It has become customary for the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) to arrange a stakeholders dinner each year to share the successes of the public entity, and at the same time, use the opportunity to profile and show appreciation to its stakeholders, service providers and contractors for the important role they have played in the growth of the ECDC.

The cover of the programme for the Stakeholders Dinner, designed by Donne Gierke.

The purpose of the event is to:

• Raise the awareness of stakeholders about the success of the ECDC and its projects
• Get stakeholder buy–in into ECDC’s vision and objectives
• Reward current partners for their loyalty and support of the projects
• Encourage current partners and stakeholders to continue and improve on their support for the ECDC
• Launch the annual report

Intengu Communications was appointed to manage this event and the theme of the event was “The bounty of the Eastern Cape” which focused on and celebrated the wealth of resources – natural, man-made and human – in the Eastern Cape.  The theme also built on last year’s theme, The Eastern Cape from Above. 

The programme was directed by Mr Putco Mafani who proved he was a worthy choice and kept the guests entertained with his lively personality and humorous stories.

Mr Mxolisi Matshama, CEO of ECDC presented the annual report to the stakeholders, while Dr Adrian Saville spoke on “A Story of Hope in the New World Order” which highlighted the global economic situation and hope for South Africa for the future. 

Professor Muxe Nkondo, a public policy expert was the keynote speaker. 

Wisefools entertained the guests with their unique brand of jazz.

 Intengu recently had the honour of assisting the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) in hosting a breakfast to honour women in the Eastern Cape who were influential in the support, development and growth of business in this province.  The event was attended by approximately 120 people.

 The theme of the event was “Flowers of the Eastern Cape”, in particular the Aloe, and the aloe flower and plant was used as the central visual image of the branding for the event.

 Guests received a branded gift pack of aloe products and were entertained by a marimba band from a local school.

 The guest speaker was Tracy Going, a well-known radio and broadcasting personality who was the female presenter on Morning Live on SABC 2 for 5 years.  Tracy proved to be a dynamic speaker and feedback from the guests indicated that she had touched the hearts of many with her life story; her rise to fame on Morning Live, the set-back of being abused by her partner and, then how she had overcome this and turned her life around.

 The following women received recognition at this event: 

• Ms Noxolo Kiviet  – Eastern Cape Premier
• Ms Sibongile Muthwa – Superintendent General, Office of the Premier
• Ms Mendoe Dukada – Acting HOD, Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs
• Ms Mandisa Matiwane – Limangwe Construction and Services
• Ms Belinda Vabaza – ECDC
• Ms Titi Skiet, Nompozolo – Building Constructor
• Ms Sindiswa Ntlatleng – Azzure
• Ms Mandy Tyikwe – ECDC
• Ms Phumla Ndaba – Department of Economic Development & Environmental Affairs
• Ms Nelisia van Dyk – ECDC

The branding for the upcoming Tourism Summit designed by Melissa Meyer

Intengu Communications, in conjunction with the Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB), will host the Eastern Cape Tourism Summit and Exhibition on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th November 2009 at the new International Convention Centre (ICC) and the Regent Hotel in East London.

The objectives of the summit are as follows:

• To launch the Master Tourism Plan
• To provide a platform for the Eastern Cape Tourism Industry to profile all facets of the industry
• To provide a networking opportunity for all tourism stakeholders in the Eastern Cape
• To provide an opportunity for information sharing and discussion on where we are and where we are going
• To pave the way for the Eastern Cape as a tourism destination post 2010

Exhibitors will set up their stands during the day on Wednesday 25 November, and the Summit will officially open with a welcome dinner that evening.  The programme for the rest of the Summit will include a recap of the outcomes of the previous Summit, presentations by experts in the tourism industry and opportunities for delegates to participate in group discussions. The Adventure Province Tourism Awards will also be held on 26th November.

Intengu Communications is extremely passionate about promoting tourism to South Africa in general and to the Province in particular, and have been involved in tourism-related work, which we now consider an area of expertise, for the past six years.

If you would like to attend or exhibit at the Summit, contact Rhoda at Intengu at (043) 722 0771/2 or rhoda@intengu.co.za.

Intengu Communications recently hosted an information evening at their offices.

The objective of this information session was to promote the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA) and to create an awareness of the benefits and advantages of belonging to such an association.

Ms Noxolo Gogo, Chairperson of PRISA, Gauteng-South, was the guest speaker and gave a most interesting and informative presentation.

Vuyo Mpapela from the SABC then gave a talk on the opportunities radio can offer.

This event was well attended by 28 persons – including local PRISA members, persons employed in the public relations industry and at educational institutions, and public relations students.

This information session proved to be extremely popular and it identified that there was a need for skills development in the industry and that a local PRISA branch would be advantageous to all.

An interim committee was appointed with our Managing Director Celia Theart acting as the Champion.  The following persons volunteered to be on this interim committee:

Champion:  Celia Theart (Intengu Communications)

• T K Sonjika (Department of Rural Development and Land Reform)
• Phumeza George (Department of Rural Development and Land Reform)
• Mvusi Sicwetsha (Department of Transport)
• Thandoxolo Gqola (Real People)
• Sithembiso Soyaya (Department of Rural Development and Land Reform)
• Nandipa Sondati (Department of Rural Development and Land Reform)
• Siphelele Ndzamela (Walter Sisulu University)
• Sibulele Mabindla (Walter Sisulu University)
• Bukiwe Mdabula (Department of Rural Development and Land Reform)
• Sisanda George (Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury)

This committee has already met to discuss holding a media workshop.  Details of this workshop will be posted on the Intengu website once confirmed.

For more information on PRISA, please go to www.prisa.co.za. To find out more about the revival of PRISA East London, contact Meta at Intengu at (043) 722 0771/2 or meta@intengu.co.za.

Sometimes, working in the communications and public relations industry is hard. It often means working long hours, meeting tight deadlines and working within tight budgets. But just as often, being in the industry is exciting and much, much more than just a job. A particularly fine example of the latter case, for instance, is our recent trip to the Leadership in Education conference, a European Union initiative, in beautiful Estonia.

We’ve been working with NiLS, the Lower Saxony Institute for Teacher Education and School Development, based in Germany, for a few months now, developing an internet-based networking platform for education leadership institutes across the European Union and the world. The website’s up and running, and our Managing Director Celia Theart and I, Marius Wium, were invited to conduct a workshop at the second Leadership dissemination conference in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia on the 2^nd and 3^rd October.

Before attending the conference, we spent a few days in Berlin, enjoying the company of our hosts at NiLS, as well as the good weather and amazing architecture of the German capital city. In Berlin, we also met up with the rest of the South African delegation: Eastern Cape MEC for Education Mr M Qwase, Mr Monde Sangqu from the Leadership Institute, Mr Kaya Ngaso from the Eastern Cape Department of Education, Mr J J Mbana from the Eastcape Midlands College and Ms Fezeka Loliwe from Lovedale College.

I also briefly visited NiLS team in Hannover, Germany, working with their team to make a few last-minute refinements to the website.

We bid Berlin a fond farewell and departed for our destination, the beautiful city of Tallinn.

Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, a relatively small country on the north-eastern shore of Europe, right under the Gulf of Finland. The city’s old town district was declared a World Heritage site in 1997 and has some of the most beautifully-preserved medieval architecture in the world. The old town is packed with amber shops, selling breathtaking jewellery that make excellent gifts for friends and family back home.

We spent a few days in Tallinn, far too short a period to fully appreciate the sheer historic beauty of the place, but we enjoyed our stay immensely, and the workshop was extremely successful.

Celia then accompanied the Eastern Cape delegation to Hannover in Germany where they met with the Lower Saxony Minister of Education, Ms Heister-Neumann, to strengthen the existing partnership of the Eastern Cape Province with the German province of Lower Saxony.

The Eastern Cape will launch its own Leadership in Education project in the Eastern Cape in February 2010. Intengu Communications looks forward to continuing to work with the Eastern Cape Department of Education, NiLS and the government of Lower Saxony on this project.

Thank you once again to our hosts NiLS and the wonderful partners in the project. We look forward to working with you all for a long time, improving the state of education leadership internationally.

To find out more about the Leadership in Education project, please visit the website:

www.leadership-in-education.eu

The poster designed for the MPP by Sibongile Imenda

Intengu Communications is in its second year promoting the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture’s (DSRAC) Mass Participation Programme (MPP), which aims to get communities involved in sport and games.

The programme aims to get everyone – young and old, male and female, able-bodied and disabled involved in playing sport and games and so promote healthy lifestyles for all the citizens of the Eastern Cape.

In keeping with these aims, Intengu has put forward marketing activities designed to get the message of the programme across to all citizens of the Eastern Cape, utilising media like radio and cartoons which do not necessarily require high levels of literacy or costly technology like television sets.

The following marketing activities have taken place recently:

A series of advertisements featuring MPP Ambassadors’ health and fitness tips has been running on a weekly basis in the Daily Dispatch, Daily Sun, Eastern Cape Today and the Herald

• A series of posters aimed at school-children, featuring reasons for participation in sport and games were designed
• A cartoon promoting the programme and setting out its aims has been designed and appeared in a newspaper supplement
• A radio advertisement promoting the benefits of the MPP has been produced and broadcast

Intengu is proud to be working with DSRAC and the MPP to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of all communities in our Province.

The cartoon designed for the MPP

The newspaper advertisement desgined for the MPP by Sibongile Imenda

Intengu recently launched Rhubarb, East London’s very own, brand new art film club.

The club was started to bring together progressive, open-minded people with an appetite for films not offered by the mainstream movie houses in East London. The club will meet once a month for a screening, snacks and wine.

The logo for our new art film club, designed by Donne Gierke

Our first screening took place on the 22^nd October, and the film Rough Aunties (Rise Films) was screened. Rough Aunties is a documentary directed by internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto and won a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The film follows a multiracial group of women in Kwa-Zulu Natal who counsel abused children and work with the children and the police to bring child abusers to justice.

All proceeds from our first screening benefitted Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre, and we were honoured to have Dr Lesley-Ann Foster there on the evening to say a few words about Masimanyane’s work in East London.

The beautiful venue was kindly sponsored by the Quarry Lake Inn, and the delicious snacks by Café Basil, Sprouts, Nina Deli and The Roxy Coffee Shop. The DVD was also generously supplied by Rise Films free of charge. Intengu sponsored the e-invites and the wine.

If you are interested in the club, would like to be informed of the next screening, and would like us to add you to our database, please contact Cara at Intengu at (043) 722 0771/2 or cara@intengu.co.za.

The Beth' iGubu Launch invitation designed by Khulani Mpahlaza

Intengu Communications recently designed the branding and launch invitation for Beth’ iGubu (Beat the Drum), a series of workshops aimed at Eastern Cape musicians. The launch took place on the 24^th October at the Uptown Theatre in Port Elizabeth.

The workshops will focus on the betterment, education and empowerment of Eastern Cape musicians, and will deal with issues such as music rights and registration, the legal side of the music industry and marketing one’s music.

The workshops will begin in 2010, under the stewardship of Pame Production’s Siseko Pame (Wise Fools) and Nokubonga Blaq Maci (Umhlobo Wenene FM), and will be held in various locations across the province.

Intengu Communications is passionate about the development of the arts and artists in the Province, and proud to be a supporter of this worthwhile initiative.

For more information and pictures of the launch, please visit:

http://www.freeriddim.co.za/

I am a third year Public Relations student at Walter Sisulu University (WSU), and am currently completing my experiential training at Intengu Communications.

At the end of my final exams, in June this year, I still had not found placement at a company at which to complete my training.  Needless to say, I felt at my wits’ end and was very frustrated.  Without the six months of training, graduating in 2010 would be nothing but a distant dream.  I approached Intengu Communications and was fortunate enough to be placed as an intern at their company.

Dawne at her desk

Completing my training at Intengu has been an eye-opener for me.  I have only been with the company for three months but the experience has been phenomenal.  The amount of work, effort, passion and determination each employee puts forward to ensure the company’s success astounds me.  I have been exposed to a wide spectrum of activities, including event management, liaison with service providers to obtain quotations, conducting research, administration, attending meetings, and building databases.

One of the challenges I am facing is making the transition from being a student to being an employee, in terms of the way I speak, dress, answer the telephone, and address clients, everything has to be conducted in a more professional manner.  I realise that I am not at Intengu in my own personal capacity or even that of WSU’s, but that I am representing Intengu Communications. 

In retrospect, I realise that while you are a student, you are paving the way and setting the tempo for your professional life.  Being successful not only professionally but in any endeavour requires sacrifice.  Being proactive and attending lectures is not enough – one should participate in class discussions, study over weekends, and submit assignments on time.  There is a reason for deadlines, something which I have learned to appreciate here at Intengu. 

Woking with, and for individuals who are passionate about what they do, who give 110% of themselves, has truly inspired me.  Success requires diligence, persistence, dedication, vision, ambition…and hard work!

I believe that Intengu Communications is a major stepping stone in my ladder to success.  I have learned so much already including that the surest way not to fail is to be determined to succeed.

Intengu’s Production Manager, Lyndon Collins, was invited to be a judge at the Tourism Buffalo City Photography Competition on Friday the 9^th of October. Along with renowned East London photographer, Rob Pollock, Lyndon had to choose winners in four categories, as well as an overall winner, from more than 200 entries.

Tourism Buffalo City's logo, designed by Donne Gierke.

The theme was “Life in Buffalo City…It’s always a pleasure.” Promoting tourism to the region was a key criterion in the judging process, and played a central role in making the final selections. The four categories were Family, Nature and Adventure, Culture and Heritage and Business and Industry. Thirteen finalists were chosen, and invited to a prize giving ceremony where the winners in each category and the overall winner were chosen.

The competition, which will take place annually, encourages and recognises both amateur and professional photographers in the region, and shows both locals and visitors just how beautiful Buffalo City is and how lucky we are to live here. Intengu is proud of Lyndon’s involvement with the initiative, and applauds Tourism Buffalo City for their efforts. Intengu is also a proud service provider for Tourism Buffalo City, having designed their logo and corporate identity, all advertisements, various brochures and exhibition banners.

 See the winning entry here:

http://1pic4twenty.co.za/wordpress/?p=2307

The latests advertisement designed for Tourism Buffalo City by Donne Gierke.