Nokia`s Great South African Journey road show has been under way for six weeks, visiting numerous towns and cities with the aim of "connecting people". Nokia says it has come across an array of exciting and diverse local communities.
The event, which has another six weeks to run, is celebrating 10 years of Nokia in SA, visiting a wide variety of communities in all nine provinces, in order to find out what makes each of them great.
"The aim of the road show is to thank the country for its support of Nokia, and we thought that because it is the people of SA that support us, we didn`t just want to have a high profile party for a group of VIPs," says Lindi Lesolang, from Nokia`s PR and communications department.
"This way, we get to the grassroots communities and are able to find the specific culture and identity of each individual region and thus showcase the true diversity of the country."
She says that since the journey began, the crews of the five trucks participating have visited the biggest post-box in the Southern Hemisphere in Calvinia, heard the life story of Jensenville`s oldest citizen (103), had a strongman pull the truck in Beaufort West and had bulls slaughtered for a feast in their honour in Carletonville.
"Perhaps the most amazing things the journey has uncovered have been the stories of human strength and survival, such as the individuals who have opened their homes to HIV orphans and homeless children, the centres for disadvantaged communities and the numerous grassroots projects which focus on healthcare, education and training," she says.
"There are also the entrepreneurs who have created their own opportunities, like the woman in Olievenhoutbos who has started a recycling plant in an effort to earn a living, keep the environment clean and, in doing so, employs 250 people."
According to Lesolang, the vehicles` crews are recording the journey`s progress, and these images can be seen on the Nokia Web site, while the project also aims to provide opportunities for tertiary education students to learn genuine life skills, rather than just reciting a textbook.
She says that as part of the project, Nokia will offer nine tertiary education bursaries - one for each province - to study at the CIDA City Campus in 2005. Applicants have been asked to write an essay describing what they believe makes SA the greatest country in the world.
"We have been overwhelmed by applications from around the country, and it is amazing to see the amount of thought and research that some of the students have put into their essays," says Lesolang.
The 12-week journey is expected to visit 260 towns, cities and settlements across the nation and showcase what makes each of them great.
Asked about how much money Nokia has ploughed into this project, Lesolang says: "For us, it is not about the money or the expense, this project is all about living up to our message of connecting people."
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