African Wright-Us Forum

2010-09-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

2010-09-15T02:57:00.000-07:00

decay

2010-08-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

Kanya College Winter School - Cultural Network Report.

2010-08-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

Cultural Activism Network Meeting - Museum Afrika 2010

The cultural Activism Network is a platform where upon cultural activists meet to define the logic of time, space and movement. A time to debate, reflect,interogate and discuss the "Art of Activism" from a cultural perspective. For the first time under the banner of Kanya College Cultural Activists are granted an oppertunity to engaged and exchange ideas and stratgies to create an enviroment conducive for the advancement of the arts.

The floor was open to an informal discuss by group coordinator Cde Menzi Mbobani a staff member, activist, fine artist and performer and member of Manofdapast Band while waiting for more activists to come through and share the space.

By definition we all agree that culture is a way of live; how we earn our living; our dress code, social behavior and social relationships. We are also of the view that culture is not static and it changes with time.

Activism on the other hand is the "effective engagement" to facilitate change or transformation of the unwanted, undesirable or for the advancement of a collective interest.

Cultural Activism has been defined as the "wholistic reviving" of the spirit of the masses.

On the Afrikan Continent cultural activism has played a major role in conscientizing the people about themselves in relation to the challenges imposed by colonial and apartheid authorities. The rise of Black Consciouseness was an attribute of cultural activism that emerged when a people could no longer tolerate the humilation, demonizing and condemnation of their languages, traditional practices by the Western authorities. Through the publication of creative writing, visual arts, protests poetry, revolutionary songs and various contemporary music desciplines like afro jazz, maskandi, reggae and iscatamiya folk songs cultural workers were able to mobilize the conscience of the masses in response to devastating social conditions they were faced with.

On the Crises of Resistance
Contemporary Cultural activism has taken centre stage since political Independence has been achieved by all Afrikan states, South Afrika been the last country to break the chain of apartheid. In South Afrika today, cultural activism has been retrenched to the latter by the authorities, by creating an enviroment that is not conducive for the development and growth of local arts, leaving the nation soulless and hopeless about their future in the new democratic dispesation.

The systematic silencing of cultural voices is the cause for frustrations thats amounts to self hate and suacidal relationships with the enviroment due to the dominations of foreign influences, beliefs, religious doctrinces and economic systems. As a results we are a nation characterized by predjudice, self pity, self deception, condemnation, isolation, negligence, greed, self centeredness violence and crime - the crises of resistance.

It has been scientifically proven that a conditioned mind, how ever "virtuous" that conditioning , cannot possibly be free and therefore cannot understand reality and the nature of its disorganization.

On the Role and relevance of Cultural Activism now.

As the voice, the eye and ear of society cultural activists believes that they are not mere spectators in this race for socio - economic change. As culture is an incubator for social transformation, we need to use our influence to once again mobilize and centralize the conscience of the massive. We need to campaign for non discriminatory policies. Strive for equality and social change; Renew our social mandate and perspective taking cognition of both old and new cultural heritage. Our prime role is to motivate and inspire the community.

The relevance of cultura activism is the restoration of the moral fibre of our divided society and we are of the understanding that for any economic revolution, there must be a cultural revolution.

Program of Action....

The Cultural Activists Network has met at the Museum Afrika, 4floor, Newtown to define, interrogate, and discuss cultural activism its role and relevance now and has made the following recommendations:

The Cultural Activist must make it a tradition to meet, communicate and interact with each other on a time to time bases.

Adopt the Nguzo Saba Principlas of Ubuntu Familyhood as a social tool to guide our idividual, organizational, family and communty activity.

Members of the network to be proactive, constructive, participative and supportive of each others events, projects or collective interests.

Members to observe and part take in the KWANZAA - "First Friuts Festival" as a way of evaluating of the progress made in transforming the self and community as well as reffirming once commitment to social change and transformation and positive growth and development.

Way Forward

A proposal by veteran cultural activist and author of "IZITHAKAZELO", to use a piece of land on his farm as an way of manifesting collective works and keep on engaging on issues concerning Culture and Activism.

As VDI SENSE LAB INSTITUTE we futher propose collaborative stage works in music, poetry and theatre with a theme relevant to the issues of collective interests and concern.

As SENSE Lab Institute we extent our gratitude to the organizers, to Khanya College and the Staff, to the Cultural Workers and Organizations that participated in the space - maximum respect, more works and more life. The arts is our strength. There can be no crises where there is understanding. Let's choose to learn to know, choose to learn to be, choose to unite and work together... upon time, upon space, upon movement...

ALUTA!!!

VDI SENSE LAB INSTITUTE - "We bridge the gab in education and development through functional research, funtional arts and functional solutions" -

Writen By: VUSUMZI ' DOLLA I" MADOLLA
email : vdollai@gmail.com

LOAFER

2010-08-05T03:28:00.000-07:00

I am a loafer

I am a suffering loafer

I am a very poor loafer.

I am a stranded

I am the laughing stock of the of the country.

I am penniless

When I try to look for work at the companies, at the gate it's written

NO! VACANCIES

I don't have friends who promise me a good job.

I finish my shoes walking up and down looking for work.

As I am not well-educated enough, I take any work which is available.

I am a loafer

I am hungry I can not afford to buy good food. I wish I could get food to satisfy my hunger.

A hungry man is an angry man. I am now used to sleep on an empty stomach.

I am a loafer.

You can see me by my tattered clothes.

You can see me by my torn shoes.

You can see me by my dirty clothes.

I am the poorest of the poor.

I live in a shanty town.

Some, they call it a ghetto.

Some, they call it a slum.

Some, they call it a squatter camp.

I live below the poverty line. My shelter has got no security from the natural disasters.

Fire! has burnt down my shelter several times

I nearly lost everything in the fire started by the candle-light.

I nearly lost my life in the fire caused by the candle-light.

I am a loafer.

I am the poorest of the poor

I need money to buy food.

I need money to buy good clothes

I need money to get a good shelter.

But, I can not get a good job. Everything nowadays needs money.

A good wife needs money

A beautiful wife needs money. I wonder when I will get a good job because of global recession.

I pray to God The Almighty to answer my prayers, so that I can stand on my feet. I want to be self-reliant.

I don't want to be a beggar

In the Holy Bible Adam was told by God that he would have to sweat to earn a living.

So, I am prepared to work hard to put food on my table.

I am a loafer.

I am the unemployed

I am very unlucky.

I am suffering in silence.

I am a nobody.

I have lost my dignity.

James Hadley Chase said “You are dead without money.” It seems money is the key to everything nowadays.

Money is needed from the cradle to the grave.

I am a loafer

I regret the chance I blew up whilst I was a student at school

I failed dismally in all my subjects.

I used to think that my parents were abusing me, when they said that I should work hard at school.

Now I am regretting my stubbornness.

Now I wish I could turn back the hands of time.

But, unfortunately, time is the only irreversible commodity.

Oh! I can't cry over spilt milk. So, my friend hit the iron whilst it's still hot.

A SONG OF REVIVAL

2010-08-03T04:19:00.000-07:00

Let us sing a song of revival.
Let us get rid of a song of survival.
We used to sing a song of survival.
We were fighting against apartheid arrival.
Now that apartheid had left us to survive.
Now is the time that humanity is revived.

WHO AM I AS A WRITER?

2010-08-03T02:57:00.000-07:00

I am a choir master who compose music
that feeds and rejuvenate the souls of
comrades and soldiers, encouraging them
to stand up and defend their rights as
citizens of the world. Among my
choristers I produce soloists whose high
pitch vocals pierces the souls of kings
and leaders in slumber and command them
to wake up and practice justice for the
masses.

I am a guitarist in a band of
three. My strings produce sound that
prunes and revive ligaments, tendons and
all the muscles of a forgotten body to
stand up and take to the stage where the
last man standing takes all.

I am percussionist, I am drummer in a band
of three. My beats accelerates and slow
down a bit to accommodate all of my fans in
their diversity and give them true identity
of who they are as human beings.

I am flutist in a band of three. Those who
are tormented by demons resort to my music
for healing and joy that makes them to regain
their confidence.

I am a goal scorer whose superb goals are
labels as goals of the century, as they light
up stadiums and giving life to the fans who
has been yearning for service delivery from a
team whose promises are yet to be fulfilled.
After my goal the spectators of the team
that is yet to deliver wake up and demand
change in the line-up for more capable
players to take charge.

As a writer I am governor who draws up
policies that do away with class in my society
and invite the wide spectrum of people to come
and participate in the table of decision makers.

My Thought on xenophobia

2010-07-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

My Thought on xenophobia

There is no xenophobia, it is something they are trying to put in people's mind so they can create that wicked world of slavery. To the black native, Americans, they already solved this problem of racism and tribalism,there is no culture,no tradition in America.

Once ,I was appointed vice chairperson of a sport organization,the chairperson resigned,I supposed to take up that chair,but they told me;you are not a local.It is that xenophobia?

Xenophobia is the uncontrollable fear of foreign,I call it,fear of knowledge,

there is fear of knowledge,yes,but not human.

Americans have already passed this stage,learned from foreigners.

You can not blame these kids about apartheid,they know nothing about apartheid.

Now ,they are living in a multinational racial.Those they were born in 1994 and upward,these thoughts of xenophobia will never worked .

The causes of previous attacks:-They wanted zimbabweans to go vote at home for their election.It is how they thought ,they could helped zimbabweans by sending them back home to solve their problem.

It is also affected other nationality.Now ,there is not yet election in Zimbabwe ,where this come from? Or why this kind of thought?

The new way of a prophet is to stop a danger that he saw ,than to give revelation without an answer.....

The poet

Toto Mubenga

de lillie zillies

2010-07-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

what do i make of the new coallition of patricia de lille and helen zille's parties in the western cape. i'll start with the new reserve bank governoress who undertook as a public relations shabang the gold coining of nadine gordimer's image. they undertook to honour nobel laureates and it fell to the apatheid activist in the arts. the issues here are diverse but first the afrikan issue of white supremacy in top ranking positions of public/corporate leadership. it is time that white people and other non indiginously afrikan nations/people must realize that there is more than 400 years of undoing the errors of (THEIR) crimes against afrika and her people.
south afrika is adolescent in its self governance. a few short years and we are already singing'get over it'. the right attitude towards reconciliation is all we've achieved so far-that at least while mandela is alive we'll get along with our antagonists; or at least till we've infiltrated all areas of their control/expertise. the job of reparations, rebuilding and the restoration of the Afrikan legacy is just starting in these few years of learning to be in the same room,' work the same jobs and enjoy the same tastes. Afrika still has an enormous task of uplifting people out of disposession to self determination. then another blow to the bruise is that afrikans must still be led into self determination by white people. europeans oppress, resource the liberation of-then cultivate the masses into european civilization.
resistance is in crisis of being too tired to fight any further now that the walls to white territories have been broken down. not only is the rat still in the kitchen but the kitcken is too small to cater for the entire nation. why not turn the kitchen into a diet and nutrition consultancy that way everyone can benefit from it. these insensitivities to afrika are misleading people not only to misidentify their true leaders which can only be of themselves, but to also seek solutions from people whoes personal histories we cannot identify with the anti apartheid struggle or any other social justice activism apart from self support and power mongering. you cannot employ a thief to guard a national treasure. the signs are all there but then again disempowered people have always counted on leadership to show/set the agenda. KE NAKO- if people cannot resist now against being led by their antagonists then they're enabling them to rule them for another 400+ years. they show superior lobbying skills and greater capacity to administrate and act as they should considering the big break they got under apartheid- which is only 16 years over anyway. they've had generations to acquire wealth under a colonial legacy and paradise. they also have access to skills, information, technology and knowledge honed through generations of research and missions empowering their society with the necessary tools to control all sectors, sciences and professions. the new south afrika should honour the afrikan woman and her solutions to the problems of the day. if she is not the head of the opposition party then vote her in as a councillor regardless of what her political affiliation is because she will fight for the shack dweller and factory worker instead of jumping over flaming hoops for international tourists during the world cup leaving new stadia to the blushing breeze. it's not surprising that someone of afrikan descent can rule the u.s.a. the indiginous people were annihilated then institutionalised in native reserve camps for not conforming to european (western) civilization. the situation shows that its any man's reign then. its doubtful that it could happen in the u.k, europe, china, india, japan, brazil or anywhere else where people have stood the test of invasion.
the abilities of political leaders should be employed as government/public service requirements and not based on voter popularity. the leadership of the western cape fails to deliver to the disadvantaged masses evident in their high incidence of xenophobic violence in their shanty towns and locations. the cape colony of the refugees from elitist south afrika has its champions in people who believe that creating a haven for the elite in the western cape should be the top agenda of the province. wigs and weaves for all natives who wish to inhabit; with the right credentials of course-degrees, bank statements and accents of the long+high nose tone.as for the gold coin honour- the nobel laureates have already been honoured even with additional accolades such as the naming of streets in their honour,award ceremonies dedicated to them etc. mirriam makeba, sol plaatjies and nandi zulu are just a drop in the ocean of suggestions that can heal a broken spirit.

THE SAVIOUR

2010-07-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

THE SAVIOUR

Ma fille,tu es mon Dieu.
Papa,je suis ta DEESSE.
Ton Dieu:C'est mon mari.
Notre Dieu:C'est to mari.

My lady,you are my God.
Dad,I am your goddess.
Your God,it is my husband.
Our God, it is my husband.
The saviour.

You are a sorcerer,I am not a sorcerer.
If you are not a sorcerer or witch stop talking in people's mind,stop talking in people's body.
He calls himself saviour.
Jesus Christ said: I want to see this kind of Jesus Christ,
I want to see this kind of saviour.
I want to see this kind of new Jesus Christ,this other Jesus Christ.

Down fraud,down fraud.
Fraud,could use other people's intelligence,other people's money,other people's blessing,on his or her behalf,or their behalf with his or her lover.
Fraud is to take from somebody something,property or belonging without his approval or knowledge,by faking everything.
La fraude:c'est derobe',pour eux:c'est enleve' la robe,
pour les FRANCAIS: C'est vole'.

Fraud for a french man means :to steal.
For a human:It means to take out the dress,to take away the coat,
to remove the robe.
Down fraud! Down..

The new Jesus Christ said: I don't want to be Jesus Christ.
Fraud said,if the new Jesus Christ could agreed on that, we could reigned.
The Holy Spirit is in the water,the Holy Spirit is water.
The new Jesus Christ,I don't want to die.
The saviour.

Papa,j'ai trouve' le sauveur.
Dad,I have found the saviour.
Fraud said,where is she?
Let's go.Where are you going? Everyday you are there.
Change,your manners fraud.
Good manners,then you can live with people,otherwise go back to church.
Otherwise ,we will go back to church.
The saviour!

THE FOREIGNER

2010-07-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

I move around the yard in my home
and I come across so many ants that
are invading my space without my
permission. I fight back by
spraying them with any kind of
pesticide but I cannot win the
battle. The more I spray is the
more they increase. Then I feel
something like a soft finger
touching my brain as if giving me
a warning.

I sit down to scrutinize the work
of these invaders I have decided to
call foreigners. By focussing on
the path where they move I notice
that it is only few of them who
steal the load that has been left
by another one who opted for the
greener pastures. Many of them work
very hard taking the load from the
scratch and carry it into the hole.

I shake my head as I think about the
disaster I have been trying to achieve
using pesticides. I take another look
at the ants as I marvel at their
perseverance and hard work. Today I
have learnt a lesson from the ants, my
foreigners that, really, perseverance
is the mother of success.

My Weakness

2010-07-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

Oh! My weakness Oh! My weakness
My weakness is my kindness. I am a very kind person.Kind by nature.
I a very down to earth individually,I am a very down to earthy personality.
I love my brother as I love myself.
I love my sister as I love myself.
I love them to reciprocate my love.

Oh! My weakness Oh! My weakness
Oh! I love people too much. So much so that they end up kicking me around like a football.Because of loving them too much,they under rate me
they under estimate me
They look down upon me
To them I a coward who comes with a tail hanging down.
The slum dog.
Oh! My weakness. My weakness is my love for the people.
I have suffered a lot ,trying to help people all the times.
But, I can't help myself. It seems I love the wrong people, who can't reciprocate my love.My love for the people is killing me.
It is said in The Holy Bible,"Do not throw pearls to swines,because they will trample on them and then come after you."
So I have to be carefully ,whom I choose to love
Although love is blind , it also needs logic.
Love also needs a foresight. Because sometimes you can get problems instead of the expected love.

Oh! My weakness Oh! My weakness
My weakness is loving people.But some children if you love too much they get spoiled.Some woman get spoiled if you show them too much love.
They take their man for granted.
They take their man for an imbecile.
They take their man for an idiot.
Some women if you treat them fairly you are a lost man.
Some wives abuses their husbands,their husbands suffer in silence.
The wives who do not know the meaning of equal rights and justice.
They use double standards.
They think about themselves only.
Selfish women!

Oh! My weakness Oh! My weakness My weakness is loving the wrong people.
Instead of receiving love and respect, I get hatred.
Some men beat the day-lights out of their women.
Beating up a woman is cowardice.
Beating up a woman is a sin.
Beating up a woman is immoral.
Women should be respected
Woman should be loved
Woman should be cherished.

Oh! My weakness Oh! My weakness

My weakness is loving children.
Children are the future.Children are the future leaders.
Children need sound , quality education.
Children need to be well brought up.
Children need to be well groomed.
Children need to be well fed.
Children need to be healthy.
Children need to be spoiled with nice things,but they should not be spoiled in character and behaviour.

My weakness is procrastination
Procrastination is the thief of time
Time is the only irreversible commodity. Time and tide wait for no man.
Strike the iron while it's still hot.
Sometimes I love the wrong people.People who are self-centered.
People who are selfish and inconsiderate.
People whose hands are full of blood.
Some people I love suffer from inferiority complex
Some people I love suffer from superiority complex
I am confused.
I don't know what to do?

IF GOD IS LIKE THAT

2010-07-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

If God is like that! I don't want to hear about Him.
If you say that God created us to suffer hold your breath, you hypocrite.
God created us to enjoy life,to praise the wonders we daily and take for granted

If God is like that! I don't want to hear about Him.Hold your breath you hypocrite.He creatad us to choose the best in life.
He did not create us to suffer in silence under the cruel oppressor.
God did not create Apartheid
God did not create a race , a tribe or a nation as an island.
Man has been enslaved by his own brother because of greediness
Man has been destroyed by his greediness.
Man is suffering from obesity.Too much food. Too much of everything is very bad.

If God is like that I don't want to hear about Him
If you say God created us to die poor like those innocent souls who perished in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan, I don't want to hear about Him.
The atomic bombs caused a lot of untold suffering to the Japanese.
Many Japanese were maimed
Many Japanese were bereaved
Up to this day maimed babies are still being born in Japan
Many nations have suffered the same fate as the Japanese
Shame to the innocent poor souls

If God is like that , I don't want to here about Him.
If you say He created people like Doctor Wouter Basson, Doctor Death, the chemical warfare expert to kill innocent souls because of greediness , I don't want to hear about Him.
He killed two hundred people in Namibia and threw them into Atlantic Ocean
He killed some black South Africans by injecting them with the AIDS Virus
He killed Zimbabwean freedom fighters in Mozambique with acid laced jeans..
Sometimes I wonder if AIDS is artificially or naturally.
Sometimes I wonder because I have heard about it recently

If God is like that I don't want to hear about Him
If you say that God said that people should not kill,but you , yourself you kill with impunity.You give several excuses for killing your brothers and sisters.
Greediness drives you into madness, you end up killing your kinsmen.
You say your brother has wronged you by the virtue of being born.
According to you ,your brother should have not seen the sun

Do As I Say

2010-07-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

Do as I say!
Do as I say my child George.I will not mislead you.
I will give you the right direction.I will put you on the right track.

Do as I say my child George
I will not miss inform you. I will give you the right data
You should be like a cassette tape recorder, it first records and then later plays.

Do as I say!
Do as I say my son George. You should listen to the class teacher,when he is teaching.He will give you a chance to speak out your mind. You can not serve two masters. You can not kill two birds with one stone.

Do as I say!
Do as I say my child George.You should be always be ready to learn.
You enjoy learning, if you show interest in the subject which you will be learning. Educaion is the key to success

Do as I say!
Do as I say my child George,if you listen properly and attentively to your class teacher you will never fail. If you follow my advice you will never regret it.
If you follow your school teacher"s instructions , you always pass with flying colours.

Do as I say !
Do as I say my child George. Your writing pen is now your modern weapon.
Your writing pen is now your modern tool. Your signature is very important.
Education is the key to success.
May God Bless you my child George.

THE TRUE AFRICAN MAN

2010-07-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

This man is unspoiled
This man is unfoiled
THis man has got no blemishes
This man is fool of love
This man"s love is overflowing
This man"s love is everflowing
This man"s love is everlasting
Rest in peace, but not in pieces True African Man

WHO IS THE CAUSE?

2010-07-28T05:48:00.000-07:00

It was apartheid, the force
that imposed the lighter skin
on top of the darker skin.
The beast that used to divide
and rule by furtive hairy hand.
Furtive hairy hand was busted
when an African brother was
coronated to be the chief of
staff. In his marriage with
the voters an African brother
made a pledge that he was gonna
deliver the masses from the hole
of poverty to golden chairs
around the throne of the kingdom.

16 years later I witness slavery
chairs around the palace of gravy
train. Then xenophobia sprout in
the land of promise. The rumour
says that the first line-up of
African brothers in gravy train
is the cause as they lost the game.
Another rumour says that the hairy
hand is back in motion. As it
becomes a mystery, why don't we
skin the hairy hand to reveal the
colour beneath the hair? Then the
mystery will be solved once and for
all.

Photos

2010-07-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

Meme Mpuru

Bafana Gumede

Elliot Mabena

Toto Mubenga

UBUNTU

2010-07-27T03:13:00.000-07:00

Ubuntu! Ubuntu!
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu
Ubuntu bubalulekile emuphakathini
Ubuntu yimvelo
Ubuntu buhle
Ubuntu is very important. Ubuntu is self-respect
Ubuntu is to respect other people. Ubuntu is to love one another
Ubuntu is not selfish. Ubuntu is soud personality.

Ubuntu! Ubuntu!
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu
Ubuntu is very important. Ubuntu is part and parcel of personality
Ubuntu is part and parcel of good life
Ubuntu is the custodian of good African morals which embraces love, respect and trustUbuntu is loving your neighbour as you love yourself
Ubuntu denounces crime. Ubuntu denounces prostitution.

Ubuntu! Ubuntu!
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. Ubuntu makes a person to be part and parcel of the society. Ubuntu makes people to be conscious minded. Ubuntu makes a person to be proud of his roots.
Ubuntu is a sign of maturity. Ubuntu is a sign of being well -brought -up
Ubuntu is asign of being well-groomed. Ubuntu is good for everyone.
Respect is reciprocated by Ubuntu..

RUMOURS OF XENOPHOBIA

2010-07-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

Like weatherman, newsman predicts
a tomorrow that will be overcast by
thunderstorm, whereby a brother will
shed blood of another brother. While
in a nap my dream encourages me to
shake a hand with another brother.
Tomorrow comes with a sun parading a
broad smile in a clear blue sky.

It becomes clear to me that the newsman
is the prophet of doom whose prediction
has missed the point.

Like civil engineer sampling the soil for
tomorrow's benefit, newsman speculate a
home soil covering a whistle bomb that will
explode after the final whistle. Then the final
whistle champions the moment but, the
whistle bomb never grill the masses in a
pot of violence. Then I follow my dream as
I give another brother a kiss of love as,

It becomes clear to me that the newsman is
a prophet of doom bent on making more profit.

Jozi Book Fair 2010

2010-07-27T02:23:00.000-07:00

Jozi Book Fair 2010
Museum Africa Newtown 7, 8, 9 Aug

Through the years of the struggle for African liberation, the art of writing has been a strong tool that many countries and intellectuals have you used in order to express themselves and get the message through to the masses. This art has been in the forefront on shaping our intellects and preserving the history of our people. But due to mass media and technology African resistant writing has seen its decline in the recent years and many writers loosing interest in it, going for a more commercial market.

Are we seeing a dead end of African literature? Or are we loosing the vision on what words are meant to do? These are the questions that are lingering on as many generations of writers are born in Africa. Hence the African Wright-Us forum is interested in hosting a workshop on Resistance Writing and the future of Pan African literature. This will be in partnership with Ruyedzo Mutizwa who wrote the Gukurahundi Ideology (Why Zimbabwe is in Crisis). On this workshop we will be looking at writing as a tool of resistance and how can that influence today's social movements and activists on advancing the struggle for African liberation. We are also going to be looking at different African writers who have produced great works in the past whose influence still lives today.

Through this workshop we are aiming at achieving a standpoint for the Post-modern African Writers, reverberating their influence to the social struggle. We would like to use the space as a platform for writers to echo their voices while defining their destiny.

KE NAKO CELEBRATE 2010

2010-07-27T01:42:00.000-07:00

KE NAKO! CELEBRATE AFRICAN HUMANITY

Ke nako! Let us celebrate African Humanity
Now it's the time, let's celebrate African Humanity
Let us celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Let us celebrate in style

Ke nako! Let us celebrate African Humanity
Now it's the time! Let us celebrate African Humanity
Vuvuzela! Vuvuzela! Vuvuzela! Go!
It's right here in South Africa let us see it
It's right here on the African soil, let us feel it
It's right here in South Africa, feel it
All nations with different national flags celebrate with the Rainbow Nation

Halala! Halala! Thatha Madiba for bringing us the 2010 World Cup tournament
We are all happy and celebrating the unique event in Africa.The 2010 World Cup fever is spreading from Cape to Cairo, from Argentina to Italy, from Brazil to Greece, from Uruguay to Netherlands, from South Africa to Spain

Ke nako! Let us celebrate African Humanity
Now it's the time! Let's celebrate African Humanity
Let's accept that in every game there is a winner and a loser
Let us accept the decision made by referees
Let the referees be not biased against any team
The referees should have. no favouritism
The referees should be impartial in their handling of the football matches

Ke nako! Let us celebrate African Humanity
Now it's the time! Let's celebrate African Humanity
The football players should play a fair game.

XENOPHOBIA

2010-07-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Xenophobia! Xenophobia!

My heart sinks deep when I hear the word Xenophobia.

My heart sinks deep when I remember the Xenophobic attacks.

My mind is filled with fear ! fear! fear!!

All the violent images come to my mind, it seems like yesterday.

Xenophobia is still a fresh wound in my mind.

Xenophobia! Xenophobia!

My heart skips and sinks when I hear about the cursed Xenophobia.

I become helpless. I know that I am not safe anywhere in this world.

I ran away from oppression and persecution.

I ran away from stupidity and greediness.

Xenophobia! Xenophobia!

I feel dizzy, when I remember foreigners’ shacks being burnt down by madmen. I remember seeing the walking devils doing what they like most: destroying people's lives. Looting poor people's goods.

I had never imagined that men born by a woman could be so cruel to their fellow African brothers and sisters.

Xenophobia! Xenophobia!

I feel naked and insecure if I think about Xenophobia.

Yesterday we were crying about the slave drivers.

Yesterday we were crying about slavery.

Yesterday we were crying about colonialism

Yesterday we were crying about neo-colonialism

But today we have turned against each other. We are fighting Africans versus Africans. This is great tragedy in African History The world is watching. We are at the centre stage. We are always in the mass media for the wrong reasons. The world is saying "Look at the fools they sing about a United Africa

but they don’t practise it".

About Jozi Book Fair

2010-07-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Khanya College launched the first edition of Jozi Book Fair (JBF) in August 2009 in collaboration with Botsotso Publishers at Museum Africa. Khanya College will host JBF 2010 at Museum Africa on the 7th, 8th and 9th August.

The overall objective of Jozi Book Fair is to provide a public and visible platform where three key social partners in the promotion of a culture of reading and writing can come together. These social partners are:

readers in the form of the general public and specific constituencies within this broad public,
writers and authors, in particular emerging new writers, and
publishers – in particular small and emerging publishers

The creation of a common meeting space for all the partners is crucial to strengthening small publishers, creating a market for writers, and in creating an opportunity for readers to signal to authors and publishers the kinds of stories they are interested in. The JBF project’s overall purpose is therefore to create an ongoing cycle in which each of the parties reinforce each other and create a strong reading and writing culture.

The activities at the book fair include:

Providing a space for between 80 and 100 small publishers to exhibit their products to the public. Established publishers will also be invited to exhibit
Providing a programme of seminars, roundtable discussions, and public lectures featuring fiction and non-fiction writers from South Africa, Africa and around the world
Providing training workshops on reading skills and writing skills to interested members of the public
Providing a space in the programme for a day devoted to Women and Literature to coincide with Women’s Day
Hosting a Children’s programme at the fair to encourage reading and writing among children
Providing a space for a small publishers’ network meeting, where small publishers will discuss challenges facing small publishers
Hosting a discussion forum of Reading Circles and Book Clubs from the various townships around Gauteng and South Africa
Providing space in the programme for public libraries to exhibit, to recruit members, to network with small publishers, and to advertise their programmes
Inviting a prominent international author to interact with local authors, and to conduct workshops and lectures in other parts of the country
Promoting broader public access to books by engaging with publishers to sell books at a discount to members of the public attending the Fair.

The Jozi Book Fair Project

Jozi Book Fair is an annual event in the broader Jozi Book Fair Project of Khanya College. The overall purpose of the Jozi Book Fair project is to contribute to meeting the challenges facing post-apartheid South Africa through building a strong culture of reading and writing that will:

Contribute to creating a strong publishing movement by stimulating publishing by small publishers in particular;
Provide space for the development of a new generation of writers; and
Contribute to building democracy and social justice by the creating a strong reading and writing skills base and culture in the country

The specific objectives of the Jozi Book Fair project are to:

Develop a reading and writing culture among the broad public, and in particular among South Africa’s poor communities;
Promote indigenous language publishing
Provide space for small, progressive publishers to showcase their work;
Rebuild a progressive publishing network, especially of small publishers in the South and Southern Africa;
Profile and promote the emergence of new writers, and those who are generally marginalised, and non-mainstream writers and publications;
Stimulate / Encourage publishing within social movements and NGOs
Stimulate and encourage publishing among and by women, and promote a publishing movement that deals with promoting a gender and feminist movement
Provide information about publishing opportunities so as to stimulate new publishing initiatives;
Provide a platform for publishers and agents to network, debate, discuss, and plan new projects; and
Develop an alternative book trade and translations

The activities of the Jozi Book Fair Project include:

Hosting an annual book fair in the early part of August so as to coincide with national Women’s Day;
Undertaking an on-going Education and Development programme;
Creating ongoing networking opportunities for readers, writers and publishers; and
Providing infrastructure and technical support to small publishers

Through these interventions, the Jozi Book Fair Project intends to build a strong culture of reading and writing, which will create a strong base for civic participation and, thereby, promote democracy.

About Afrika Writers Forum

2010-07-01T01:53:00.000-07:00

Afrika Writers Forum

A Khanya Resource Center Platform for Writers and Readers

Afrika Writers Forum was founded as a platform for writers and readers at Khanya College Resource Centre in May 2009. The Forum started with informal meetings of writers and artists from Zimbabwe, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa at the library in the sixth floor of the House of Movement, 123 Pritchard Street in Johannesburg. The Forum is a platform where writers can discuss and proliferate their skills in the art of writing and find ways how to publish their texts. The writers meet on Wednesdays and Fridays from 14–16h in the library of the House of Movements, discussing various issues concerning writing, editing and publishing their writings.

Khanya Resource Center Platform for Writers and Readers
The central task of the Resource Centre is to provide movement building infrastructure services to support the building of the social justice movement. Apart from the central function of storing books and facilitating access to printed and audio-visual materials, it is a task of Khanya’s Resource Centre to provide spaces for platforms and groups to constitute themselves and pursue their progressive interests, which are aligned to the College's key aims. These platforms are devised to partake in and contribute to the aims of Khanya College’s programmes and projects and geared towards assisting various constituencies within working class and poor communities to respond to the challenges posed by the forces of economic and political globalisation. While the Resource Centre provides the basic services of access to knowledge and information, it also aims to activate these resources through writing workshops, training journalistic techniques as well as creative writing, but also facilitating sessions about text editing, publishing and distribution of publications.

Click here to read more about Khanya Houses of Movements

Discussing challenges for independent publishers
The formation of the AWF is a response to the challenge of the crisis which social justice movements are facing. It aims to find creative ways of revealing the importance of writing and publishing for contemporary society. To achieve that, it focuses on building platforms for discussion, the support of anti-xenophobia work and the facilitation of literacy and reading programmes.
The Forum invites writers from all parts of Africa to address the question of writing in exile, the forces that drive writers to work away from home. Moreover, the Forum focuses on various questions which are pertinent to the neo-colonial situation in African countries, ranging from the significance of language used in writing – European or African – to the task of promoting writing and publishing in indigenous languages. The Forum addresses crucial questions, such as:

Making publishing possible: Guerrilla Publishing
The AWF devised the concept of Guerrilla Publishing as a means to empower the writers to deal with the lack of funding for publications in South Africa today and as a strategy to make self-publishing possible. The Forum decided to focus on what is possible, and to concentrate on ways how to face the difficulties of self-publishing. Therefore, the writers engage in a constant process of finding new and inventive ways of making publishing possible by using available resources and their talent as writers. Furthermore, the basic demand “I publish what I like” is set to work by two fundamental principles, reciprocity and solidarity. For instance, a voluntary donation based publishing fund has been established, allowing for the publication of members’ works, even if they do not have any financial means. Apart from that, the AWF members support the visibility and distribution of each other’s work, as well as invite other creatives who do not have access to avenues representation to participate and co-operate in the activities of the Forum.

How can we encourage a growing number of artists to write and publish literature and poetry in indigenous language and vernacular?
How can we make independent publications accessible to a growing audience?
How can we improve access to independent publications – in print and online?
How can we invent and create new and different ways to inspire the validation and appreciation of independent publications?
How can we encourage the youth to read independent publications?

Projects of the Afrika Writers Forum
As part of the Resource Centre’s outreach programme, the Forum has launched a number of projects which aim at conveying the importance of reading and writing to the youth as well as conscientising around issues fighting against xenophobia, promoting gender equality and a social justice agenda.
As the AWF has recognised the significance of writing for education, its members are engaged in a number of different education projects:

Martin Gwete works at different high schools as a part time teacher;
Several of the writers are teaching ABET at the Methodist church, they also organised writing courses staged a theatre play with young people at the church;
Menzi Mbonami, founder of the Afrika Writers forum, has approached the Department of Education and various primary schools with the proposal that members of the Forum would teach writing at primary schools. The Cheikh Anta Diop primary school in Yeoville has accepted this offer, and members of the AWF have started to teach writing classes and to facilitate anti-xenophobia workshops for the pupils;
Ruyedzo Mutizwa has published the book “Gukurahundi Ideology. Why Zimbabwe is in crisis”;
Toto Mubenga has published the collection of poems “The Light Answer To Revelation” with reUnitedSiblings;
Mshengo Tshabalala is currently involved in research about African family trees. He founded a initiative which draws on the common heritage of southern African countries in order to promote anti-xenophobia work;
The AWF also engages in networking with other organisations. Some of the writers are engaged in long term projects. Thompson Charlie is currently working with Khulumani Support Group in Soweto;
Other initiatives include a collaborating with other libraries, Book Shops (Xarra Books) and writing centres (Wits Writing Centre);
Currently the AWF is preparing the publication of an anthology of poetry and short stories, entitled “African Writers Echoing in Exile”. It will be presented at the Jozi Book Fair in 2010 along with other publications and the first two issues of the Forum’s newsletter;
AWF members also participate in the media team of Khanya Winter School in2010, writing for IMBILA YESU, the newsletter of the education festival, and facilitate the Media Skills Workshop.

Purpose and aims of the AWF
The AWF invites its members to embark in a process to find affirmative ways to approach their burden of creatively transforming their experiences in South and southern African society today and to identify other and creative approaches how to perceive their role as writers and chroniclers of the dispossessed and disadvantaged, as poets and artists in the complex realities of residents and migrants in Johannesburg and Gauteng. To achieve that, the AWF is devised as a democratic space for writers and artists to tell the untold stories of their life time, their memories and histories, their wishes and imaginations. Their life and work mirrors the social and economic condition of many people who live in this vastly populated area of Gauteng, between township, Central Business District and refugee camp. Their works disclose realities of the multitude with the aim of sharing a message of solidarity and collective endeavour, resembling a solitary island in the middle of contemporary life which is geared towards profit and the proliferation of individualism. Their ears on the ground, the writers listen to the struggles of vulnerable classes, about the life and trade in the streets of Johannesburg, from the daily toil of street vendors, the precarious labour of temporarily employed workers, exposed to labour brokers or the whims and traps of the border regime of southern African countries. Using the transformative power of their words, the writers aim to conscientise, mobilise and to educate, sharing the dream of writers as visionary resource of the people and of promoting human values that will providing the hope of a brighter future for African artists.

Topics and Vision
A central concern of the AWF is to raise pertinent social justice issues like Anti-Xenophobia, racial and gender discrimination and the struggle of vulnerable classes. Through its writings the forum aims to educate communities about the need to fight for social justice and about the need to respect other people, regardless of their religion, gender or race, thus creating an awareness about African unity. The works of the AWF aim to benefit the masses who are dwelling in the streets and living in shanty towns of the African continent. The Forum unites the voices of the African writers who are scattered and engages its participants in a process to refine their skill of writing, to find platforms for discussion, exchange and education.
The Forum’s vision builds on what the writers and artists inherited from their ancestors who started the struggle towards uniting and educating Africa in a way that Africans understand and in a way that things are relevant to them. It invites artists and writers to break down the borders between the different arts and to unite the creative energies to spread the message of an African humanity to all the children of Mother Africa.