Logo Mediaproject 200

Pieter-Dirk Uys

Quotable Quotes

"After having had an apartheid government that killed people, we now have a democratic government that just lets them die."— Pieter-Dirk Uys (source).

South African actor and comedian Pieter-Dirk Uys is probably better known as his on-stage creation, a white tannie with a great sense of style and a sharp tongue, "Evita Bezuidenhout". Uys' provocativemix of satire and slapstick has given South Africans reason to laugh at themselves for decades. He also made people think with searing criticism of apartheid— much to the ire of politicians at the time. In 2001, Uys took on a new challenge— HIV/AIDS. He sent an email to Western Cape schools, offering an hour-long free show. He has since spoken to more than half a million children in a frank and open manner about HIV/AIDS prevention, and has put together many shows dealing with the topic.
Wits Journalism Anova Health

The project is jointly managed by the Anova Health Institute and the Journalism and Media Studies Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand. The project is funded by by the Health Communication Partnership based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Centre for Communication Programmes and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief through the United States Agency for International Development under terms of Award No. JH/HESA-02-05 and through the Anova Health Institute through PEPFAR via USAID under Award No. AID-674-A-12-00015.

USAID