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The Indian Ocean Rim Association’s First Woman Secretary General
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 21 March 1990 is a day that made an indelible mark and became a precious memory for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretary General Dr Nomvuyo Nontsikelelo Nokwe that will stay with her for the rest of her life.
It was the first time she met Nelson Mandela with her family in exile. ‘Pampoen’ (pumpkin) he greeted her. He had fondly remembered her Afrikaans nickname which she had, until then, disliked. Then, the second daughter of Dumalisile and Vuyiswa Nokwe, suddenly developed a new affinity for her nickname.
Namibia’s Independence Day coincides with the commemoration of the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa on 21 March 1960. Dr Nokwe, who was practising as an anaesthetist in Accra, Ghana at the No.37 Military Hospital was invited as guest to the Inaugural Independence Celebration in Windhoek where she met Nelson Mandela who had been just released after his incarceration for 27 years.
This, and other significant events that highlighted leadership and regional collaboration, lead up to Dr Nokwe being appointed to the position of IORA Secretary General. Indeed, the origins of IORA come from Nelson Mandela who said in 1995 “the natural urge of the facts of history and geography should broaden itself to include the concept of an Indian Ocean Rim for socio-economic co-operation”.
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Women of the World – The Rise of the Female Diplomat
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 “A husband would be useful, but I suspect that a bachelor ambassador would miss a wife more” said Her Excellency Anne Warburton, Britain’s first woman ambassador. She was posted to Denmark in 1976 and as permanent representative to the UN in Geneva Switzerland in 1983.
In her book, Women of the World – The rise of the Female Diplomat, Helen McCarthy, renowned British historian, lays bare the facts of the vital role women play in the engagement of international relations. It may be a revelation that women are quite natural to the Art of Diplomacy.
Ambassadresses, as McCarthy refers to them, highlight the heroic unsung role of the many women who actually had a major impact on British Foreign policy although they were not eligible to be diplomats because of their gender. Soft power always has its special place in the world international relations. In fact it is paramount in connecting people in a lighter environment, alleviating much of the diplomatic protocol and bureaucracy.
The book tells the story of professional and personal encounters of women and their struggles against a dramatic backdrop of war, super power rivalry and global transformation over the last century and a half.
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In memory of Hannah Yilma
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 Escaping assassins while resisting the brutal dictatorship in her country Ethiopia, fleeing from an idyllic upbringing, Hannah Mariam Yilma (31 May 1943 – 13 August 2018) had to rebuild her life as a refugee.Family, friends and colleagues gathered at a memorial service to remember this extra ordinary daughter of Africa and her remarkable life.It’s incredible to think that Hannah would choose Pretoria in South Africa to spend her retirement, to spend the remaining days of her life here and as her final resting place. She explained in an interview once how she did not plan anything, and that her life was like a quilt made up of different fabrics of places, people and experiences.
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The Brenthurst Foundation Appoints Three New Advisory Board Members
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The Brenthurst Foundation has appointed three new members to their Advisory Board: former President of Liberia (and Nobel laureate) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Defence Minister of Colombia Juan Carlos Pinzón, and former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn.
The new appointments bring with them a wealth of leadership skills along with unparalleled knowledge of political and economic policy in both the African and South American continents.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf worked tirelessly to promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation following years of civil war in Liberia where her work earned her the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. She is the first elected female President in Africa. First elected in 2005 she left office in January 2018. She also served as Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), once again the first woman to hold the position.
Juan Carlos Pinzón has been a leader in both the public and private sectors throughout his career. He served as Deputy Defence Minister, Chief of Staff to President Juan Manuel Santos, and from 2011 until 2015 as Minister of Defence of Colombia. In 2015 he was appointed as Ambassador of Colombia to the United States until he returned to Colombia in 2017 to contest the 2018 Presidential election. Under his leadership, the Colombian Armed Forces carried out its most successful operations against armed non-state actors that included FARC and ELN, as well as paramilitary criminal bands (BACRIM), which set the stage for the 2016 peace agreement. In addition, he oversaw the modernisation of equipment and training, as well as significant improvements to the welfare of those serving in the Colombian Armed Forces.
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 “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough,” said racing driver Mario Andretti.
South Africa is a country of many legends. The book Saloon’s Bars and Boykies certainly presents a case for the revival of the glorious past of South African Motorsport.
In 1979 Jody Scheckter became South Africa’s only Formula 1 driver’s champion, in fact the only one from Africa.
“We sacrificed everything to go racing,” he says in his forward to the book. “We prepared our own cars, making our own parts and sometimes driving through the night to be at the races,” reminisced Scheckter.
Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 owner of the pinnacle motorsport event said, “Motor racing is at its core a sport fuelled by people, passion and ambition – elements so vividly depicted in this book.”
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