Sinatra at 100 on Connected2Jazz

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Celebrating Democracy, learning from the past and looking to the future. #MKK15

As Human Rights Day dawned on South Africa, over 40 youth delegates descended on Bush Radio to register to be part of the annual Media Kidocracy Konfrence hosted by the station from the 10th to the 12th December 2015.

Delegates have been drawn from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Italy, Northern Ireland, Austria, Germany and South Africa.

The theme for this expands and consolidates last years theme of democracy by: Celebrating Democracy, learning from the past and looking to the future.

An early highlight, which was met by excited applause by the delegates was a message of support from Varun Jhaveri, Youth representative at the UNESCO led Global Alliance on Media and Gender. Bush Radio’s Managing Director, Brenda Leonard is currently attending the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media and The First General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender.

The conference is being held at both St Agnes Primary School in Woodstock and at the Cape Town Science Centre.

Background

As part of a growing need for youth participation in the decision-making process and policy formulation around children’s broadcasting, in 2000 Bush Radio initiated a conference. The Kidocracy (Kid-democracy) name was created for the event – to denote a form of society characterised by social equality and acceptance of young people with representation for and by young people.

The Media Kidocracy Konference aims to establish critical awareness and understanding among young people by exposing youth to information and experiences that will enable them to identify issues they feel are relevant, as well as explore their role in media and social issues. MKK also assists participants in devising strategies for addressing social issues by using the media as a tool to help resolve and address these issues.

Crossing continents to make a better world

As our managing director, Brenda Leonard makes her way north to Geneva, Switzerland to represent Bush Radio at the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media and The First General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender another group of intrepid travellers are heading south to Cape Town.

Bush Radio is again pleased to host members of its Northern Ireland partner – Public Acheivement.

From PA’s press release:

Four young people are heading off to Cape Town, South Africa tomorrow to work with Bush Radio – a youth run community radio station. They are part of a United Youth programme run by youth organisation Public Achievement for unemployed young people from across Belfast.

During their 10 day trip they will help to organise the “Media Kidocracy Konference” for children and young people from around Cape Town, and they will work at Bush Radio – including being interviewed on radio and making their own programme.

Craig Murray, Shanti Mawhinney, Sarah Louise Duffy and Aoibhinn Di Torí are all participants in pilots of the “United Youth” programme which is part of the NI Executive’s good relations programme administered through the Department of Employment and Learning. The group will be accompanied by project Coordinator Chiara Cariddi.

Paul Smyth, CEO of Public Achievement said “We are delighted to be sending this group to Bush Radio. This relationship is about exposing our young people to some of the best community radio practitioners in the world as well as learning about the history of South Africa and the challenges it still faces. We believe it will be a lifechanging experience for the group – and will help them to better understand diversity and the relationship between people and communities across the world”.

Read the full press (click here)

1915 – IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR!

On CONNECTED 2 JAZZ, Nigel Vermaas’s Bush Radio 89.5FM show on Tuesday nights in December, he will be marking the centenaries of two music giants: Billy Strayhorn (born 29 November 1915) and Frank Sinatra (born 12 December 1915) Earlier this year CONNECTED 2 JAZZ marked the centenary of another great artist’s birth, Billie Holiday (born 7 April 1915)

Whereas the swaggering Sinatra, whose Hoboken roots never really left him, has been a household name for nearly 80 years, as famous for his love life, punch-ups and gangster connections as he was for his singing and acting talents, the refined Strayhorn is virtually unknown outside the jazz community.

Billy Strayhorn by William P. Gottlieb

Billy Strayhorn, who lived most of his working life in the shadow of Duke Ellington, was the writer and co-writer of many of the Ellington Orchestra’s most famous compositions, notably TAKE THE ‘A’ TRAIN. A discreetly but openly gay black man in a time when many opted for the closet, Strayhorn (‘Swee’pea’, as Duke called him) was also a brilliant orchestrater. The combination of the more flamboyant Ellington with the retiring Strayhorn produced some of the greatest works in jazz.

CONNECTED 2 JAZZ will honour Strayhorn on Tuesday 1 December from 8-10 p.m. on Bush Radio 89.5fm / http://www.bushradio.co.za

Frank Sinatra – arguably the greatest male singer in the history of popular music – may not have been a jazz vocalist as such but he certainly identified with jazz artists (particularly Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett) and used many jazz instrumentalists on his recordings and live gigs; and most jazz singers admire Sinatra.

CONNECTED 2 JAZZ pays tribute to the “Chairman of the Board’ on Tuesday 15 December from 8-10 p.m. on Bush Radio 89.5fm / http://www.bushradio.co.za