Bridget van Oerle

Sports, Arts and Culture

Nominee's Province:
Gauteng

Project Name/Description:
The Buz Factor

More info:

Seasoned Bridget van Oerle and Thabo Pule have come together to form The BUZ Factor – an events consultancy firm. The BUZ Factor already has several successful projects under its belt – including handling public relations (PR), event coordination, technical requirements and social media of the recent Beautiful Things 2022 craft exhibition, plus the My Body My Space public arts festival, both in Mpumalanga. Van Oerle and Pule have also worked together on events such as the Rosebank Transport Indaba and SANEF’s Nat Nakasa Awards. Van Oerle boasts 26 years’ experience, largely in the arts and creative industries. She has assisted with PR activities and projects, including the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, The Lion King, the European Union, the Market Theatre, and many more. One of her signature projects was being part of the PR team that successfully publicised the 67 Blankets for the Nelson Mandela Day team that broke three Guinness World Records. Van Oerle was born in Benoni on the East Rand and has a Diploma in Theatre Crafts from Pretoria Technikon. She has won awards and accolades such as the Arts and Culture Trust Awards for Publicist of the Year award. Van Oerle’s great grandmother is the late Mary Fitzgerald who fought for the rights of workers under the SA Mine Workers Union banner in the 1900s. “I wish I had known her,” says Van Oerle, 54. “The stories I’ve heard of her and her standing up against injustice, was what GP inspired me.”