The iStart2 Story ... Keitu Gwangwa interviews Pierre du Toit

iStart2 is a Sustainabilty-through-Arts movement in which communities participate in re-imagining and implementing solutions towards leaving sustainable footprints for our children.

iStart2 is a campaign built around the need for a revolution in the way we manage our environment and our world. iStart2 is not just what we want to do, but also what we must do. iStart2 is a rallying call to all those who wish to make the world a more sustainable place.

The i in “iStart2” is you the individual, taking responsibility for doing your part to co-create Sustainability Through (ST) Art, in order to (2) do one thing to create a more sustainable world. Let's inspire people in South Africa to commit to pledging ‘I start 2…’ do one thing to contribute to a sustainable world.

Through celebrating our differences, our uniqueness, togetherness, iStart2 seeks to connect the inter-dependent world for the sake of the earth and the earth’s inhabitants. Actions speak louder than words, so ... the question is what do your actions shout today? i-start-2 understand. i-start-2 do what I must. i-start-2 today…

Building bridges and form partnerships with national and world leaders, their foundations and the networks supporting them.

A movement that has such a powerful vision creates a bridge into a world where real change can happen to real people. The iStart2 campaign at it’s core strives to see a nation and ultimately a world moved to change it’s behaviour, to see the rising up of a new way of life that is healthier, brighter and better for us and our children.

Using the iStart2 Challenge to plug into and build on existing efforts of organizations and citizens spearheading sustainability projects within South Africa.

Through art a sustainable world can become a reality. iStart2 seeks to connect people, and enable them to join hands and find creative, practical solutions for a sustainable future. This includes building bridges and securing foundations with world leaders and the networks that support their efforts. It also includes using ‘art’ as a catalyst to inspire change.

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, waste in a healthy and safe environment.

All the programmes and projects that plug into this campaign seek to see that vision fulfilled. It is a mammoth task, but it is an essential task, if we want to see the lives of our children preserved, and a legacy of beauty and splendour left for them. This is where it matters most: Our Future.

Contribute to the creation and imagination of new sustainable solutions for a better, healthier and brighter future across South Africa.

People with Disabilities, the Elderly 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 and Elderly Folk through an initiative growing the youth of South Africa

Visit our website www.iStart2.com to learn more about our vision.


The iStart2 Radio Show:

On the iStart2 Show this week Keitu Gwangwa interviews Pierre du Toit on the iStart2 Story. 
They chat about highlights, disappointments and challenges experienced over the past six years. They also focus on a few interesting projects on the horizon. 



Upcoming Events: 

See you there! 

Witboy en Witbooi ... Deon Maas en Conny Braam

Kom kuier en gesels lekker saam met ons skrywers en gesprekvoerders Woensdagaand 15 Februarie by die iStart2 Hub in Centurion. Tyd om bietjie vir onsself te lag ... Heilige koeie kan seker nie vir altyd heilig bly nie ...

Deon Maas kom chat oor sy boek "Melk die Heilige koeie" en Conny Braam vertel ons meer van "Ik ben Hendrik Witbooi." Attie van Nel lei die gesprek met ons twee skrywers en Christina Landman sal sorg dat jy jou ernstige opinie kan gee of sommer tong-inni-kies kom saamgesels!

Deon Maas is 'n skrywer (Witboy in Afrika en nou Melk die Heilige Koeie), maker van dokumentêre films (Punk in Afrika en Who killed Johannes Kerkorrel?) en 'n televisie vervaardiger (Jam Sandwich en Fortuinsoekers) Hy word somtyds daarvan beskuldig dat hy 'n moffie, daggaroker of kommunis is. Hy is wel skuldig aan van die aantygings. Hy hang graag op facebook uit en jy kan hom hier gaan "follow"

Conny Braam word in 1948 gebore in Arnhem, in Nederland. Aan die einde van die jare sestig trek sy na Amsterdam. In die ontstuimige periode raak sy al meer betrokke by politieke bewegings wat solidariteit toon met die vryheidsstryd in die sogenaamde Derde Wereld. Haar ontmoeting met 'n paar uitgewekenes uit Suid-Afrika laat haar skrywery op die agtergrond en in 1970 stig sy saam met 'n paar ander die Nederlandse Anti-Apartheidsbeweging. Conny dien as voorsitster tot in 1994.

Na die vrylating van Nelson Mandela skryf sy Operatie Vula wat handel oor haar betrokkenheid in die versetbeweging. Conny skryf daarna n hele paar ander boeke (lees meer hier) en sy kom deel graag haar insigte rondom haar nuutste boek "Ik ben Hendrik Witbooi" op haar besoek in Suid-Afrika.

Attie van Nel (aktivis, entrepreneur en pastoor) neem ons besoekende skrywers onder oog en lei die gesprek. Prof Christina Landman (akademikus en teoloog van Unisa) tree op as moderator.

Kom sluit gerus by ons aan vir 'n aand waar ons gaan saam lag en gesels oor die dinge wat saakmaak. Seker tyd om 'n paar van daai heilige koeie in heroorweging te neem. Lekker ja!

Plek: iStart2 Hub
Adres: Suidstraat 160, Lyttelton Holdings, "Die Hoewes", Centurion.
Google map hier
Tyd: 19h00 - 21h00 

RSVP jou naam en telefoon nommer na iStart2Show@gmail.com as jy gaan bywoon. Dui asb aan hoeveel vrinne jy saambring. 

Wyn en verversings beskikbaar in die cashbar.
Toegang is gratis.

Sien jou daar!

My Message to Donald Trump ... Dr Nigel Crawhall

Nigel's message to Donald Trump:

"Come to Africa. Come and see some of the rural communities. They will teach you a lot about the world. We have all the solutions we need inside Africa. What we do need is cooperation so that everybody works together for the longterm sustainability of the Planet." 

Dr Nigel Crawhall's lifelong interest has revolved around the relationship between people and our quality of life - internal, external and inter-dependent. This is expressed through social justice, environmental sustainability, climate advocacy, conservation, intercultural dialogue and personal growth.

For the last twenty years, most of his work has been with indigenous peoples in Africa - concentrating on human rights, environmental governance and climate justice issues. This work has included contributing to IUCN's mandate on climate, protected areas and World Heritage.

His work with IUCN initially focused on social policy and protected areas. The emphasis has been on participation, benefit sharing and respect for indigenous peoples and local communities values, knowledge and sustainable use of natural resources. More recently his focal point is on religion, spirituality, climate and environment.

On the iStart2 Radio Show this week we chat to Dr Nigel Crawhall, the Director of Secretariat, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). He joins us to look at the impact of climate change on South Africa, he gives feedback on his participation at COP22 in Marrakech and elaborates on his work with the Interfaith movement and IUCN in creating a more sustainable world.


Listen to the interview with Nigel below:

Please join our movement and like our facebook page!

Sustainability Conversations ... Indigenous or not?

Today, groups claiming to be ‘indigenous’ in Africa are mostly those who have been living by hunting and gathering; by transhumant (migratory nomadic) pastoralism and those practicing traditional drylands horticulture including oasis cultures. These different peoples represent the backbone of Africa's traditional knowledge of nature and sustainable development in remote rural areas.

Graffiti Removal by Banksy source: Bradshaw Foundation

INDIGENOUS OR NOT?

Some Africans may be offended by the idea that one ethnic group should be called ‘indigenous’ and others not. IPACC recognises that all Africans should enjoy equal rights and respect. All of Africa’s diversity is to be valued. Particular communities, due to historical and environmental circumstances, have found themselves outside the state-system and underrepresented in governance. 

These ‘first-peoples’ or ‘autochthonous peoples’ have associated themselves with the United Nations’ standards on the rights of indigenous peoples. This is not to deny other Africans their status; it is to emphasise that affirmative recognition is necessary for hunter-gatherers and herding peoples to ensure their survival. Genetics is not the basis of human rights, but it does reflect that the distribution of power between different peoples in Africa is born of a long history and cannot be dismissed.

The claims to being indigenous in Africa are related to a cluster of characteristics:

• political and economic marginalisation rooted in colonialism;
• de facto discrimination based often on the dominance of agricultural peoples in the State system (e.g. lack of access to education and health care by hunters and herders);
• the particularities of culture, identity, economy and territoriality that link hunting and herding peoples to their home environments in deserts and forests (e.g. nomadism, diet, knowledge systems);
• some indigenous peoples, such as the San and Pygmy peoples are physically distinct, which makes them subject to specific forms of discrimination.

Recent efforts to map Africa’s genetic prehistory are drawing attention to the fact that ‘first peoples’ have a great antiquity on the continent. Africa is recognised by geneticists and archaeologists as the cradle of humankind. Africa has the greatest genetic and linguistic diversity of any continent. There have been major technical advances over the last decade in reading genetic signatures and unravelling prehistory of Africa. Peoples such as the San and Khoe, the Hadzabe, and the various ‘Pygmy’ forest peoples represent some of the oldest gene types on the planet.

Indigeneity is associated with both the negative experience of discrimination and marginalisation from governance, as well as the positive aspects of being holders of unique knowledge which has emerged through the long-term management of arid area and tropical forest ecosystems.

For more information on IPACC click HERE

Sustainability Hero of the Week:

On the iStart2 Radio Show this week we chat to Dr Nigel Crawhall, the Director of Secretariat, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). He joins us to look at the impact of climate change on South Africa, he gives feedback on his participation at COP22 in Marrakech and elaborates on his work with the Interfaith movement and IUCN in creating a more sustainable world.

Most of his work has been with the indigenous peoples in Africa over the last 20 years. Nigel's aim is to help people strengthen inclusive and democratic governance and improve our cultural, psychological and spiritual well-being in harmony with the natural environment.

Keitu Gwangwa & Pierre du Toit host the iStart2 Show on Thursdays at 17h30. Radio Today broadcasts on 1485 MW (AM) in greater Johannesburg and countrywide on ‪#‎DStv‬ audio channel 869.

Radio Today also streams globally on www.1485.org.za.

Most Popular iStart2 Radio Shows of 2016

On the iStart2 Radio Show today we highlight our most popular shows of 2016!

1. Cry of Africa: Pops Mohamed and Coenie de Villiers
2. Desperation to Destiny: Dr Stanley Arumugam
3. Activism is Sexy: Kumi Naidoo
4. Rethink the Plastic Bag South Africa: Hayley Mclellan
5. Born to be Wild: Yassie ZA

Listen to our heroes in our special compilation with highlights from every show.

The iStart2 Sustainability Hero of the Year 2016:

We look forward to another 52 shows this year and endeavour to bring you interviews with the people who make a difference in Sustainability-Through-Art.

THE iStart2 SHOW

Keitu Gwangwa & Pierre du Toit host the iStart2 Show on Thursdays at 17h30. Radio Today broadcasts on 1485 MW (AM) in greater Johannesburg and countrywide on ‪#‎DStv‬ audio channel 869.

Radio Today also streams globally on www.1485.org.za.