Author: Ewang Johnson

Twelve local philanthropic funders have now signed South Africa’s pioneering Climate Philanthropy Pledge — a significant show of collective commitment across the pledge’s eight pillars1 of action, including education and learning, influence and advocacy, and the responsible use of endowments and assets amongst others — at a time of global uncertainty for sustainable development.  The latest independent funders to join include the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation and The Harry Crossley Foundation.  Launched earlier this year as Africa’s first Climate Philanthropy Pledge, the initiative recognises the urgent need to respond to climate change as an issue that cuts across all funding focus areas…

This week, Paris des Arts is in Vienna, where musical tradition flirts with modernity. We meet some of the city’s most vibrant figures, such as the visionary conductor Laurence Equilbey. She’s at the helm of the Insula Orchestra, who are performing for the first time at the Musikverein’s legendary “Golden Hall”.  Her chamber choir “Accentus” and the “Insula Orchestra” are taking on Robert Schumann’s “Paradise and the Peri”.  Source link

Of course, London has been portrayed in different ways throughout cinema history, including its bombed-out ruins after World War Two, in films such as 1949’s Passport to Pimlico. The city’s edgier side has been evident in cult classics such as Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971), featuring a brutalist housing estate in Woolwich, or 1987’s Withnail and I, shot in Notting Hill and Camden, home to the protagonists’ legendary squalid apartment. Performance, a 1970 gangster drama directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Mick Jagger, was also set in a crime-ridden Notting Hill of the time. Most recently, the hit Apple…

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa 11 July 2025/ South African access equipment specialist Concord Access Solutions (CAS) has launched the Genie Next-Gen slab scissor lift into the African market, a revolutionary step forward in lift design, performance and aesthetics. The new machines introduce major improvements such as a 30% increase in runtime and efficiency, 70% fewer hydraulic hoses and fittings, and up to 35% savings in maintenance costs. The Genie Next-Gen slab range includes the GS-1932, GS-2646, GS-3246 and GS-4046 models, each engineered to deliver enhanced performance, reduced maintenance needs and improved user experience. “These new lifts mark a key milestone in…

As much as it purports to be a “positive and encouraging” alternative to the secular world, the world of Contemporary Christian Music is far from being immune to scandals and controversies.In 1994, Michael English—who had just won “Artist of the Year” at the Dove Awards—confessed to having an affair with Marabeth Jordan, a member of the group First Call. English returned his awards, lost his recording contract, and was banished from Christian radio for several years. As for Jordan, she suffered a miscarriage, and despite contributing vocals to albums by CeCe Winans, George Strait, and Martina McBride, her career never…

The first-ever Birkin handbag sold for 8.58 million euros ($10 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Thursday, smashing previous price records for a handbag. The bag, which was bought by private collector in Japan, was designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin. Source link

It was during the 19th Century that clubs in London boomed – approximately a dozen existed at the start of the century, and 400 by the end. Clubs in general became less louche, in step with a new, Victorian interest in propriety. Most significantly, they took on a central role in British politics, and scores of political clubs were founded in central London in these years, in a swathe of the city bound by Piccadilly to the north, Pall Mall to the south, St James’s Street to the west, and Haymarket to the east. Several of the most renowned, party-affiliated…

LAGOS, Nigeria, 10 July 2025/ A powerful cultural renaissance is underway in Nigeria, where communities are reclaiming their heritage and reimagining their future with confidence and clarity. Long known for its vibrant artistic traditions and dynamic creative industries, the country is now investing in cultural preservation and innovation as key drivers of identity, resilience, and economic growth. “Art and material culture offer a way to erase colonial boundaries and place histories in relation to one another. A single bead shows us how trade and innovation thrived across West Africa long before European demarcation,” explains Ore Disu, cultural strategist and founding…

Join arts24 presenter Eve Jackson on an exclusive journey inside the Grand Egyptian Museum – a colossal cultural masterpiece just a mile from the Great Pyramids of Giza. The museum’s grand debut has faced multiple delays and was set to open this July, but ongoing tensions in the Middle East have pushed back the opening once again, making this your rare opportunity to explore its wonders ahead of time.  Source link

Japanese animation, or anime, has a legacy that stretches back to the early 20th Century, and a creative scope that spans seemingly endless stories and styles, from pirate sagas to sci-fi warfare; sorcery to sports action; martial arts mythology to star-crossed romance. The music used to soundtrack it is similarly adventurous. Songs vary significantly in their genres and tempos (often shape-shifting within a single track), but they also share common qualities: they elevate the visual action and deeply seal our bond with it. In the digital age, vividly evocative, insistently snappy themes are key to the viral impact of iconic…