Shock as radio presenter passes away

Johannesburg - MetroFM news presenter Pearl Shongwe has passed away.

The family said Shongwe, 35, died in her Johannesburg home. News of her passing began circulating on social media on Tuesday afternoon, with many expressing their shock. Her family confirmed her passing expressing great sadness on Tuesday.

In a statement family spokesper- son Khehla Tshabalala said: “She passed away in her sleep.”

The family made a request to be afforded privacy to mourn during this difficult time.

“Our daughter was a celebrated radio broadcaster and TV presenter. Her presence will forever live on in our hearts,” the family said in a statement.

Shongwe’s broadcasting career began at YFM in 2010, and she would move on to work at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), where she started as a sports presenter.

SABC has sent words of comfort to the Shongwe family.

“The SABC has learned through the family of Pearl Shongwe that she has sadly passed away. The SABC extends its heartfelt condolences to the Shongwe family,” the public broadcaster said.

This is an independent nonprofit global foundation for public good, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

Now open for applications, the 2020 Global Change Award aims to turn the fashion industry ‘planet positive’.

This year’s GCA challenge has expanded in scope to cover more ground, raise the bar on innovation and help accelerate industry transformation. The winning innovations or solutions should fall into one of three categories.

A panel of experts will select five winners who will share a €1 million (about R178 480 20) grant and get access to the oneyear-long GCA Impact Accelerator programme, which includes coaching and support from H&M Foundation and partners Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Mills Fabrica. The programme is tailored to support each team in developing and scaling their innovation for impact.

Neither H&M Foundation or H&M Group take any shareholder equity or intellectual property rights in the innovations. The winners can collaborate with whoever they want, and the aim is to find innovations that allow major change for the entire industry.

Strategy lead at the H&M Foun- dation, Christiane Dolva says they are looking for solutions that enable a planet-positive fashion future, where both people and the planet thrive. “I am confident there are great ideas out there, ready to accelerate and scale and we are here to support them,” Dolva says.

The GCA 2023 application period runs up to 8 December and winners will be announced in June 2023.

Board member of H&M Foundation and chairman of H&M Group Karl-Johan Persson says the Global Change Award has become a force to support early innovation and accelerate transformation of the industry.

“It attracts some of the most disruptive and creative people, and following their development is really impressive. I am excited to see what game-changing innovations the seventh round generates,” Persson says.

For more information visit https://hmfoundation.com/gca.