Tebelo NPC launches Matter Innovation Hub in Plettenberg Bay
As part of its goal to transform communities across South Africa through Health, Nutrition and Education, Tebelo Community Development NPC announces the opening of a Matter Innovation Hub at Tebelo Lighthouse, just outside Plettenberg Bay.
The Matter Innovation Hub utilises Apple Hardware, managed through partner company JAMF, and provides students from primary to high-school an opportunity to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by exposing them to concepts such as coding and robotics, along with a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focus of the curriculum. The Apple Devices were graciously sponsored by the API Education Foundation.
David J. Saltmarsh, EdD., Head of Community Education Initiatives at JAMF, said that this was the first Matter Innovation Hub in South Africa, the 7th country, with 18 active sites across the globe. The centre uses a student-centred learning approach known as Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL+).
“This is the realisation of a dream that has been in planning since 2018, and in Tebelo CEO, Dr. Ellenore Meyer, and my hearts for much longer,” said Jaco van den Heever, Special Projects Manager at Tebelo. “We are excited about the impact this will have on the children of Bitou / Plettenberg Bay, giving them an opportunity to participate in the 4th Industrial Revolution, and many more children across South Africa in future!”
The Innovation Hub complements Tebelo’s after-school literacy & education programme run by Josephine Beveridge, that has already seen great results in improving basic literacy for learners from Bitou since 2023.
Access to the Matter Innovation Hub at Tebelo Lighthouse will be available to students from both public and private schools in the Bitou community from March 2024. In the near future, Tebelo plans to add a dedicated building for the Tech Hub that will increase the capacity for more learners from the area.
For more information about Tebelo and its initiatives, visit www.tebelo.org.
Plett Tourism is excited to share news about initiatives that have a positive impact on our communities, in particular programmes that involve the upliftment of youth and women throughout Bitou.
The Plett Tourism Association is a non-profit association that drives tourism for Plettenberg Bay for its members and for the Bitou Municipality. Tourism is arguably the largest industry in Bitou and one of the flagships along the Garden Route in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Plett Tourism is a partnership of the hospitality community and the local municipality that aims to drive business growth through compelling marketing and targeted initiatives that maximise the benefits of tourism to its guests, members, and the community.
