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08 November 2024
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Story Jacky Tshokwe
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Photo Supplied
The Kingdom Vision Foundation (KVF) management team took part in the annual Social Impact Innovation Awards organised by the SAB Foundation.
In September, the Kingdom Vision Foundation (KVF) management team took part in the annual Social Impact Innovation Awards, organised by the SAB Foundation. This competition included a three-day workshop, during which participants received mentorship on enhancing their business models to maximise sustainable impact. Participants also crafted a four-minute business pitch, which they delivered to a panel of independent judges from sectors such as business, health, education, and government. At the end of the workshop, winners were chosen based on the impact of their innovation, the strength of their business model, and the likelihood of future success.
On 10 October, the management team attended the Innovation Awards Ceremony, where KVF was honoured with the Development Award worth R700 000. In addition to the grant, KVF will participate in a 15-month business coaching and mentorship programme in 2025, through which the SAB Foundation’s coaching team will support them in expanding and scaling their impact across South Africa.
The funding will enhance both the Kovsie Health and Anchor of Hope eye clinics, which are collaborating with the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Optometry to provide affordable eye care to thousands of students and community members. The project aims to improve the quality of education for Optometry students, helping them experience the positive change they can drive through social impact. KVF’s vision includes a future at Kovsie Health where every student’s visual needs are met, regardless of financial constraints, and a thriving Anchor of Hope clinic that brings the gift of sight and renewed hope to rural communities around Bloemfontein.
Clarinet lecturer honoured with prestigious international artistship
2015-11-13
Clarinetist Danré Strydom |
Danré Strydom, lecturer in the Odeion School of Music (OSM) of the University at the Free State (UFS) has recently been added to the Buffet Crampon executive list of representative artist. Buffet Crampon is one of the most iconic woodwind brands and the leader in manufacturing first-rate clarinets. The artistship entails a highly competitive selection process to become the first South African Buffet Crampon brand ambassador.
Buffet-Crampon, based in France and Germany, is ailed internationally as the “Steinway” of clarinet manufacturers. The company follows a meticulous selection process, and the title of Buffet Artist is not bestowed lightly. Strydom will be the first South African artists to represent the brand.
For nearly 200 years, musicians have received continuous artistic excellence and a dedication to music from Buffet-Crampon and its instruments. In a dialogue with the most renowned artists, the brand’s ambition is to combine tradition with modernity, know-how with creation, and history with innovation in order to offer excellent wind instruments unique in character, and underpinned by undeniable quality.
Strydom received her formative musical education at the Windhoek Conservatoire, before completing her undergraduate degree at the UFS. Her playing then won her several prestigious scholarships for overseas studies. She began her postgraduate studies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and then furthered her studies in Belgium, resulting in two separate Master’s Degrees in Clarinet and in Bass Clarinet Performance from the Royal Conservatory, Ghent University.
Besides currently serving as principal clarinetist for the Free State Symphony Orchestra and Namibian National Symphony, she was an ad-hoc member of the esteemed Brussels Philharmonic from 2009-2013. The spell with the Brussels Philharmonic included an Academy Award for the soundtrack of the motion picture, “The Artist,” which Strydom considers one of her proudest moments.