Henley Africa Sol Plaatje scholarship applications open for 2023

HENLEY Business School Africa is urging journalists and other media professionals to consider applying for the 2023 edition of the Sol Plaatje Scholarship. The scholarship sees two scholars a year, covering all the costs involved in them to enroll in the Post Graduate Diploma in Management Practice or the International Master of Business Administration program of Henley, depending on the level of their previous academic qualifications.

“When we established this scholarship, we did so with two aims in mind; firstly, we wanted to honour an icon of South African journalism, the trailblazing journalist, editor and all-round polymath Solomon Tshekiso Plaatje.” explained Henley Africa dean and director, Professor Jon Foster-Pedley.

He said their second aim was to make the best contribution they could to the development and sustainability of the South African media, which had played a critical role in the uncovering of the state capture saga. The work of a group of determined and courageous journalists, supported by their editors and publishers set in progress a series of events that continue to unfold today, strengthened by further revelations of both the roots of this tragedy and its ever-increasing scope of its toxic bloom.

He said the best way to deal with this was to help develop a thriving, diverse and economic media system that could withstand external pressures. The reality however was that the med space, particularly in South Africa, was one of declining revenue, audience disengagement and great disruption.

“Plaatje experienced exactly this in his lifetime. He was a pioneer, opening newspapers and then having to see them close because they were not financially viable in the markets in which he was trying to operate. He never gave up though and we are much the richer today for his efforts, more than 90 years after his death.”

“The scholarships are an opportunity for media professionals and leaders to take some time out of their hectic lives and open their minds to the possibilities of what might be. They will meet with a wide range of other students most in fields that are totally foreign to journalists, but all these students will be there for one overarching reason: to learn the tools to become the builders of businesses that will build Africa, or in their case, media businesses,” said Foster-Pedley.

The inaugural winners of the scholarship are Daily Maverick investigative journalist Pauli van Wyk and the deputy editor of the Sowetan Thabiso Thakali, who are both busy with their MBA degrees. Thakali is a double winner, having first completed his PG Dip before making history by winning the scholarship a second time to allow him to pursue his MBA.

Other Plaatje scholars include freelance digital media journalist Adam Oxford; Carte Blanche journalist Macfarlane Moleli; SABC head of digital content Nontobeko Magala and freelance journalist Andries Sibanyoni.

If you are a leading contributor in the media’s voice for truth and would like to apply to be considered for the Henley Africa Sol Plaatje scholarship, you can contact the institution’s admissions team on scholarships@Henleysa.ac.za before 28 February 2023.