The relationship between Cowan High School and the community of New Brighton stretches back six decades. Cowan has strong anti-Apartheid ‘struggle’ credentials and produced many of New Brighton’s most prominent struggle leaders during the Apartheid era. Right now the community faces a struggle of a different kind ... One of survival in the face of the worst economic crisis in living memory. Unemployment is rife in New Brighton, crime and violence is on the rise and prospects are looking bleak. Since the economic downturn began in 2008, many workers have been laid off. Many are parents of Cowan learners. Their financial capacity has come under pressure and many can no longer afford to pay school fees. Cowan has come under massive financial pressure. Consequently Cowan pupils suffer through inferior education … the SGB does not have the funding necessary to pay for the services of desperately needed additional temporary teachers. Several teachers are sacrificing their time to voluntarily assist the learners without realistic expectation of remuneration. Down the years Cowan has excelled in the areas of art and culture, but the deteriorating educational environment has had a detrimental impact on academic performance, which is reflected in a deteriorating pass-rate. Although Cowan has been very successful in attracting funding for infrastructural projects … donors draw the line when it comes to salaries and wages which they see as a government responsibility. A Department of Education representative made it very plain during the recent Strategic Planning process that Cowan should NOT expect the Department to bail them out ... because THAT is highly unlikely to happen. The onus is thus on the Cowan Community: If you want a decent education, take responsibility for funding it yourselves. It is a challenge which several learners have already shown a willingness to accept and confront. It is from these humble beginnings that a GREAT idea was born. An idea set to transform a community.

1. Co-creating Cowan
The Cowan High School GOOD to GREAT
Programme
Prototyping an innovative new community “collaboration” solution.
SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH EDUCATION, ART and LOCAL ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT…
“Sharing UBUNTU with the WORLD”.

2. Hypothesis: The school as the hub of
a unique global community:
• Every school is a unique institution, drawing together a large and random
crowd of people … and moulding them into a “community” based on
their shared experience of school life;
• ‘Pride in one’s school’ invokes our first sense of ‘loyalty’ (beyond the
immediate family) … it is the glue that binds a disparate set of individuals
into a unique “community”;
• Eventually, former students will spread their wings and develop their
own individual networks … but still remain forever anchored and
emotionally attached to their school … the ‘safe space’ that shaped their
formative years;
• School is a powerful emotional anchor for many of us … it is from these
roots that a great tree will grow.
• The extended school community provides a huge resource pool of
imagination, skills, know-how and experience … it is the school’s unique
“Crowd” … a global network that, if it can be effectively harnessed, has
the potential to provide answers to virtually any problem we’ll ever need
to face.

3. Cowan High School : Introducing the
G2G Programme
• Cowan High School is an impoverished but inspired
township school in a struggling community ... located
within line-of-sight of Port Elizabeth’s iconic 2010
World Cup soccer stadium.
• The Cowan G2G Programme is an initiative conceived
in collaboration with a great bunch of kids from Cowan
High School in New Brighton who decided to rise above
“average” and instead be the VERY BEST they could be..
• Cowan has a proud history of achievement … but
instead of resting on its laurels … the Cowan
Community consciously decided to transform their
school … from GOOD to GREAT.

4. The school as a Open Collaborative
Networking hub
The success of The Cowan High School G2G concept depends on our ability
to nurture and develop a local “community” and provide it with global
outreach.
We choose to anchor our community to a local school because we believe
that a school has several unique attributes from a networking perspective:
• Every school is the hub of its own unique community.
• As we connect up the school’s community we initiate an ever-expanding
social network, whose ‘reach’ is global.
• Using social networking principles, we can grow , inter-connect,
structure and manage ‘our’ school’s community.
• By ensuring that goals are agreed, individual programmes and projects
are aligned … we’ll all work together to mutual advantage
Think about it … the ‘old-boys club’ of various elite schools shapes the future
success of everyone who passes through those hallowed portals. Although
our motives are more altruistic, this seems a sound principle to build on.
We simply speed up and formularise the process.

5. Cowan’s Unique Strengths and
Opportunities
• The school’s most obvious current ‘strength’ is in the
performing arts, where they have a number highly
talented vocal performers in the school’s sublime (and
award-winning) choir;
• The school’s financially-challenged neighbourhood
community offers a wealth of accessible skills and know-
how (particularly in the area of manufacturing … thanks to
industrial lay-offs and a weakening local economy) that can
be translated into marketable products;
• The Cowan Kids through their rapidly developing social
networking skills, hold the key to shifting the focus to the
global market.

6. Modelling our approach
The Cowan G2G Programme focuses
attention on three separate areas:
• Education;
• Art; and
• Entrepreneurship
Each is an independent project in its own
Academic Art and
right, but their objectives are closely Culture
aligned and integrated. Components are
designed to interact holistically to achieve
the common vision and the broader aims
and objectives of the programme.
In our model, Integration happens
horizontally, vertically an laterally, and
from a right-brain, left-brain and total- Entrepreneurship
brain perspective … to encourage a cross
pollination of ideas across different
disciplines

7. Programme Aims
• Academically, we WILL transform Cowan into a
great educational institution with results that
rival and even surpass the finest “elite” schools in
the area;
• Artistically, we WILL develop the latent talent
present in the area and the surrounding
community into a world-class incubator of
original artistic thought and expression;
• Entrepreneurially, we WILL kick-start a new kind
of vibrant and cohesive local community
economy, with everyone supporting one another
… in the TRUE spirit of UBUNTU.

8. Programme Objective 1: Academic
• To retrain every Cowan educator in modern interactive,
experiential teaching methods to internationally recognised
standards … thereby empowering them to practice their skills
using available resources and within the budgetary constraints
imposed on all public high schools.
• In recognition of the fact that 50% of matriculants will not find
jobs in the formal sector by the age of 24, to prepare all
Cowanites for a different future … via a rounded education
that values thinking skills, creative expression and
entrepreneurial effectiveness.
• To adapt the curriculum to address not only academic
effectiveness … but simultaneously to look at the practical
needs of the students and how these can be aligned to the
outcomes of the other legs of this programme.

9. Programme Objective 2: Art and Culture
• To identify talented members of the school’s
“creative community” in all disciplines and
nurture, develop and hone their artistic skills to
the highest international standards:
• To provide a platform to expose these emerging
talents to a global market … and help them to
exploit opportunities to the benefit of the
individual artists concerned;
• To simultaneously raise funds for the school and
various innovative collaborative initiatives linked
to the Cowan G2G programme in the areas of
Education, Art, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

10. Programme Objective 3: Entrepreneurship
• To empower the Cowan developing and activating the
entrepreneurial skills and resources of its COMMUNITY, both
local and global.
• To unveil and pilot a unique UBUNTU-inspired
COLLABORATIVE entrepreneurship model that spurs REAL
Local Economic Development at community level with the aim
of transforming the local economy and making it self-
sustainable and able to absorb much of its existing and
emerging manpower.
• To position our projects to tap into a large existing reservoir of
funding geared towards youth entrepreneurship and SMME
development
• To provide financial benefits in proportion to each member’s
inputs ... not as employees, but as shareholders in a series of
innovative, sustainable and profitable new ventures.

11. Current Status of the Programme
• The G2G Programme has the keen support of The
School Principal, Trevor Dolley … as well as the
School Governing Body and Educational staff;
• The G2G Programme has an active and
enthusiastic presence on Facebook involving
mostly present and past students;
• Our global group of “Friends of Cowan” are
actively involved with the planning and
implementation of various projects;

12. Immediate Challenges to confront:
• With a strong core group in place, our first challenge is
to persuade the broader Cowan Community of the
concrete benefits of constructive participation in the
programme, how it will benefit themselves personally
… while transforming their old alma mater, Cowan High
School … from GOOD to GREAT.
• Our second challenge is to enable effective
collaboration … by Crowdfunding the development of
the web-architecture to successfully connect the
Cowan G2G core-group with our Community on
various levels … from local to the school’s global
diaspora, via Facebook and our own unique
collaboration platform.

13. Immediate Priorities
Component Purpose Timeframe
1. Community Support thus stimulated via the Cowan G2G
support and Facebook group. Required: a programme of
buy-in. meetings, workshops, focus groups , etc. to extend November,
buy-in to ALL key stakeholder groups. December 2012
2. Funding for Proposal by Tony Pearce has been submitted to December 2012
“Academic“ Adopt-a-Schools. Requires support from
Leg. stakeholders .
3. Funding to 1. Seed-funding to enhance logistics and secure December 2012
kick-start buy-in ; and to kick start Crowdfunding campaign;
programme. 2. Crowdfunding campaign to develop website with December 2012
collaboration tools ; various early stage activities
of the programme.
3. Cowan DVD to fund the needs of the school and March 2013
fund entrepreneurial activities.
4. Website Multi-purpose Internet platform to facilitate January 2013
Collaboration

14. Core Management Team (1)
• Ian Bentley: Visionary Innovator and social-entrepreneur. Ubuntu
Entrepreneurship originator. Strategic Planner and Concept
originator. G2G group moderator on Facebook … Role: Programme
Integrator and Co-ordinator.
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=32423647&trk=tab_pro
• Tony Pearce: Passionate UK-based educationalist and experiential
teaching expert. Doctoral dissertation on education in New
Brighton. Driving force behind “Red Location Choir”… Role: Project
Co-ordinator: Academic Leg.
• Yvette Dubel: Celebrated American Artist and Innovator. Cultural
Fusion and Community Change Management expert, Specialist
in“Applied Art-based Solutions”. Founder: “Context Magazine” ...
Role: Project co-ordinator: Art and Culture Leg.
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=4004093&locale=en_US&trk=tyah

15. Core Management Team (2)
• Tiberius Brastaviceanu: Based in Montreal, Canada. Global
authority on collaborative business practice, p2p economy. Expert
on value networks, open innovation. Community and ecosystem
architect. Mentorship and support ... Role: Project Consultant:
Collaborative Entrepreneurship.
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=12912528&locale=en_US&trk=tyah
• Deborah J Boyd: Based in Washington DC. Information technology
expert. Education expert. Super-connector. Fund raising strategist.
Organisation Architect … Role: Fundraising Co-ordinator.
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=15863276&locale=en_US&trk=tyah

16. Conclusion:
• The current South African education model involves ‘force-feeding’ facts
to students that they are expected to somehow memorise. Successful
ones will get to university. The balance will be on the street searching for
a job. Either way the future does not look rosy.
• Our approach is holistic. We will empower our children to be the very
best that they can be … providing a rounded education, with problem-
solving skills on a par with anywhere in the world.
• Students with artistic talents will be inspired to utilise them … likewise
those who demonstrate entrepreneurial acumen.
• Project teams built around a combination of passion, skill and know-how
will begin to transform the way that things are done in New Brighton.
• It’s a win/win solution where ALL who actively participate will be
rewarded for their contribution and share in the long-term benefits.
It’s an UBUNTU-powered DREAM whose time has come.