PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN BY ULWAZI
Background
With the assistance of National Treasury, Sol Plaatje Municipality is spearheading an Urban Renewal Programme in the township of Galeshewe near Kimberley in the Northern Cape, which inter alia aims at investing in economic and social infrastructure and human resource development to address urban poverty and systemic underdevelopment. The vision of the Galeshewe Science Centre is a scientifically literate society, numerically competent and technologically fluent, that values traditional and modern knowledge systems, and that empowers individuals to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematical activities in support of economic, social and environmentally sustainable development.
Approach
Ulwazi secured background information from both the public and private sectors, interviewed more than 70 stakeholders from more than 25 organisations, developed preliminary plans and sought feedback on the plans from a stakeholder workshop.
The objectives of the Galeshewe Science Centre were proposed as being to identify and nurture the talent and potential of the youth, to promote science literacy, to enhance learner participation and performance and to provide career education: for Galeshewe in particular but also for the province and region more generally. The principal target market is thus school children, but also families and tourists, for which estimates were made of possible visitor attendance.
Ulwazi provided a Development Plan for the Centre, based on a proposed site at the RC Elliot Circle, for which it assessed the site’s acceptability, accessibility and compatibility. The plan provides for the normal elements of a science centre but, in addition, provides additional laboratory space to service the under-resourced schools of Galeshewe, space to relocate a fabrication laboratory into the Centre, and space for a permanent Technology Research Activity Centre. Some of the permanent exhibition space is to be used for themes of local interest such as geology/mining, indigenous knowledge and space/astronomy. In support of the last theme, it is proposed that the auditorium can be extended to include a planetarium. In collaboration with a local architect, concept drawings were prepared and order of magnitude estimates were made of capital costs.
Ulwazi also provided an Operating Plan for the Centre, which included a strategic plan, possible programmes and activities, a marketing plan, staffing requirements and a suggested governance structure. With regard to implementation, the business plan explored and defined various pre-conditions which would have to be met, potential partners and linkages, key success factors, possible sources of funds; and provided a risk assessment.
Concept Drawing of the Galeshewe Science Centre by Archi-M Studio Architects
Concept Drawing Theatre Section of the Planetarium by Sky-Sky Inc. Click here for a pdf document.