Catherine Constantinides

Last updated
Catherine Constantinides
Born27 August 1982
Occupations
Notable work
  • Constantinides established her first business, SA Fusion, a social enterprise, when she was 16.
  • Constantinides is the co-founder of Generation Earth, a youth-led environmental organisation.

Catherine Constantinides (born 27 August 1982[ citation needed ]) is a South African thought leader, environmentalist focused on climate change, food and water security and waste management, a social entrepreneur, social justice activist and human rights defender and beauty pageant titleholder.

Contents

Career

Constantinides established her first business, SA Fusion, a social enterprise, when she was 16. She was involved in the introduction of the Miss Earth concept to South Africa and was crowned the first Miss Earth South Africa in 2003. [1] She currently serves as director of Miss Earth South Africa.

Constantinides had tea with Nelson Mandela in 2003, when she was 21 years old. She said in the Gratitude200K event: "It was a great opportunity when I turned 21 to receive an invitation from him, to have tea with him, before I went to the international Miss Earth in 2003."[ citation needed ]

Constantinides is the co-founder of Generation Earth, a youth-led environmental organisation. [2]

During 2013, Constantinides was the youngest of a group of 20 emerging Africans named as an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow.[ citation needed ]

Constantinides has written for the Huffington Post on climate change politics and the situation in the Western Sahara. [3] She is an outspoken critic of the actions of the Moroccan government in the Western Sahara, describing the territory as the "last remaining colony in Africa". She has spoken of the Western Sahara as an "African state in exile, a cause and people forgotten". [4]

In May 2016, Constantinides was chosen as one of the Mandela Washington Fellows as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative; an initiative of the United States Department of State. [5]

Recognition

Constantinides received the South African Young Woman Entrepreneur Award for Women Empowerment in 2012. She has also been honoured with the South African Youth Entrepreneur award at the South African Premier Business Awards.[ citation needed ]

In 2015, Constantinides was included in the 21 Icons project, a project that celebrates "human achievement through photography, film and narratives". [6] [7]

The Mail & Guardian listed Constantinides as one of its 200 Young South Africans in 2014. [8]

Constantinides was recognised with the Ubuntu Youth Diplomacy Award in 2016 at an event hosted by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. [9] Receiving the award Constantinides stated "I am proud to fly our flag high and will continue to be an ambassador for our country and the causes close to my heart, as we build the South Africa and Africa we believe is possible". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morocco</span> Country in North Africa

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It has a population of roughly 37 million, the official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soweto</span> Township in Gauteng, South Africa

Soweto is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and one of the suburbs of Johannesburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnie Madikizela-Mandela</span> South African activist and politician (1936–2018)

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2003, and from 2009 until her death, and was a deputy minister of arts and culture from 1994 to 1996. A member of the African National Congress (ANC) political party, she served on the ANC's National Executive Committee and headed its Women's League. Madikizela-Mandela was known to her supporters as the "Mother of the Nation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertina Sisulu</span> South African anti-apartheid activist (1918–2011)

Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu OMSG was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and the wife of fellow activist Walter Sisulu (1912–2003). She was affectionately known as "Ma Sisulu" throughout her lifetime by the South African public. In 2004 she was voted 57th in the SABC3's Great South Africans. She died on 2 June 2011 in her home in Linden, Johannesburg, South Africa, aged 92.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubuntu philosophy</span> Southern African philosophy

Ubuntu describes a set of closely related African-origin value systems that emphasize the interconnectedness of individuals with their surrounding societal and physical worlds. "Ubuntu" is sometimes translated as "I am because we are", or "humanity towards others". In Xhosa, the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Shuttleworth</span> South African entrepreneur and space tourist (born 1973)

Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African and British entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the development of the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. In 2002, Shuttleworth became the first South African to travel to space as a space tourist. He lives on the Isle of Man and holds dual citizenship from South Africa and the United Kingdom. According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, Shuttleworth is worth an estimated £500 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Kathrada</span> South African politician (1929–2017)

Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada OMSG, sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist.

Brandfort, officially renamed Winnie Mandela in 2021, is a small agricultural town in the central Free State province of South Africa, about 60 km northeast of Bloemfontein on the R30 road. The town serves the surrounding farms for supplies and amenities. It is well known for once being home to the anti-apartheid stalwart and wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, during her banishment.

Basetsana Julia "Bassie" Kumalo is a South African television personality, beauty pageant titleholder, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Her career began in 1990 when she was crowned Miss Soweto and Miss Black South Africa at the age of 16. She was crowned Miss South Africa in 1994 and in the same year became the first runner-up in Miss World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gqeberha</span> City in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Gqeberha, previously named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa's second-smallest metropolitan municipality by area. It is the sixth-most populous city in South Africa and is the cultural, economic and financial hub of the Eastern Cape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nkosi's Haven</span> South African non-governmental organization

Nkosi's Haven is an NGO in the Johannesburg, South Africa area that offers residential, holistic care and support for mothers and their children whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS. Nkosi's Haven also provides support for orphans, HIV/AIDS affected or not. It aims to improve the productivity of their residents through providing access to medical care, therapy, education and skill building workshops. The goal is to empower residents while providing a safe, dignified home in hopes that all mothers and children are able to become responsible and contributing members of society.

Nancy Abraham Sumari is a Tanzanian author, business woman, social entrepreneur and beauty pageant titleholder. She is the Managing Director of Bongo5 Media Group (T) Ltd, The Executive Director of The Neghesti Sumari Foundation and The Jenga Hub, as well as a published author of the children's book series, Nyota Yako. In 2017 Africa Youth Awards named her among the 100 Most Influential Young Africans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Cedza Dlamini</span> Swazi activist

Prince Cedza Dlamini of Swaziland, otherwise known as Prince Cedza, grandson of King Sobhuza II of Swaziland and step-grandson of Nelson Mandela, is a humanitarian, youth activist, spokesman for the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, and the founder of the Ubuntu Institute for Young Social Entrepreneurs. His work promotes future international cooperation by initiating and supporting global networks of young leaders through which they can work collectively to address such current world problems as HIV/AIDS, poverty, hunger and illiteracy. Prince Cedza also advocates stronger ties between the United States and South Africa, occupying a seat as a director on the board of the South African Chamber of Commerce in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thandiswa Mazwai</span> South African musician

Thandiswa Nyameka Mazwai is a South African musician, and is also the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin. She is also known as King Tha. Her debut album Zabalaza (2004), which attained double platinum status and her album also got nominated for Planet Awards on BBC Radio 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumi Naidoo</span> South African human rights and climate justice activist (1965-

Kumi Naidoo is a human rights and climate justice activist. He was International Executive Director of Greenpeace International and Secretary General of Amnesty International. Naidoo served as the Secretary-General of CIVICUS, the international alliance for citizen participation, from 1998 to 2008. As a fifteen-year old, he organised students in school boycotts against the apartheid regime and its educational system in South Africa. Naidoo’s activism went from neighbourhood organising and community youth work to civil disobedience with mass mobilisations against the white controlled apartheid government. Naidoo is a co-founder of the Helping Hands Youth Organisation. He has written about his activism in this period in his memoirs titled, Letters to My Mother: The Making of a Troublemaker. In the book Naidoo recounts the day of his mother’s suicide when he was just 15 and how it became a catalyst for his journey into radical action against the Nationalist Party’s apartheid regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and state funeral of Nelson Mandela</span> Death of South African President and antiapartheidist

On 5 December 2013, Nelson Mandela, the first President of South Africa to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, as well as the country's first black head of state, died at the age of 95 after a prolonged respiratory infection. He died at around 20:50 local time (UTC+2) at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, surrounded by family. His death was announced by then President Jacob Zuma on national television at 23:45. Reactions from governments, international organizations, and notable individuals, gained worldwide media coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Saharan cuisine</span> Cuisine of Western Sahara

Western Saharan cuisine comprises the cuisine of Western Sahara, a disputed territory in the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the extreme northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Western Saharan cuisine has several influences, as the population of that area (Sahrawi), in their most part are of Arabic and Berber origin. The Saharawi cuisine is also influenced by Spanish cuisine owing to Spanish colonisation.

Miss Earth South Africa is a beauty pageant in South Africa that began in 2001. The winner of the pageant represents her country at Miss Earth pageant.

The following is a timeline of the history of Port Elizabeth in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape province, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ndaba Mandela</span> Grandson of Nelson Mandela

Ndaba Thembekile Zweliyajika Mandela is an author, mentor, spokesperson, entrepreneur, political consultant, and the grandson of Nelson Mandela. He was born in Soweto, South Africa.

References

  1. "Pics: A former Miss Earth at home".
  2. "About".
  3. "In the Quest for Climate Justice, Who's Left Out?". www.huffingtonpost.co.za. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017.
  4. "'Africa's Last Colony' -- The Forgotten Sahrawi Struggle Against Morocco". www.huffingtonpost.co.za. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017.
  5. "Former Miss Earth SA Picked for Obama's Mandela Fellowship in USA". 23 May 2016.
  6. "Catherine Constantinides".
  7. "21 Icons: Catherine Constantinides makes the cut". 16 October 2015.
  8. "Catherine Constantinides – 2014". 200ysa.mg.co.za. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015.
  9. "South Africa". Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  10. "Catherine Constantinides honoured with Ubuntu Award". 14 March 2016.