Sharing Nomsa Mazwai's Travel Report on Digital (R)Evolution 2020

As our main idea is to share different experiences and reflections, today we are happy to share Nomsa Mazwai’s “Travel report” on the Pilot edition of the Digital (R)Evolution: Communication and New Technologies training which took place in January 2020.

« I applied to attend the Festival Academy course on the use of technology in festivals. Having been inspired by Afro Punk, I knew that it would be possible to change a community through the use of technology and festivals. Afro Punk has created a community of 40 million people who believe in a common way of being in the world. I want Sowetans to begin to imagine a different Soweto and a new way of being in the world.

I reached out to you to help me fundraise R60 000 so I could attend this course as a first step to building the foundations of an organization that will change the Soweto we know today into a city of the future tomorrow, and boy did you show up!

All of you, in your own way, contributed to my dream and today I am reporting on my journey.

The course ran over 4 days. On each of the days we had an array of speakers who reflected on

• The use of technology in organizing organization
• The use of technology in the festival experience
• The use of technology in incorporating young people in programming ie. Attending festivals, attending theatre, attending shows
• Maximising the impact of marketing through the use of technology
• The traits of successful festivals
• What makes a festival a festival

I also had the unique opportunity of engaging industry experts, sharing my ideas with them and really dissecting #funkItImWaking and applying my mind and thinking about how best to ensure my organization achieves what it sets out to do, making the streets of Soweto safe enough for a woman to walk at any time of day in any condition.

I had the unique opportunity to engage a consultant, Grayson Wambach, who works with SXSW, a festival that transforms the city of Austin Texas on an annual basis. During my time with him, I was animated around the possibility of transforming minds in Soweto utilizing some interesting interventions he had been part of through his work.

I also sat with Prof Keith Nurse, who shared some interesting views on why the Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is so successful. He noted that the carnival is so successful because it is a culture. I started thinking, how do I make the ritual of safety a culture in Soweto?

This course was inspiring. Everyday, I woke up early, excited to engage the day, excited to absorb information, excited to interrogate the idea of #FunkItImWalking. I return rejuvenated. I return inspired. »

If you also participated in one of our training programmes, do not hesitate to share your experience with us by sending an email to info@thefestivalacademy.eu.