MEDIA RELEASE
CORNERSTONE’S POPULAR CRITICAL DIALOGUES MAKES THE LEAP TO BUSH RADIO FROM 7 OCTOBER
27 September 2021
for immediate release
Starting Thursday 7 October, veteran radio journalist Ryan Fortune will be hosting the Cornerstone Critical Dialogues on Bush Radio, where some of South Africa’s most influential thinkers, activists, performing artists and business people will come together to debate the topics that matter most for society.
This collaborative project – a live radio show and podcast on Bush Radio and other platforms – is a direct offshoot (and next logical evolution) of the popular Cornerstone Critical Dialogues series.
According to Cornerstone CEO Noel Daniels, the Critical Dialogues first began in 2017 and consisted of book launches, panel discussions, interactive workshops, exhibitions and local film screenings – all of which aimed to stimulate public debate that helps society to move forward.
“Since it began, over 100 of South Africa’s top thinkers, activists and intellectuals have sat on Cornerstone Critical Dialogues panels to debate and discuss some of our country’s most pressing issues,” says Daniels, “making it a signature event on the city’s social and intellectual calendar. As with nearly all other live events, however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us into the online space.”
Last year saw monthly virtual panel discussions, an art and music show, and a hybrid-model 3-day event in November, comprising of workshops, masterclasses and presentations on a range of topics under the broad theme of “Leadership as a Mechanism for Reclaiming our Futures”.
“The Critical Dialogues unpacked the range of issues that crept to the fore as COVID-19 shone a light on many of society’s problems, most of which we have become so used to ignoring,” said Daniels.
Some of these topics included Internet Access as a Human Right, Food Security in South Africa, Reimagining Education & workforce requirements for 21st century Africa, Activism: Then & Now, and The Impact of COVID-19 on Private Higher Education.
Although filled with the same interesting topics and dynamic speakers as before, these online events struggled to reach the same levels of attendance, engagement and impact as our live events.
This is what makes the new collaboration with one of South Africa’s oldest and most popular community radio stations so exciting. It has presented Cornerstone with an unprecedented opportunity to design, package and deliver 28 hours of stimulating audio content, in a way that will appeal to a much wider audience than ever before.
Apart from being broadcast live every Thursday evening on Bush Radio and Cornerstone’s social media platforms, the most engaging parts of each episode will be cut down into a 1-hour podcast, for distribution on popular podcasting platforms such as various websites, Spotify, Google Podcasts and iTunes, thereby further expanding its potential reach and impact.
The show will also be accompanied by a dynamic and collaborative marketing strategy, including regular promotions on other popular Bush Radio talk shows and social media platforms.
Join us from 7 – 9 pm from 7 October, for this all-new edition of the Cornerstone Critical Dialogues.