AIESEC in South Africa is currently preparing for their peak period of sending young individuals on international exchanges for community development or professional experiences. Through these cross-cultural experiences young people between 18 and 30 years can explore other cultures and develop their leadership skills to create a more harmonious future for all.

For the past two years, AIESEC in South Africa worked with Tata Consultancy Services to send 61 individuals for professional training to India, with the chance of getting employed full time upon their return to South Africa.

However, this is only one of many opportunities around the world to South African youth; we offer both 6 - 12 week projects to impact communities abroad as well as professional internship opportunities, starting from a duration of three months. With the holiday and graduation period for students coming up, this can be an opportunity to spend holidays in a meaningful way or jump-start their career abroad.

You can learn more about our opportunities on our website aiesec.org.za and browse our projects in our Opportunity Portal opportunities.aiesec.org. Sign up today to join our mission to end conflict worldwide and bring about global peace.

AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-led organization creating opportunities for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. With offices in more than 125 countries and territories, AIESEC is a non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education.

Santa's Story, a theatre fundraiser for street children in need of trauma therapy Santa's Story, Aviva Pelham's beautiful and uplifting one-woman musical revue about her mother, Santa Erder, is coming to Theatre on the Bay in February 2015.

Thanks to Aviva's generous support, opening night, Tuesday, 3 February 2015,  is a theatre fundraiser. The money raised will be used to put (at least) 14 Cape Town street children through a drama therapy programme with Zakheni Arts Therapy Foundation. Your R200 ticket includes a welcome drink, the 75 minute show and heaps of gratitude from the fundraising team! For bookings, please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 081 243 4771

Please see the attached flyer for more information on the show that has toured Germany, Finland and will soon be seen in New York.

Maya Keel, Director of COACH is the Acting Chairperson for the Gauteng Welfare and Social Services Development Forum and the Deputy Chairperson for the National Welfare and Social Services Development Forum. In September, the National Social Development Portfolio Committee invited the Forum to present input into how the non-profit sector can support the work of the Committees and the challenges that the NPO sector faces.

Based on the input from various provincial forums, COACH presented this to members of parliament. The presentation was very well received and many questions were posed about the funding crisis experienced by the NPO sector and how best it can be resolved.

Many recommendations were given, the main one being the legislation being put into place that determines the partnership between the Department of Social Development and non-profit organisations. This can determine the funding model to be used, with special emphasis on; parity of social worker and social auxiliary worker’s salaries, and to ensure that the state meets it’s statute obligations with regards to the Children’s and Older Persons Act.

This in turn will lead to the sustainability of Child and Youth Care Centres and Old Age Homes respectively.  It can also lead to improved infrastructure to deal with children in crisis by becoming proactive and preventative as opposed to only being reactive. Some serious concerns about the survival of the NPO Sector were noted by members.

To this end, Maya Keel received and open invitation to Parliamentary Social Development Portfolio Committee meetings in the future. This is a great honour for COACH as it has always strived for the advocacy of better opportunities and safer environment for children and has been an active partner in the transformation of services and developmental approach to child and youth care.    

Darren August takes us through a few of the experiences and relationships with his own teachers, growing up, which changed his life. He retells the stories of others too, and will surely awaken your school memories. As an experienced motivator, the book leaves not only teachers encouraged to inspire others, but everyone else will feel inspired to reach their potential and live their calling too. 

This book offers a few giggles as we see things from the perspective of a child, but is mostly introspective of the role we play in the way in which children perceive themselves. Teachers and parents will find it particularly motivating – with practical ways you could change young lives, for good. 

This book is a great resource. It’s a celebration of teachers, as instrumental parts of society – it will definitely have you thinking of the teachers that have impacted your life. Scheduled for release in October 2014 – this book is set to motivate every South African reader to once again restore the dignity of ‘The Noblest Profession”. 

About the Author 

Darren August is the Founder and CEO of Dazz Consulting – A dynamic training organisation committed to seeing people thrive and succeed.He is a Corporate Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach, Entrepreneur, Radio Host & former Lecturer.He is passionate about Life; People and Education and together with his wife – Arlene, they believe in maximizing every opportunity to impact the lives of others. 

To order, for interview requests and other queries, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are thrilled to announce that both the public and private sectors appear to recognize the value of board diversity as BPW SA has been approached in the last month alone, to assist with eleven board vacancies for women on our Register.  Women and men have different interests and perspectives in important areas, and boards are starting to see the importance of utilising these varying experiences to tackle the tremendous challenges. 

BPW SA and the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) want boards of directors to widen the search for talent by looking beyond the traditional pool of executives and bring new potential to light.  It is for this reason that we have joined forces to provide a Women on Boards programme to create a Register of female leaders in South Africa who are excellently trained and, as a result, are highly sought after by Boards.  After all, why on earth would you voluntarily exclude half the smart people?

Our first group of 19 senior women, all thoroughly trained through our 9-month Women on Boards director development programme and certified by the dti, are now available on our register of Board Potential Women Directors and we urge companies to contact us for potential female directors.

Seven of our graduates are in line for board interviews , many have been interviewed by the media – both radio and magazines – and all will be profiled in the KZN Chamber of Commerce Power Book (2015). As an ongoing service to the graduates, BPW SA continues to raise their profile in an effort to access suitable board placements.  We have proven that board diversity is not a supply problem, but rather a demand problem.

BPW SA is proud to announce that we have incorporated an international module into the Women on Boards programme.  Business acumen - incorporating business finance and strategy - a must in today’s complex landscape. Business acumen is a keen understanding of what it takes for an organization to make money.  It combines financial literacy – the ability to interpret numbers on financial statements – with business literacy – recognizing how strategies and decisions impact these numbers.  Call it a sophisticated business simulation. Call it an exercise in experiential learning. Or call it a board game. Whatever you label it, the simple fact is that the training is fun and will gives participants a true competitive edge.

A recent Women on Board graduate, Tebogo Maziya, who holds a Masters degree in Science, a postgraduate diploma in finance and a B Comm degree says the nine-month journey has been fulfilling. “I learnt there’s a risk and that that risk is manageable. So it’s important for the board to be transparent and accountable and for a board member to be aware of decisions made because they will be held accountable.”  Another graduate, Amantha Maharaj, a BSc electrical engineering graduate with an MBA, who works a top management level at an engineering consultancy says of the programme: “It teaches one to know how a board is structured, what to do, and questions one needs to ask when sitting on a board. It also teaches business risk and how one should view business from a higher level. It was certainly value for money.”

For more information about our Women on Boards Programme, please visit our website at www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (011) 794-4991.

Three local NGOs active in the field of anti-human trafficking are set to benefit from a gruelling, three-day cycling challenge to be spearheaded by leading content and technology solutions provider, LexisNexis South Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal from 29 September to 1 October 2014.  

The event will see 11 cyclists, including LexisNexis CEO Billy Last, senior employees and other corporate partners, cycle more than 200 kilometres from the Drakensberg to Durban with the aim of raising funds for Mercy House in Johannesburg, Open Door Crisis Centre in Durban and Molo Songololo in Cape Town.  

Speaking during preparations for the LexisNexis Cycle against Trafficking Challenge, Last said: “We decided to get our most senior staff out from behind their desks and into action for the benefit of valued NGO partners who work in the field of anti-human trafficking, which forms the core of our corporate social responsibility initiatives. Our hope is to really build on the successes of our well-established ‘LN Cares’ staff volunteerism programme and our ongoing work in this field.”  

The LexisNexis Cycle against Trafficking Challenge has also attracted strong corporate support including that of platinum sponsor, Interpak Books (Pty) Ltd.  

Globally LexisNexis works to uphold the rule of law by providing regulatory content in print, digital and training formats for professionals and academics in the fields of law, tax, accounting and government. In South Africa the company’s LN Cares programmes sees over 200 employees volunteer annually to benefit charity organisations and NGOs.  

Says Last: “As LexisNexis we have committed to donate a minimum of R50 000 to our three beneficiaries, but are also carrying out our own internal fundraising and approaching our business partners to ensure that the final amount will be higher.”   The final donation will assist the safe houses with their daily needs.  

The LexisNexis Cycle against Trafficking Challenge kicks off on Monday, 29 September when the intrepid riders set out from Glengarry in the Kamberg Valley of the Drakensberg to cycle 87 km to Midmar Dam. Day 2 on Tuesday, 30 September will see them cycle a further 86km to end at Watervale Ridge in Hillcrest, Durban. The final stretch of 40km takes them to Morningside Primary School in Durban on Wednesday, 1 October where they will be welcomed by a team of cheering LexisNexis employees and business partners.

If you would like to assist the beneficiaries by sponsoring or even making a small donation you can do so by contacting Neliswa Hlombe, LexisNexis Corporate Communications & PR Manager on Tel. +27 (0)31 268 3284 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Also see http://www.lexisnexis.co.za/cycleagainsttrafficking/ 

# # #  

About the Beneficiaries

Mercy House provides transitional housing for female victims of domestic violence and their children. See www.mercy-house.co.za 

The Open Door Crisis Care Centre based in Pinetown, Kwazulu-Natal, is a well-established counselling, training and advisory centre housing an HIV/AIDS clinic, play therapy room for traumatised children, training room, office space and 10 counselling rooms. See www.opendoor.org.za  

Molo Songololo has been working to promote the rights and protection of all children for more than 30 years and in 2000 released a pioneering report that put the spotlight on trafficking in children in South Africa for the purposes of sexual exploitation. See www.molosongololo.com

On the 7th August, 2014, BPW South Africa and the Department of Trade & Industry launched South Africa’s first database of “Board Potential Women” at a Business Breakfast held with over 200 CEO’s and high level government officials.  Acting Director General, Mrs Pumla Ncapayi of the Department of Small Business Development (The Department of Trade & Industry) handed over certificates to 19 senior businesswomen who have completed the intensive BPW SA “Women on Boards” director development programme and have now been profiled on the “Board Potential Women” database.  

The first 19 women on this database all fulfil stringent criteria for corporate governance and legislation and are well trained through our “Women on Boards” director development programme.  This list of "Board Potential Women" makes it clear that there are more than enough eminently qualified women to help lead South Africa’s corporations into the 21st century and that it is now time to shatter the glass ceiling that keeps these women from ascending to board positions.  Furthermore, it’s time we provide opportunities to more women than just the “high flyers” who currently occupy most board seats.  

We need to use all of our society’s talents to ensure that South Africa’s economy thrives. We often hear the argument that there are insufficient qualified women to occupy positions in the boardroom. Today BPW SA and the Department of Trade & Industry are shattering those myths as well as glass ceilings! The database shows that the qualified women are there – it’s just a matter of finding them and we’ve made it easy through our database.  There is no longer any excuse for recruiting unqualified non-executive female directors onto a board.  

The programme and database is administered by BPW SA in consultation with the Department of Trade & Industry. All women listed in the database are suitable to be considered for company board-level positions and meet a clear set of criteria.  Every application to be part of our “Women on Boards” programme and database is formally assessed and reviewed and only those women who meet the criteria are accepted. Notably, all women on the database have extensive formal qualifications and at least five years senior management experience.  

Companies should now make use of this untapped pool of talent, and businesswomen interested in potential board posts, should be joining the “Women on Boards” programme and ultimately our national database, in order to promote their profile amongst a larger audience.

For more information, give us a call on (011) 794-4991 or 083 212 9134 or visit our website at www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za.

PMHP at the Artscape 

Celebrating Women’s Day and Women’s Month, the 8th Women’s Humanity Arts Festival will take place at Artscape Theatre Centre from 6 - 9 August 2014. The theme of the 2014 festival is HUMANITY and the objective this year is to celebrate and salute those women who actively strive to better their own lives and the lives of countless other women in our society today.  The Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) is honoured to take part in this very important event to highlight the impact of mental health on the well-being and development of women and their babies. The PMHP is a non-profit entity that has been operating for nearly 12 years, in partnership with the Departments of Health and Social Development. We provide mental health services for pregnant and postnatal women, train those who work with mothers to improve the quality of their care, form partnerships to promote the scale up of services and inform global interventions through robust research and advocacy. We envision mental health support for all mothers to promote their well-being, and that of their children and communities. Our mission is to develop and advocate for accessible maternal mental health care that can be delivered effectively at scale in low resource settings. On the 9th August, Dr. Simone Honikman, the PMHP founder and director will host a discussion together with one of the projects former clients, who works as a psychologist in the HIV sector.   Furthermore the PMHP will host a display table providing further information about the project.  

About the Discussion: Why Maternal Mental Health matters? Pregnancy and the postnatal period is a psychologically distressing period for many women, particularly those facing social challenges like poverty, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of common maternal mental disorders (including depression and anxiety) in low-income communities in South Africa is very high. One out of three women in South Africa suffers from depression during or after pregnancy. When left untreated, mental illness can contribute to maternal mortality, poor maternal and child health, and consequently, negative development outcomes. In response to this problem, the Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) was started in 2002. The mission of the PMHP is to develop and advocate for accessible maternal mental health care that can be delivered effectively at scale in low resource settings. Simone Honikman, founder and director of the PMHP, will present on maternal mental health as an integral part of maternal health!

As a Director or Shareholder, it’s important that you are familiar with the changes that the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), National Credit Act, Companies Act, 2008 and King III has on your business. Get to grips with what is required of you as a director in your business. The International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW) in partnership with the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) invite you to attend their Empowerment seminar that will educate and inform you about how to comply with these regulations.  Delegates will receive a Certificate of Attendance from the dti and BPW confirming their participation of the event.

The seminar will take place in Johannesburg from 1-3 October from 09h30 to 17h00. Attendance at the seminar will cost R12 000 for the 3 days excluding VAT, transport and accommodation.  Please note that cancellation fees will be incurred once you have confirmed your booking.   

In keeping with its core aims, and due to popular demand, BPW has garnered the support of top legal experts to assist you in gaining valuable insight into a rapidly changing branch of corporate law. Both men and women are encouraged to attend.  

BPW is an international businesswomen’s organisation founded 81 years ago in Geneva, Switzerland. BPW is recognised as the largest and most influential international network of business and professional women, with affiliates in 100+ countries on five continents. We have over 500 000 members internationally which include women leaders, entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, professionals and young career women.  BPW has had Consultative Status with the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 1947 and participatory status with the Council of Europe and works in partnership with the Commonwealth Business Council.  BPW South Africa has partnered with the dti in South Africa.  

BPW has the ambition to make the equal participation of women and men in power and decision-making roles a reality through capacity- and confidence-building. Through hosting this seminar together with the dti, BPW is leading the way by enriching the knowledge base of directors and stakeholders when it comes to taking responsibility in a corporate setting.

For more information on topics or to make your booking
visit: http://www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za/index.php/events/30-future-events/98-business-training-courses
or

Contact:
Toni Gomes
Tel: (011) 794-4991
Cell: 083 212 9134
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za

"Finding ourselves with the problem of coming up with something genius to do for our clients on Mandela Day we thought it would be first prize if we could put together an event that they could all take part in. The Soccer World Cup has inspired so many ideas and Mandela Day is a significant date on our calendars. In support we have invited our clients to be a part of our  "Have a Ball" Campaign on Friday, 18 July in aid of  The Homestead Projects for Street Children.”

 Eight companies have signed up for a Five-a-Side football tournament, organised by Adverb Marketing, Communications and Events. The tournament will be held at Fives Futbol, who have kindly donated their Century City venue and staff for the day and will see each company create a soccer team consisting of four boys from The Homestead and four staff members from the company. A total of 32 boys will be bussed in from The Homestead Shelter in Woodstock and The Homestead Youth Care Centre in Khayelitsha, courtesy of Hotel Verde. They will be treated to a fun day of soccer, food, refreshments and give-aways. A surprise for all will be the arrival of some of the players from Ajax Cape Town, who will be there to kick a few goals in the nets and assist with the prize giving. Along with medals and trophies, prizes will be awarded for the biggest smile, furthest goal, best save, loudest laugh and so on.  The day of giving will be topped off with a hand-out of takkies and soccer balls to each boy who participated, these have been purchased with the funds donated (or saved) by the sponsors who are: 

Adverb, Aquawolf, BON Hotels, Carlucci, Colin Roberts, Concept Lounge, Fives Futbol, Grandslots, Hotel Verde, Innovation Projects, Jella Trading, lccpm, Mike’s Sports, Syspro, TraceBev