Today is set to be a busy day on South Africa’s agriculture scene. First up, Food For Mzansi is lifting the veil on who the 60 successful candidates are for our Sinelizwi citizen journalism project.
Also watch out for two very informative webinars happening today. In the first on the list, activists and critical social theorists will come together to map out an agenda for progressive social change and food sovereignty.
If you’re interested in precision agriculture, then don’t miss the insights shared by award-winning scientists in a virtual discussion on moving forward with this discipline globally.
1
Meet the Sineslizwi citizen journalism candidates
It is showtime! Food For Mzansi will finally be announcing our candidates for our Sinelizwi citizen journalist project later today. Learners in grades 8 to 11, unemployed youth, agricultural workers and community members from all corners of the country were invited to apply for the programme.
The purpose of the project is to empower aspiring young journalists. The successful candidates will join a six-month-long virtual training and mentorship programme that will teach them the basics of how to tell the important stories from their community.
We were inundated with applications from hopefuls all over the country and decided to expand the 50-candidate limit to accept an additional ten candidates. Sinelizwi is a project run by Food For Mzansi in partnership with the Google News Initiative to empower key communities in the country who have limited access to traditional media and low digital connectivity.
2
PLAAS dialogue on food sovereignty amid covid-19
You are invited to join The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) for a webinar with the theme “What do you mean ‘we’? Activists, academics and NGOs in civil society coalitions” today at 13:00.
Panellists will be discussing the opportunities, risks, responsibilities and ethics of progressive coalition politics in the context of movements for food sovereignty during the covid-19 pandemic. The panellists are journalist and social activist Boaventura Monjane, the national coordinator of the Alliance for Rural Democracy, Connie Mogale, and PLAAS Director, Andries du Toit.
Many activists have argued that the crisis brought about by the covid-19 pandemic also presents an important opportunity for change. They say that now is the time that movements of poor and marginalised people, progressive activists, and critical social theorists can come together to map out an agenda for progressive social change.
But whose agenda is this? Who speaks, and how? The agricultural experts will be posing some fascinating questions on this topic. Register here to be part of the dialogue
3
Webinar on advancing precision agriculture globally
The International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA) will today host a webinar with Dr. James Schepers, emeritus professor of agronomy and horticulture, and Dr. Joe Luck, associate professor of biological systems engineering, precision agriculture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States.
The two award-winning scientists will be presenting their research on how agriculture can move forward with precision and how to fill in the missing gaps with producers in mind.
The International Society of Precision Agriculture is a non-profit scientific organisation that aims to advance the science of precision agriculture globally. The webinar takes place at 13:00 today and you can click here to register.
