The SANCOR Steering Committee and the SANCOR Community would like to congratulate this years recipients of the COMMUNICATOR of THE YEAR AWARDS. The awards were presented by the Duty Minister of Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) – Rejoice Mabudafhasi at a formal function hosted by DEAT & SANCOR at the Pine Lodge in Port Elizabeth on the 15 October 2003.
The Winners were:
PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY-
Ms Kobie Brand
Ms Kobie Brand has worked for the DEAT for many years. Kobie has played a vital role in the Coastcare fact sheet series initiative which has has received national, regional and international acclaim. Kobie conceptualized Coastcare as a user-friendly brand to capture people’s imagination and get all stakeholders involved in a joint initiative to implement the White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South Africa. Kobie was also very active in the development and delivery of a national Education, Training and Development (ETD) programme for coastal communities based on Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) principles.
VOLUNTEER CATEGORY-
Ms Lindiwe Nonkcele
Ms Lindiwe Nonkcele from KZN has only been in the environmental education for a relatively short time yet she has shown dedication and determination in the face of many obstacles, including the lack of funding, to continue with the Coffee Bay Education projects. Lindiwe has volunteered to continue with the programme, even though there are no funds available to pay her, for the rest of the year, visiting each school once a month.
Two SPECIAL AWARDS were presented to:
Mrs Libby Sharwood
Ms Libby Sharwood has been the driving force in the rehabilitation of seabirds on the east coast. Through her hard work and tireless efforts she has secured funds through the National Lottery to help in part to construct a centre to help save the African penguin from extinction. She has been actively involved in public awareness campaigns educating people about the African penguins and other seabirds; her work has helped bring to light
Mr Tony van Dalsen
Tony has served as head of the Reprographic Section of Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) since the inception of the Section in August 1980. Over the past 23 years he has developed the section into a thoroughly modern desktop publishing unit. His talents for drawing and an eye for layout has allowed him to bridge the artist/technologist divide. Since Mr. van Dalsen assumed responsibility of this unit, the old Investigational Reports andFishery Bulletins have given way to the much higher qualitySouth African Journal of Marine Science, (now the African Journal of Marine Science), which is considered to be the top-ranking marine scientific journal in Africa and one of the best in the southern hemisphere. It has perhaps provided the best avenue for southern African marine scientists to communicate their findings to the scientific community. Through all the many posters for symposia, displays, books and handbooks, which Tony has helped put together and been responsible for, he has worked tirelessly with little reward or recognition.
Well done to all the winners!
