February 2017 - Jive Media Africa

FameLab – Confidently Sharing Science

FameLab SA contestants from Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Limpopo are learning important confidence-boosting communication and media skills!

TUT is participating in FameLab SA for the first time this year. Jive Media Africa visited TUT to train a group of over 55 lecturers, students and academic staff on science communication. The group included 25 excited FameLab participants who were there to prepare for their heat on the 3^rd March 2017 (pictured above).

Ready to welcome them at the training was Dr. Edgar Alufheli Nesamvuni (Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Post Graduate Studies, Research and Innovation). He encouraged the competitors to make the most of the opportunity so that they can confidently share their science.

The University of Limpopo has hosted the FameLab SA competition for the fourth year running! Jive assisted participants with science communication training ahead of their heat.

Mukondi Munyai, a 23-year-old Animal Science Honours student, took first place and moves on to the masterclass training and semi-finals.

Have you got what it takes to compete? Register now: www.britishcouncil.org.za/famelab

Mukondi Munyai, front centre, beams among fellow FameLab competitors and judges after winning the University of Limpopo Heat

FameLab ® is an initiative of the Cheltenham Festivals. The British Council in collaboration with the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) and Jive Media Africa deliver the FameLab competition in South Africa. Find out more about FameLab South Africa at www.britishcouncil.org.za/famelab

February 23, 2017/by Jive Media

Training and Mentorship

FameLab 2017 – Science communicators shine in Pretoria

FameLab 2017 successfully rolled-out in Pretoria last week in partnership with UNISA and the CSIR.

On Tuesday, Jive Media Africa trained post-graduate students at UNISA in Science Communication and Media Skills ahead of the UNISA FameLab Heat on 3 March 2017.

The CSIR hosted a successful second heat of FameLab on Wednesday, following the launch of the 2017 competition at Science Forum South Africa in December last year. Congratulations to Tshepo Makgoba who won the heat! He will be going through to the Masterclass training and the semi-finals.

FameLab, one of the biggest science communication competitions in the world, is helping South African scientists and engineers improve their communication skills. By supporting them to clearly explain their science to the public, they are helping to narrow the gap between science and the society in which it is at work.

YOU can get involved in the international FameLab competition here: www.britishcouncil.org.za/famelab.

Learn more about Jive’s work in Science Communication and Media, visit www.jivemedia.co.za

FameLab ® is an initiative of the Cheltenham Festivals. The British Council in collaboration with the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) and Jive Media Africa deliver the FameLab competition in South Africa. Find out more about FameLab South Africa at www.britishcouncil.org.za/famelab

Birds of a feather – postgraduate students from UNISA gathered on Tuesday to improve their science communication and media skills. Here they are pictured with Jive Media Africa’s Robert Inglis -a science communication specialist.

February 14, 2017/by Jive Media

Books, Media & Film, Media Production

Journeys of Discovery

Where did human beings first begin to wonder, investigate and create? Growing scientific evidence now suggests that it was right here, under African skies. And this process, repeated over millennia, now continues in the creation of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope. Jive Media Africa is honoured and privileged to have worked with the SKA in South Africa on the creation of a book which aims to deepen and broaden public interest and engagement with the SKA project. The book, Journeys of Discovery – Stories of Human Innovation in Africa, positions the SKA within a larger story of over 200 000 years of human history and innovation on the African continent.

The book highlights scientific and technological advancement on the continent by exploring themes as varied as imagination and innovation, the human odyssey, pyrotechnology, early chemistry and early engineering, with beautiful images of symbolic innovations and development in Africa. The book provides an overview of the SKA project and how its objectives and long-term scientific benefits link to the story of human innovation, and ultimately to our future as a species.

The book was researched, written and produced by Jive Media Africa, in association with leading archaeologists and origins researchers. The publication has been exceptionally well-received. Read the full book here.

“The products were brilliant and far exceeded expectations. The science communication experience and proficiency was of the highest standard. There are many highlights stemming from where the product was used.” – Mr Lorenzo Raynard, Communications Manager – SKA South Africa

Feature image: Ostrich eggshells covered with engraved geometric patterns found in Diepkloof Shelter, near the coast, north of Cape Town. Image credit: PJ Texier

February 14, 2017/by Jive Media

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