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Goodbye 2009, hello 2010!Once upon a time, not long ago, South Africa was a pariah, isolated from the world and cut off from international sport, theatre, music and business.
We have come a long way in the last 15 years of democracy.
So instead of whining about the year gone past, let us celebrate some of the feathers we have accumulated in our cap as we prepare to take some much needed rest and relaxation over the festive season.
Singers and actors, for whom visiting South Africa could have meant career suicide during the apartheid era, flocked to the country.
The 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup is around the corner and our infrastructure, transport systems and stadiums are well on track for the onslaught.
We made number one in no less than three sports – rugby, cricket and sevens rugby – and to add to this, won the Tri-Nations.
On the arts and culture front, Johannesburg recently hosted the World Summit on Arts and Culture, which could have been held in Munich, Vienna or Paris.
The same is true for the country’s role in the wider business world. Multinational investors are back; but increasingly, South Africa is becoming a net exporter of its own companies.
This trend has not been halted by the current recession and as Africa’s largest economy, we have been protected from the worst effects of the global recession by stringent banking regulations and exchange controls, leaving it well placed to make further inroads into international markets.
Jacob Zuma was voted African President of 2009 and, much to the surprise of many skeptics, has not driven the country into a state of disrepair.
Deadwood finally has been cut from places such as Athletics SA, Eskom, SABC and a host of others that were being driven into the ground by the new era of gravy-trainers. South Africa’s mortality rate has declined for the first time in a decade and 29 of our beaches were awarded Blue Flag status, reserved only for the best in the world. The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. It’s the time of year for a ‘half-full glass’ mentality to apply.
On a personal front, this is Leadership’s 300th edition, which truly shows the magazine has stood the test of time. We also won an international TABBI award this year, coming 6th out of 500 global entries. We launched our website in July – www.leadershiponline.co.za – and visitors to the site have already increased tenfold. Leadership Online has also started a weekly bulletin that goes out to over 50 000 readers, resulting in lively debate across a broad range of topics – please check it out!
At the time of going to press, we are a week away from the “Oscars of the SA magazine industry” – the PICA Awards – and nothing would give us greater pleasure than to walk off with the award we received last year, which was Best Business-to-Business Magazine in our category.
So here’s to 2009, and all the best to all our readers for 2010!
