Cape LeadSA winners share top prize, each gets R100 000
TWO CAPE Town regional LeadSA winners took top honours at yesterday’s first Changemakers conference.
RLabs, founded by Marlon Parker, and the Jenna Lowe foundation, were each awarded R100 000 towards their NPOs, thanks to generous sponsorship from The Dischem Foundation.
Ivan Saltzman, chief executive of Dischem, and Terry Volkwyn, Primedia broadcasting chief executive, handed the awards to the winners.
The prize-giving was the culmination of the 2015 Changemakers Conference. It was hosted by 702 presenter Xolani Gwala, who said the conference was timely and something that was needed in this country.
The conference saw almost 1 000 people gather in the University of Johannesburg auditorium where speakers, panels and inspiring individuals appeared on stage.
Volkwyn, LeadSA founder, opened the event with a salute to those attending. “Everyone in this room is here to inspire other changemakers to greater heights. The speakers are changemakers in their own right. There is a positive energy in this auditorium – it gives us all hope and purpose. I am proud to stand with you.”
Editor of the Star newspaper, Kevin Ritchie, said every person had it in them to make a change. “The insignificance of all of us and feeling that we can’t make a difference leaves us immobilised. But we can be inspired by these individuals – with their tales of doing extraordinary things in an extraordinary world.”
A Barclays Wealth survey said South Africans were the second-most generous in the world, with a high rate of salaries going towards giving.
Chairman and managing director of Nestlé, Ian Donald, who has been with the company for 43 years, said its approach to continual service improvement (CSI) was to create a share-value programme that focused on rural development and nutrition.
Charlotte Mampane, of the national lotteries commission, said the economic environment had affected the land- scape of funding.
Imtiaz Sooliman, from Gift of the Givers, was presented with the inaugural Leadership award in honour of his direction and selfless work globally. He said he was given the vision to start his organisation of 25 varying projects by a spiritual counsellor when he was younger. “The award is not for me – it is for South Africa.”
Panel discussions on education and the CSI landscape explored topics at the heart of development and the LeadSA philosophy.
Inspiring individuals like Sisanda Msekele also shared their stories. Msekele lost her eyesight in matric but managed to obtain a Phd from Wits University. She told the audience how she decided to “suck it up and carry on”. She said the level of work escalated during her studies and she had to sacrifice her social life to achieve her goals.
“My mom said that if I could be the best I could be, it would be enough,” said Parker.
Lowe’s mother, Gabi, said: “Everyone can be a changemaker – go to www.getmeto21. com.”