Dear Readers,
The year 2014 has been marked by the 20th Anniversary of South Africa’s Freedom and Democracy, which all Missions abroad celebrated through a series of events aimed at sharing The Good Story of South Africa with the international community.
I can confidently say that our friends in Italy at all levels have contributed to the success of the events we organized, which represented an opportunity to consolidate existing relationship and establish new, profitable ones.
We move forward to the year 2015 with the same positive vibes and excitement that will inspire our future public and economic diplomacy activities in line with the priorities set out in our Government’s foreign policy to achieve the goals of the National Development Plan Vision 2030.
The role of Economic
Diplomacy remains central in positioning South Africa in the world and ensuring that our international relations continue to support our efforts to grow the economy and create jobs so that we can address domestic challenges such as unemployment, poverty and inequality. As a European country, Italy remains of strategic importance for the attainment of South Africa’s national priorities as one of the major actors in its regional as well as in global politics and economics, through its membership of the P5, European Union, the G8 and G20.
South Africa’s voice in international affairs is a reflection of our so-called “ubuntu diplomacy”. The philosophy of Ubuntu is the recognition of our interconnectedness and interdependence and shapes our unique approach to international relations.
We are committed to the pro-motion of Africa’s Continen-tal Agenda 2063 for the reali-zation of the vision of the AU of an integrated, people-centred, prosperous Africa, at peace with itself, through a people-driven process.
We look forward to interacting again with local institutions, with NGOs, academia, the media and ordinary citizens to share the beauty of our country and the many opportunities it can offer.
Saul Kgomotso Molobi
MESSAGE FROM THE CONSUL-GENERAL
South Africa
Inspiring new ways
SOUTH AFRICAN CONSULATE-GENERAL, MILAN
Nr. 1 – 2013
Nr. 4—2014
19 December 2014
DEPT. OF HOME AFFAIRS: REPATRIATION REFUNDS
Following the Immigration Amendment Act, which was implemented on May 26, the Department is no longer requiring deposits as a condition for issuing temporary residence permits.
Applicants should seek a refund for a repatriation deposit paid under the old regulations, before 28 FEBRUARY 2015, and the following documents should be submitted:
1. An application form for a repatriation deposit is available at the South African Consulate in Milan.
2. Original passport
3. Original receipt for the deposit
4. Proof of final departure from South Africa on or before the expiration of their temporary resi-dence permit
5. Applicants may apply at a South African Mission/Consulate in their home country or Depart-ment of Home Affairs in South Africa.
6. Individuals who overstayed are disqualified from applying for a refund.
7 Applicants seeking a refund should note the strict deadline of 28 February 2015. After the date, all the deposits will be considered forfeited.
For any further information, please send your enquiry to: consular.milan@dirco.gov.za
We wish all our friends and readers a peaceful, joyful Festive Season and
a prosperous 2015!
Our Consulate-General will be closed from 24 December 2014 to 2 January 2015.
“A person with Ubuntu is open and avail-able to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she be-longs in a greater whole”.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
On the occasion of the cele-brations of South Africa’s 20th Anniversary of Democracy and Freedom of and to honour Nelson Mandela’s legacy, the South African Consulate-General, in partnership with the City of Milan, Dept. of Sports, and the NGO Comunitá Nuova organized the event Ubuntu Fun Walk, which was supported by other key part-ners such as the Lombardy Regional School Department; the Lombardy Re-gion Branch of the National Olympic
Committee; Milan Amatori Rugby Club; Olimpia Milano Basketball Club; SA Rug-by and other NGOs.
In this particular historical context, where communities struggle to integrate, this initiative aimed at raising awareness on the meaning of Ubuntu – I am because we are – amongst the young generations, so that they will learn to consider others not as diversity but as wealth. Sport was the
vehicle through which the message was delivered to the students.
Participants could prepare for the event through a dedicated educa-tional kit with background infor-mation on Ubuntu. The “Best Ban-ner Competition” was part of the event, too. Under this competition the schools, on the basis of their own interpretation of Ubuntu with-in the framework of the school community, designed and prepared a banner to exhibit during the fun walk. The Award was given to the banner carrying the following sen-tence: “Sport and Freedom have the same colours”.
Over 300 students aged 11-14 years participated in the fun walk, which started in Piazza Duomo, Milan’s main square, and ended at the Arena, the outdoor sports facili-ty where the students were in-volved in rugby training sessions. They were also interviewed on ShareRadio, a local web radio that broadcast the event live. The event concluded with speeches by Consul-General Molobi and by the other partners involved in the Ubuntu Fun Walk.
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UBUNTU FUN WALK: “I AM BECAUSE WE ARE” – MILAN, 24 OCTOBER 2014
SOUTH AFRICA
INSPIRING NEW WAYS
COMMEMORATION OF THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF NELSON MANDELA’S PASSING
Trieste, 12 December 2014
5 December 2014 marked the first anniver-sary of President Mandela’s passing.
On 12 December 2014 the Regional Gov-ernment of Friuli Venezia Giulia, in part-nership with the South African Consulate-General in Milan, hosted the commemora-tion of the first anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s passing at their prestigious headquarters in Trieste. The event was honoured by the presence of the President of the Region, Ms Serracchiani; the Presi-dent of the Regional Council, Mr Iacop; and representatives of the local institu-tions. It also saw the participation of ordi-nary citizens and students from the United World Colleges, who opened the event with the national anthems of Italy and South Africa.
In his speech, Consul-General Molobi highlighted that the first anniversary rep-resented an opportunity to make a call to all South Africans, and the world, to keep his memory alive by living his values and continuing with efforts aimed at ensuring that all humanity lives in a society where peace, tolerance, the rule of law, justice and human rights form the cornerstone of our daily lives.
“When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his coun-try, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity”
Nelson Mandela
The South African Consulate-General is pleased to inform all readers and friends of South Africa about the recent launch of the Mission’s website and blog.
The website www.dirco.gov.za/milan_italy is a comprehensive platform providing users with information on various issues, from consular and immigration to business and tourism. It will also inform on the Mission’s events and be regularly updated with im-portant news both from Italy and South Afri-ca. The website is currently available only in English but the Italian version will soon be added.
The blog www.investireinsudafrica.org is an interactive platform between public and private sector involved in the de-velopment of economic relations be-tween South Africa and Italy. The aim of the blog is to develop synergies between the communities in the two countries (industrialists, entrepreneurs, consultants, institutions, individuals, media, etc) interested in obtaining updated information on opportunities for trade and investment. The Eco-nomic Office will post, on a regular basis, activities, events, news articles, publications and information received from the Department of Trade and Industry and various other sources in South Africa and Italy.
The news from the blog and the web-site will also be channelled to the oth-er social media platforms managed by the Mission:
Linkedin group “Investire in Sudafrica”
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/ Investire-Sudafrica
Twitter account “Investire in SA”
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/ConsolatoGe neraledelSudafricaMilano
“We would like to reach out to as many people as possible – Consul-General Molobi said. We invite you to add the Mission’s media channels to your fa-vourites and to follow us. We also appre-ciate any contributions and suggestions that can add value to these platforms. We trust the information is of interest and would be grateful if you could spread the word to any interested users.”
FOLLOW US ON OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA!
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S O U T H A F R I C A
I NS P I R I N G N EW W A Y S
SOUTH AFRICAN FOOD AND WINE: SHOW COOKING AT RISTORANTE MIMMO – Milan, 17 December 2014
The Economic Office of the South African Consulate-General in Milan, in partnership with the companies Pa.Ma.B. and Afriwines, hosted a a selected group of media in the food and wine sector for a show cooking at Ristorante Mimmo in Milan.
The chef, Davide Zunino, presented three recipes based on South African ostrich meat combined with excellent South African wines.
Journalists and bloggers from some of the most prestigious publications,
such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, participated in this first time event, where they had the opportunity to interact with the chef and enjoy South African food and wines, which are drawing more and more interest in Italy.
The ostrich meat was supplied by the Genoa-based compa-ny Pa.Ma.B. that has a long-standing business relationship with South Africa and, in particular, with Klein Karoo being its exclusive agent in Italy for ostrich meat.
Wines were supplied by Afriwines, a company based in the province of Milan that has been importing wines from South Africa since 2005.
South African Consulate-General
vicolo S. Giovanni sul Muro, 4
20121 Milan
Tel: +39 02 8858581
saconsulate.milan@dirco.gov.za
Visa/Permits/Civic Services: consular.milan@dirco.gov.za
Trade & Investment:
dtimilan@thedti.gov.za
SOUTH AFRICANS MAKING GREAT STRIDES IN ITALY: JOSEPH GABRIELS
@saulmolobi
@InvestireinSA
@the_dti
Consolato Generale del Sudafrica Milano
CONTACT US
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JANUARY—MARCH 2015
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: “TWEET OFF RACISM”
In partnership with the NGO Comunitá Nuova
21 March 2015
SOUTH AFRICA AT VINITALY
International Wine Exhibition
22-25 March 2015
Information on other events will be posted on our website and social media in early 2015.
Investire in Sudafrica
www.investireinsudafrica.org
Joseph Gabriels was born in Salt Riv-er, Cape Town in April 1937. Joey, as his friends called him, started as a choir boy for St. Lukes church. A teacher who heard him sing “Because” at a school concert suggested he takes singing seriously. He later joined a Cape Malay Choir. He started out with the Mario Lanza type of song in all the local shows.
Even though he could not read music, he spent a lot of time teaching the coons in District Six to sing. The Young Stars, a team of 600 coons, won the annual competition on Green Point track once singing Ave Maria in Latin. A fantastic reward for both Joey and the coons because they couldn’t read music and they didn’t even un-derstand Latin. The main thing was….They wanted to sing and be part of Cape Town’s New Year cele-brations.
Joseph was discovered by Joseph Manca, musical director of the EOAN GROUP. The EOAN GROUP, a vol-untary, cultural group was started in District Six in 1933. The name Eoan comes from the Greek word ‘Eos’, the goddess of the dawn. In Greek my-thology she is personified as the one who brings the hope of a new day. The group’s founder, Helen Southern-holt,
a British immigrant chose this name be-cause it referred to her desire to bring hope and cultural opportunities to the community of District Six and all the gifted actors, musicians and dancers in Cape Town who wanted to express their life’s calling, but couldn’t because of their colour and the apartheid system. The non-white populations were not al-lowed to see any shows that were being held at the theatres in South Africa.
District Six was a melting pot in those early years. All races and creeds mixed freely and happily until, in the 70s, the Nationalist apartheid government de-clared it a white area because of the Group Areas Act, a law which excluded non-Whites from living in the most devel-oped areas. About 60,000 people were forcibly moved out of District Six to areas outside the city and District 6 was bull-dozed.
Joseph sang with the EOAN group from 1955 to 1966. His repertoire included: Rose Marie, Rigoletto, La Bohème, La Traviata, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore, Carmen, Die Fldermaus and
Verdi’s Requiem .
He received no musical or vocal train-ing while in South Africa. In 1967 he received a bursary from the Schneier family of Johannesburg to study in Milan. In 1969 he won the famous Verdi competition in Busseto, the birthplace of Verdi. He made his de-but on 5 February 1971 at the Metro-politan Opera in New York as Canio in I Pagliacci – the first ever South African to sing there. He later sang Don Carlos, Madama Butterfly and Il Trovatore with Dusseldorf Opera and Duisburg and was invited to sing for the Vatican. He then appeared with the English National Opera in the full version of Verdi’s Don Carlos. He was also a regular singer at a cultural centre in Fidenza.
Joseph Gabriels was married to Mabel, who still live in Milan with her family today (Vanessa, Marcello and Brian). Apart from running her school, Mabel is involved in promoting South Africa while teaching respect and integration.
“South Africans making great strides in Italy” is a new section in our newsletter. Each issue will include the story of a South African citizen who, for different reasons, moved to Italy and has made or is still making significant strides in various sectors, from opera singing to medicine to sports. We trust that you will find it of interest.
South African Consulate-General, Milan
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