December 2016 - Jive Media Africa

Jive Media Africa, through its work with the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development at the University of the Witwatersrand, provided media and science communication support to the South African launch of the Lancet Global Series on Early Childhood Development.

The Minister of Science and Technology launched the series entitled Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale to highlight the critical role of science in informing policy.

The series gathers scientific evidence from around the world which is powerfully demonstrating how low-cost interventions which facilitate and support nurturing care for infants in their first years of life contribute to lifelong health, wellbeing and productivity with economic impacts which far outweigh the investment costs.

The evidence is presented in a Lancet series with 45 contributing authors edited by distinguished South African researcher Professor Linda Richter.

Find out more at http://www.thelancet.com/series/ECD2016

Registration now open for SA’s ‘Pop Idols of Science’

Are you South Africa’s next great scientist? FameLab® South Africa 2017 kicks off and you can register to enter as a contestant for the South African leg of the international competition dubbed, the ‘Pop Idols of Science’.

Entries NOW open. http://www.britishcouncil.org.za/famelab/enter-competition (Link will open in a new tab)

This year’s competition will launch on 8 December 2016 with the first heat at the second annual Science Forum South Africa (http://www.sfsa.co.za/) which takes place at the CSIR International Convention Centre, in Pretoria. This heat will be preceded by a workshop and preliminary selections on 5 and 6 December 2016. Participants selected at the prelims will proceed to compete at the launch heat on the 8th December 2016.

Thereafter, heats will be taking place around the country. Watch the press and the competition website for more information.

Who can enter?

The competition is open to anyone aged 21 to 35 and working in or studying technology, engineering, medicine, biology, chemistry, physics or maths. This includes private and public sector employees.

Entrance to the SFSA and FameLab® heats is free and open to the public and we invite all science enthusiasts, young and old, to come and cheer on their favourites at the FameLab® SFSA heat. Interested participants can register here. Registration is open.

Participants are offered training by Jive Media Africa to enhance their science communication skills and to enable them to present their science topic to a panel of expert judges in just three minutes. Presentations are judged on content, clarity, and charisma and must be original and scientifically accurate while being accessible to a public audience. Contestants who make it through the heats, win master class training with an international trainer and may progress to the semi-finals and finals of the competition, which will be held in April and May 2017 respectively. The FameLab® South Africa winner will go on to compete against winners from over 30 countries on an international stage, at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival in the United Kingdom.

Jive Media Africa creates innovative, cutting edge communications; grabbing attention and conveying crucial messages in accessible ways. Jive Media Africa is an award-winning agency, which has provided media and communications services to the research sector over the past decade.

About FameLab®

FameLab® was started in 2005 in the UK by Cheltenham Science Festival and has quickly become established as a diamond model for successfully identifying, training and mentoring scientists and engineers to share their enthusiasm for their subjects with the public. It is implemented in over 30 countries, including the UK, USA, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Qatar and Kazakhstan to name a few. FameLab® South Africa is implemented in partnership between the British Council, the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), and Science Communication Agency Jive Media Africa.

More than 5000 researchers have taken part in the global competition, resulting in a vibrant network of highly skilled individuals engaging international audiences and each other. FameLab® visit: http://famelab.org.

SA launch of The Lancet Global Series on ECD.

FameLab South Africa 2017 kicks off

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