Latest news with #JICP
The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
watch: Mjaivo Jaiva takes over the streets of Joburg
Celebrating International Dance Day with rhythm, unity, and joy. Hundreds of dancers took to the streets for International Dance Day celebration. Picture: Screenshot/Facebook Hundreds of dancers flooded the streets of Johannesburg this Friday, 16 May, for Mjaivo Jaiva, a celebration of International Dance Day. The Johannesburg Inner City Partnership (JICP), in collaboration with Moving Into Dance (MID) and the Maharishi Invincibility Institute (MII), hosted the event starting at the Magistrate's Court in Main Street, Johannesburg. Although International Dance Day is officially marked on 29 April, the celebration was moved to line up with South Africa's public holidays, allowing for greater participation and public engagement. ALSO READ: WATCH: ULTRA South Africa celebrates 10 years of dance music Mjaivo Jaiva for International Dance Day More than 1 000 dancers, choreographed by the renowned MID team, turned the pavements into lively stages filled with joy, music and shared creativity. JICP CEO David van Niekerk said collaborations like these are crucial for transforming the city from the inside out. 'This is more than a dance event – it's a living, breathing example of what happens when culture, creative expression and community power intersect. This is Jozi showing the world what it's made of.' MID, a Newtown-based pioneer of Afro fusion and edudance since 1978, has trained hundreds of participants over the past weeks in a choreographed routine that speaks to identity, movement and inclusion. 'This is dance for everyone. Whether you know the choreography or just want to move your body, we invite you to join in – follow the rhythm, feel the vibe, or simply soak up the spirit of Mjaivo Jaiva,' said Nadia Virasamy, CEO of MID. MII, a non-profit educational hub in the inner city since 2007, brought its own cohort of students to join the performance. NOW READ: Not just 'Lazy, rich housewives'! Louise Volschenk claps back at Afrikaans critics on The Mommy Club
Eyewitness News
22-04-2025
- General
- Eyewitness News
Turning trash from the Jukskei River into art
Jabulile Mbatha 22 April 2025 | 8:23 An Alexandra resident collects waste from litter traps in the Jukskei River that be transformed into art. Picture: Simphiwe Nkosi/EWN JOHANNESBURG - One of the fondest memories Sipho Gwala has of growing up in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, is playing by the Jukskei River searching for crabs. As a child, he was told crabs had money inside of them, a myth that motivated him and his friends to fish for the fable he was told as a child led to his interest as an adult when he learnt that crabs were indeed known for "consuming trash found in water" and being the "sea cleaning creatures", scientifically known as scavengers for their ability to consume dead organisms and said he worried that crabs could not be the only ones cleaning this river when he partnered with the Alexandra Water Warriors, a community-run environmental organisation focused on cleaning the Jukskei River, among other Jukskei River is the longest river in Johannesburg, spanning over 300km from the city into the Crocodile River, which then drains into the Limpopo River and ultimately the Indian the community of Alexandra, it was once a stop on a tour-guided route but with the deterioration from the pollution, it has become an eyesore. CEO of Alex Water Warriors, Semadi Manganye, said: "We live in an area where water is scarce and our river suffers too, with all the dilapidated infrastructure, sewage ends up in the river which is where we come in; we want to clean these spaces make sure we preserve them for future generations." The Alex Water Warriors found a unique way to clean the Jukskei River by incorporating the use of litter traps, handwoven by members of the Kula Marolen Foundation, another Alex-based organisation. The traps are made from plastic materials that are found in the river, recycled and reused. By profession, Gwala is an artist and his part in the project is making art to exhibit alongside the river. Gwala is part of a group of other Alex-based artists who use the recycled materials found in the river to create art, like sculptures. One of those artists is Rejoice Malete, who sculpted a human-sized rodent and mongoose from tyres thrown away in the river. She was also part of the team that made a mosaic, something she said she did not know she could has only been a resident of Alex for two years, forced to move after the loss of a family member. She said: "When I moved, I could not find a school for my child who has special needs, so I've been involving him in my projects which require handwork and it's been fulfilling knowing he is learning new skills."Yesterday the launch of a partnership led by environmental artist and scientist, Hennelie Coetzee, who works with Alex Water Warriors and the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership (JICP). JICP CEO, David van Niekerk said: "The three-year initiative is aimed at revitalising the Upper Jukskei River catchment through nature-based solutions that address flooding, erosion, manage urban heat, improve water security and enhance biodiversity protection, ultimately increasing climate resilience for over a million people." Researcher at Gauteng City Region Observatory, Dr Samikhsha Singh, said this recycling could offer the manufacturing industry the solutions of biodegradable material to use to avert a pollution crisis. She said: "If we are finding a lot of polystyrene in the river system, they come from food packaging and they very easily break down into smaller pieces, so what can we do to manage this, should we do something like swapping out polystyrene packing for more biodegradable stuff."Manganye said they hoped to get more partnerships of this nature. "We are trying to build that bridge between the ones that want, the ones that need with the ones that have."
