max Lasser and Busi Mhlongo. As a result of his travels, he is constantly developing new approaches to music and strives to preserve ancient musical instruments as well as ancient performance techniques.

Saturday Evening, 18 March 2012 @20H00 at the iStart2 Hub in Centurion.

Sustainability through Art

iStart2

Email me to reserve your seat: pierre@istart2.com

iStart2 - The first three years...

iStart2 is a Sustainability through the Arts initiative which enlists the creative talents of artists, business people, communities, the media, government, differently abled individuals, and indigenous people from around the world to take hands across religious and cultural boundaries and to spread the message of energy conservation, waste management & saving water.

The Istart2 'Share The Magic' video tells the story of our launch at Cop17 in November 2011, it includes footage and endorsements from many of our ambassadors and supporters, and outlines how the idea was born. Join us in writing, painting and imagining a future horizon of sustainable footprints.

Three years in 12 and a half minutes...



Website should be up sometime this week! :-)

Feel free to share the video...

iStart2 Launch, Durban, South Africa

 iStart2 joining hands with Mary Robinson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

In November 2011 iStart2 was launched in Durban as part of the International Cop17 Summit. The Launch was marked with a free concert & rally at Kings Park Stadium in partnership with the “We have Faith” initiative. 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Springbok Nude Girls front man Arno Carstens, Chris Chameleon and Rap star HHP were amongst those who performed. The sound of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, our host’s signature chuckle filled the Kings Park Rugby Stadium, while people from around the world gathered to listen to him speak and join in singing ‘iStart2 Change with these Hands’.

Mission Rewarded - Yvonne Chaka Chaka

Spotlight on Yvonne Chaka Chaka (YOU magazine, 8 March 2012)

" A triumphant return for Yvonne Chaka Chaka from Davos, Switzerland, where she received the prestigious Crystal Award for her humanitarian work - the first black South African woman to be given the honour. This year Yvonne will dedicate herself to another cause: she's been approached by iStart2, an NGO dedicated to finding sustainable solutions in Africa.

Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Princess of Africa

with Shelley Buckle (Miss DeafSA 2011), Mbali Nkosi

Miss Deaf Africa 2011 and Miss DeafSA princesses.

Their work includes using art as a platform to educate and reverse the tide on climate change and conservation of the continent's natural resources. " I know malaria is affected by climate change. Because of increased and unusual rainfall we find more mosquitoes," she says.

And although she says she's waiting for her team of humanitarian advisors to find a link between iStart2 and what she does, she's keen to work on any project that benefits those most in need. 

" Everything I do is not for recognition," she says. "It's because I believe we can all make a difference, no matter how small."

Thank you Yvonne Chaka Chaka, you are the true Princess of Africa.

Source: YOU magazine, 8 March 2012