Halala 2008 Citichat 13 June 2008

CITICHAT 23/2008 - 13 June 2008


“Halala Joburg” (and ‘une terrible gaffe’)

According to Wikipedia (was there life before it?) an award is “something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence”

Awards are truly ubiquitous covering every aspect of human endeavour and the urban world has its fair share – whether it is for urban art, urban design, land-use practices, city sustainability, urban leadership, different types of projects or developments, whatever - there is some award for excellence internationally, nationally or locally – wherever! So, I liked Wikipedia’s added comment that “awards can be given by any person or institution, although the prestige of an award usually depends on the status of the awarder.”

The urban awards I am most familiar with are the annual awards of the International Downtown Association, an organization I have been a member of for many years. In fact the Central Johannesburg Partnership has received a couple of their awards over the years. This year they have the following categories with a special emphasis on Diversity and Sustainable Development:

Downtown Leadership and Management; Economic Development; Keep America Beautiful (A cigarette litter prevention programme); Marketing & Communication; Organisational Communication; Planning; Public Space; Social Issues; Special Events and Promotions; Sustainable Development and Transportation.

IDA also recognises individuals through their Individual Achievement, Lifetime Achievement and President’s Awards

The award winning entries are each covered not only at a ceremony at the annual IDA Conference but by a CD that thus provides one with a library of ‘best-practice’ examples of what is being done in towns and cities, not just across North America, but amongst the world-wide membership of IDA.

Municipalities in South Africa use ‘the freedom of the city’ as their most prestigious honouring of an individual – in the post ’94 era I think Johannesburg has thus honoured Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Beyers Naude – but I don’t know of any local government that recognises the efforts of their citizens, be they community, business, NGOs, etc., in adding value to the city in a variety of ways. This makes the ‘Halala’ Awards something unique! “Halala Joburg” means “let us honour the city of Johannesburg” and the Awards are thus the way that the City of Johannesburg, SA’s biggest and most influential city and its highly successful implementation agency, the Johannesburg Development Agency, honours “the city of Joburg and the people who have steadfastly supported her rebirth, recognising and celebrating projects which have made a fundamental difference in regenerating the Inner City.”

An independent adjudication body was appointed with Prof Alan Mabin as Chairperson. Alan, in his foreword to the Awards booklet says “Together the entries – and the prize winners among them – tell a story of the inner city’s development as a place to live, work and play, a remade and extraordinary urban environment. It is not a place which is retracing its pasts, but rather one building on those pasts and discovering new urbanisms in a different era.” I like that. The city is an evolving story and the past decade has been such an important period of that evolution and the struggle for what I call ‘normalisation’.

So, the City and the JDA held their first Halala awards dinner on Wednesday night which was greatly enjoyed by quite the largest gathering of the inner city’s movers and shakers from Business, Community and Council that I have seen for many years. It was a fun, relaxed and most enjoyable evening held at Constitution Hill in the functions dome, which wrapped the interior in a gigantic and wonderful backdrop of a night-time image of the city.

This, then, is the first time that the Halala Awards have been presented and I’m sure that the event will stir many nominations in future for deserving projects and people. Certainly, I thought that there were many projects and names of notable contributors that were missing – not the fault of the organizers but of ourselves for not having put names forward. It will now become an annual event which will provide an opportunity to rectify this.

The guiding philosophy for the awards rests in three tenets:

• The recognition of efforts that have broken new ground in urban regeneration, advancing sustainable economic growth, community wellbeing and the quality of life of all residents of the Inner City (encouraging extraordinary effort).

• The recognition of pioneering programmes and innovative projects initiated by audacious thinkers whose passion has opened new horizons in decaying areas (fostering originality)

• The recognition of commitment and dedication to fostering partnerships, initiating joint programmes and catalyzing sustainable developments that promote social harmony (encouraging participation, equality and inclusivity)

The categories that were developed from these were:

• “Caring Joburg – Supporting Joburg’s Citizens”

• “Relaxing and Playing Joburg – The Recreation Destination”

• “Living Joburg – Not houses but homes”

• “Working & Buying Joburg – Creating a Business Destination” and

• “Believing in Joburg – Joburg the home of Innovators, Investors and Implementers.”

Nice range which I’m sure will be expanded over years to come although one must find a balance between its uniqueness and relevant aspects to be honoured..

The “Caring Joburg” category was awarded to Metro Evangelical Services, known generally as “MES”. It is now a 22 year old organization that was established to address the pressing needs of the poor in the inner city. I was so delighted that their work has at last been recognised. This is such a great organization that has really been one of the inner city’s unsung heroes. They provide crèches, drop-in centres for Youth at Risk; overnight shelters; primary health care services; accommodation for young women at risk, transitional housing and assist skilled and unemployed matriculants gain year long community work. Building off a base of spiritual care they thus provide health care, basic care, social services, housing, education, training and job placement.

“Relaxing and Playing Joburg” went to Gandhi Square, the physical result of the personal vision of Gerald Olitzki, which has transformed one of the “sinkholes” of Johannesburg into a lively social meeting place. Gerald was probably the first developer to be brave enough, during a period when city property was in a nose-dive, to recognize the potential of a regenerated city and the part that could be played by focusing on the upgrading of the urban environment. Today the Square boasts a wide array of eateries and related businesses and is active and vibrant forming the model for a number of urban environment upgrades.

The “Living Joburg” category was subdivided into three awards:

‘Lower Income Developer’ which was awarded to the Johannesburg Housing Company’s Brickfields Project in Newtown. Under the visionary leadership of Taffy Adler, JHC is not a conventional social housing developer but a builder of communities and a changer of lives. The Brickfields project brings together all the aspects that Taffy is passionate about and that have become the hallmark of the JHC’s work in the inner city.

‘Lower Income Management’ was awarded to the Madulamoho Housing Association, which has developed a sustainable model for integrated housing through a housing continuum; from shelter to transitional housing to communal housing and through to market related housing all managed in one structure. It then partners with MES which provides the wide range of services previously mentioned. Although the organization is relatively young it incorporates some critical projects such as the previous Europa Hotel; (now an integrated housing unit covering the full spectrum of housing needs) Cornelius House (a transitional housing development for the previously homeless); the New Regent (communal housing); El Kero House (integrated housing) and BG Alexander Estate Phase 1( integrated housing).

‘Upper Income’ was awarded to the Mapungubwe Hotel Apartments. The project was developed by relative newcomers to the Johannesburg Inner City scene although well known in a number of other cities. Property developer and owner Atterbury Property and management and marketing agent Circlevest Properties have produced a great four star establishment for the business and leisure markets. Great choice as they again have had the vision and the guts to pioneer a concept that has filled an important space in the inner city needs.

“Working & Buying Joburg” went to WORKS@registry an initiative of City Property. Another relative newcomer to the Joburg inner city scene, but long established in Pretoria, they have made a hug impact by buying probably between 70 and 80 properties that they have refurbished, converting a large number into excellent middle income level apartments. One of their purchases was a derelict building formerly known as Registry House that was overrun by illegal occupants. They developed a concept aimed at encouraging the SMME sector through providing retail and workshop units to suit the needs of SMMEs and entrepreneurs. And it is right in the heart of the Fashion District.

For my sins, I was awarded the “Believing in Joburg” category.

Some thoughts on the event are (i) I really hope that the event will attract many more entries in the future and that these will provide a more inclusive palette to choose from (ii) the award winners were mainly white males, again not the fault of the judging panel, but of the range of submissions (iii) watching the videos that covered the finalists in each category, I was again struck by the huge innovative reservoir that the city draws from and how the video shown of the work of each group of finalists spliced together would illustrate so visibly what Alan Mabin commented on in his Foreword “….. the diversity of talent and energy which is reshaping the physical and social nature of inner city Joburg.” A CD made available to prospective investors and city aficionados locally and internationally, would be a great marketing tool for the inner city.

And “une terrible gaffe”? Have you ever had a word in your mind that is very close to another word that means something terribly different to what you intended and, so intent are you on using the right one, that the wrong one comes out? Well, in my acceptance speech I wanted to thank ‘the three women in my life’ two for their support and encouragement - my wonderful wife, Hazel and my business partner Katherine Cox (the third being the Inner City itself which my wife calls my ‘mistress‘). I wanted to particularly thank Hazel for putting up with many years of my ‘workaholism’ but it came out as ‘alcoholism’. Well, it raised the best laugh of the evening and left me somewhat embarrassed, ‘specially as I don’t drink!

Have a wonderful long-weekend.

HALALA JOBURG! Regards neil, hic!