Novar app aims to provide free education to all children
JOHANNESBURG - Two Limpopo youngsters are on a mission to transform education in Africa.
Marvel Shibambu and Malunghelo Mathonsi have created an interactive, e-learning app called Novar. It's aimed at providing free, quality education to all children.
READ: Award winning app to help children learn african languages
It offers subjects such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, medicine and advanced mathematics.
Shibambu and Mathonsi spoke to eNCA about their groundbreaking creation.
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That kind of control becomes necessary when you've only got fragments left. 'But I think people have forgotten what wild nature actually is, and that it's not as intimidating as they imagine to have functional wild systems. You don't need to control every detail. 'Take rangelands, for example, those spaces connecting protected areas. People often think, 'We must manage this park and that park, and everything in between is just a mess that we can't control'. But we don't need total control over the in-between. What we need are basic principles of ecological functionality, and to not mess it up by pushing too hard for an unrealistic notion of untouched wilderness. 'If we overload the demands on rangelands, people are forced to convert them into agriculture, which is far worse ecologically than using them for grazing. Production grazing, when done right, can actually support ecological processes. We don't need to fixate on having X number of this species or that one. 'Ecologists, African or otherwise, understand the processes that sustain ecosystems: such as connectivity, dispersal, disturbance. Especially patchy disturbance. There's this core idea in ecology, the 'intermediate disturbance hypothesis': too little disturbance, and dominant species take over and reduce biodiversity; too much, and only pioneers survive. But if you hit that balance, some areas disturbed, others resting, shifting across time and space, that's where diversity thrives. 'We understand these processes. But implementation varies hugely; what works in Denmark doesn't map neatly onto Africa. And our thinking has become so polarised: it's either completely wild or it's not nature at all. 'We need to reimagine what a functional landscape looks like, not just a protected one. Rangelands can offer functionality and support livelihoods, unlike monocultures of corn. 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We can be part of the landscape, just like other species, but we must be aware of whether our presence disrupts or facilitates those key ecological functions. 'Right now, it feels like we're trying to protect this idealised vision of wild nature while facing overwhelming pressures: climate change, land use, globalisation. And frankly, to use a crude metaphor, it can feel like farting against thunder. You're not going to win by doing the same old thing. 'We really have to reimagine these landscapes. And I hope this project is a small step in that direction,' says Le Roux. DM The JWO Research Grant is an annual award of $150,000 to support early-career scientists seeking solutions to some of Africa's most pressing environmental problems. This year's winner will be announced at the Oppenheimer Research Conference in Midrand in October.
