A visionary who has helped create the first free university in South Africa and has been voted the best speaker in South Africa, is giving two presentations in Bermuda.

Taddy Blecher (CORRECT) brings with him an inspiring story of how students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa are making their futures by not only studying at the university in Johannesburg but managing almost all aspects of the running of the establishment from the office administration to the maintenance, marketing and even the cooking.

The achievement has been hailed by such luminaries as former South Africa President Nelson Mandela, US TV celebrity Oprah Winfrey and Virgin Airlines boss Sir Richard Branson.

Now Bermudians will have a change to meet the co-founder and CEO of the CIDA City Campus and hear him explain how the project moved from being a dream to reality and is now going from strength-to-strength after it was born from nothing six years ago.

Dr. Blecher has two speaking engagements on the Island this week. The first will be to Hamilton Rotarians today. Tomorrow evening members of the general public have a chance to hear him at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg is the first free university-level institution in South Africa and has 1,400 students enrolled on four-year accredited business, leadership and entrepreneurship degree courses.

The Black Management Forum of South Africa has voted Dr Blecher "someone who is a shining example of achievement and success in empowering managerial leadership amongst black people".

In 2002 Dr. Blecher received the Global Leader of Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum as one of 100 young leaders under the age of 37 around the world who are making an exceptional contribution to making the world a better place.

Brian Horsfield, who is helping to bring Dr Blecher to the Island, said: "It is a miracle story of how the first free university of South Africa was created with no resources other than imagination and then supported entirely from the donations of others."

He hopes as many Bermudians as possible will take the opportunity to hear Dr. Blecher's story about the creation of the university out of nothing and its current standing as a beacon recognised on the world stage.

Dr.Blecher will be speaking at the BUEI tomorrow at 7 p.m.