News Bulletin of 6 June 2025, 6am

The Metropolitan Collective Shapers programme is helping young entrepreneurs in Sandton by providing mental, emotional, and financial support not just capital. Metropolitan’s marketing head Phumla Mavundla, says the programme builds resilience to help entrepreneurs handle both business and personal challenges.With 60% of South African youth needing mental health support, MCS integrates coaching and peer learning alongside financial literacy and strategic training. SOUND

The Attacq Foundation has launched its Building Brilliance, Block by Block campaign to renovate classrooms at Phuthumani Primary School in Tembisa, improving learning conditions for over 400 students. Committed to community development through education and infrastructure investment, the foundation is inviting businesses and the public to partner in this effort, helping to deliver lasting improvements to the school. With South Africa facing a severe shortage of classrooms, this campaign tackles the urgent need for better learning environments that enable student success and foster community growth.

South African geologist Dr Tebogo Makhubela has been named a National Geographic Explorer and awarded the 2025 Wayfinder Award. This is an honour reserved for global pioneers in exploration and discovery. With a PhD in geology and over a decade of work at the Cradle of Humankind, Dr Makhubela has helped uncover secrets buried for millions of years. As field director for National Geographic’s Rising Star programme, he played a key role in the groundbreaking discovery that Homo naledi, an extinct human ancestor, may have intentionally buried their dead—a finding that challenges long-held beliefs about early human behaviour.The award celebrates his contributions to science and places African research firmly on the global map.