Man the gates, the tourists are coming! Popular European destinations such as Barcelona, Paris and Venice are being laid to siege by an unrelenting influx of tourists, prompting residents to take to the streets in protest, sometimes disruptively so. It is a tourism meltdown, and an untenable situation for those living in the very cities tourists flock to.

Budget airlines, cheap transport and low-cost accommodation have fueled this migration headache, and many of the discontented would scoff at the idea of us South Africans celebrating Tourism Month in September.

South Africa’s femicide rate is five times higher than the global average, and one in three women has experienced gender-based violence (GBV) in her lifetime. Increasingly, this violence is no longer confined to physical spaces. It has migrated to digital platforms such as social media, messaging apps and online forums, where abuse is amplified, often anonymously, and even across country borders.

A timely new academic publication has joined South Africa’s shelves of legal scholarship. Commercial Law and Related Issues: A Review of Contemporary Legal Issues and Regulatory Development in South Africa and Selected Jurisdictions, published by Juta, was officially launched during a recent legal research conference at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU).

South Africa is preparing the most sweeping reconfiguration of local government since 1996. Velenkosini Hlabisa, the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (CoGTA), has unveiled a plan to reduce dysfunction, shore up finances and restore public trust in the country’s 257 municipalities. At least 35 of these are now deemed dysfunctional, crippled by empty coffers and chronic failures in basic service delivery.

In a sport defined by discipline, patience and relentless pursuit of perfection, Dr Fanie Roos has done what no Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) professional has ever done before. He did not just break par, he broke barriers.

Dr Roos, a husband, father, coach and academic, has become the only PGA golf professional in South Africa to earn a PhD. It is a feat that blends two worlds rarely united: the high-performance intensity of elite golf and the deep analytical rigour of academic research.

Patients at Witrand Hospital recently received clothing and bathroom supplies from a group of fourth-year nursing students from the North-West University (NWU).

The students, who are completing their clinical hours in mental health care, said the initiative was part of their responsibility to provide care that goes beyond treatment.

“So amazing how this world was made, I wonder if God is a woman. The gift of life astounds me to this day. Give it up for the woman, oh, that woman. With a smile and a style, she’ll protect you like a child, that’s a woman.”

These powerful lyrics from Shaggy’s Strength of a Woman perfectly captured the spirit of the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus’ Women’s Month celebration, which was wrapped in gratitude and admiration.

As Starlink’s vast constellation of satellites traverse the sky in low-Earth orbit, they evoke wonder and awe in those gazing up at the night heavens. Science fiction has become technological reality. Yet, for South Africans, the benefits remain as distant as the stars beyond our solar system.

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Andries van Heerden is the chief executive officer of Afrimat Limited, a JSE-listed company that supplies iron ore, anthracite, phosphate, construction materials and industrial minerals across Southern Africa.

“I started as a first-year mechanical engineering student in Potchefstroom in 1984,” he recalls. His studies took him to the NWU’s Vaal Campus, where he graduated in 1988.

Reflecting on his time at university, he says: “I think my dream to become a successful entrepreneur was really born during the two years in Vanderbijlpark.”

High feed costs and declining meat quality are two of the biggest challenges facing the global poultry industry. For many smallholder farmers in South Africa, these issues are even more pressing, as they struggle to balance production costs with the demand for affordable, nutritious meat.

Against this backdrop, Phethile Emmelina Mabuza, an MSc graduate in animal science from North-West University (NWU), has pioneered a sustainable solution rooted in both innovation and local resources.