MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

8 reasons to book now for #BizTrends2021 online

South Africa’s world renowned trend doyen and founder of the Flux Trends consultancy, Dion Chang, will host and present a keynote address at BizTrends2021

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, January 7, 2021: Here’s a sneak preview of what you can expect from BizTrends2021 – Towards New Norths & New Narratives on Thursday, 28 January 2021. We invite you to join us as trend ‘rockstars’ point to new ‘north stars’.

1. Dion Chang

South Africa’s world renowned trend doyen and founder of the Flux Trends consultancy, Dion Chang, will host and present a keynote address at BizTrends2021. Like the two-faced Roman god, Janus, after whom the month of January is named, Chang will aptly be looking backward to go forward with his presentation 20/20 Hindsight – Lessons from the Great Staggering, inviting us to rethink, reassess and recalibrate. His annual highly anticipated Flux Trends briefing, The State We’re In – offering six key trend pillars for the business year ahead under the acronym TRENDS: Technology, Retail, Economy, the Natural world, Diplomacy (and Democracy) and Socio-cultural – will also be revealed.

2. Ndeye Diagne

One of the highlights of BizTrend2020, recently appointed MD of Kantar Nigeria and Ghana, Ndeye Diagne is back this year, beaming at us live from Lagos on the topic of Gen-Zers as the continent’s number one influencers, who neither brands nor governments can overlook.

”Digital natives, impassioned activists, yet still very young, Gen Zs around the world and in Africa are leveraging increasing influence. Across the continent, they are striving to materialise their ambitions for Africa. Whether in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda or South Africa, we’ve seen them challenge governments to build more equal societies and call out brands to be more inclusive.” Diagne’s session, Africa’s potential is human first. Are you ready for Africa’s Gen Z? will uncover three unmissable trends about Africa’s youth potential and its impact in the coming years.

We’re ready for Africa’s Gen Z and this wonderful opportunity to connect, share and strategise pan-African futures!

3. Luzuko Tena

Continuing the trend towards youth matters is the newly appointed head of IAB SA’s Youth Action Council, Luzuko Tena, who is also a paid social exec at global edutechGetSmarter. We eagerly anticipate the dynamic and eloquent Tena’s perspectives on industry leadership structures via his presentation All Animals Are Equal, But Some Animals…, which will unpack his views on what Gen Z promises to bring to the hard won seats at the table, they have been asking for for so long, focusing on key themes of accountability, assurance and ownership! Exciting times!

4. Musa Kalenga

Keynote speaker, entrepreneur, tech solution provider and author, Musa Kalenga’s expertise lies in the practical arenas of technological innovation, data and connectivity. His book Ladders and Trampolines explains the tools and time frames that Africa might embrace to close technological divides. At BizTrends2021, during his presentation The API Humanity – New Ways For New Days, Kalenga will clarify how APIs (application programming interfaces) will increase information, interoperability and the scale of progressive changes that will give Africa a fighting chance of playing technological catch up in the world!

5. Bronwyn Williams

Are we telling each other the right stories? A true futurist, Bronwyn Williams’s BizTrends2020 presentation entitled Unreal Estate, which looked at the trend towards virtual assets, all but brought audiences to their feet. Fast talking and sweeping in scope with the academic credentials to back up her predictions, BizTrends2021 will see her focus on the narrative itself, ‘how situations and events can promote newsets of values that mutate throughout society in much the same way as viruses do and how an understanding of these narrative trajectories can help us predict the behaviours of markets and nations.’

Her presentation From small words to big ideas will show how recent examples – such as ‘flatten the curve’, ‘build back better’, ‘the great reset’ – have informed collective societal changes or actions. Standby to also be enlightened about trends in MMT, UBI, degrowth, the ‘end of work’, transhumanism, consensus and viral matters!

6. Boniswa Pezisa

Boniswa Pezisa’s reputation for her nurturing management style and commitment to the industry earned her entry into the Loeries Hall of Fame 2020 as inductee. Her name itself means ‘vision’ and the BizTrends2021 lineup is proud to include insights from the most recent Network #BBDO CEO, former chairperson of the Loeries and ACA boards and dedicated industry activist with experience in sectors from banking to broadcasting. Audiences can look forward to her new northstar ‘vision’ on leadership and new narratives.

7 and 8. Ann Nurock and Doug Place

We are honoured to announce a joint presentation, prepared exclusively for BizTrends2021, by two pillars of the industry. Doug Place, one of South Africa’s top-rated marketers, and Ann Nurock, a powerful leader and voice in the advertising/marketing industry for over 30 years, will be asking: ‘What if the swing from relative prosperity to utter chaos is a known cycle and, if so, what of 2020 are the seeds of a new and better world?’

These considerable insights will be drawn from their large body of trend work gleaned from numerous articles, ‘thousands of hours of webinars’, podcasts and conferences, including Cannes Lions, as well as studies on agency and client relationships performed in many countries over nine years. Combining Nurock’s sociological context with Nando’s trademark creativity to provide fresh perspectives on how the ‘new’ might not be ‘normal’ and how that’s probably a good thing for everyone.

Category:

Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.