KA FA BOGALENG

I recently was taken aback, though I probably shouldn’t have been, to have one more person ask me “Botswana? Where is that? In South Africa you say, oh Southern Africa I see”. I have been having this conversation for as long as I have travelled the region and world as a culture bandit masquerading as a poet.

Post Mma Ramotswe and the increased sales of bush tea in the UK as well as the establishment of BEDIA and the Tourism Board, not to mention that fancy ad with the Face of Africa contestants and the advent of Leteise as the nouveau fabric for the catwalks, I thought it was a done deal. Everyone knows who and where we are, right? Well not quite, so I thought I would take the game to them. Introduce them (and you) to some local faces that are stirring up a storm in all the corners of the world where they set foot.

Batswana women have always been powerful creatures who in my opinion choose (perhaps as the lesser evil - I will leave the debates to gender development academics) to play a seemingly secondary but actually complimentary role to the men in our lives, this as a nod to the cultural establishment, a lets-do-it-your way-first kind of approach. Yet we have never failed in our duty to step up to the plate and bring the bogobe home when life called for it. While the men worked in the South African mines for years at a time, we went out in the mid day sun to plough the field with child on our back – and managed to compose an entire song about it while we were at it.
Born multi taskers, we pound sorghum and raise young boys into the next generation of men and girls into young women who perfect the art of adapting to their environment. I have personally engaged with most of the women on the list below either as an admirer of, mentor to, a trainer of, a colleague alongside or fellow traveler in the journey to self discovery and their work speaks to the higher ideals to which we should all aspire. As an acknowledgement of this generation of wonder women (and girls) today my thoughts are nothing more than a list of who to keep an eye out for. Although the list is not exhaustive take the time to look up the following amazing, multi talented young Batswana women many of whom are on facebook, LinkedIn etc and are generally googllable – thank you Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

(in no particular order)
Kaone Kario – Face of Africa 2005 winner, international model;
Mpule Kwelagobe – Miss Universe 1999, model, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador;
Kudzani Moswela – model, international actress;
Lepang Ferguson –lifestyle consultant, international enterpreneur;
Lu Anne Alexander – lawyer, dancer, choreographer;
Tshepo Ntshole – MC, Radio presenter;
Mpho Laing – fashion editor and stylist, event conceptualist and coordinator;
Nature Inger – poet, singer, model;
Koketso Chiepe - international designer;
Emma Wareus – storyteller, dancer, model, Miss World 1st princess 2010;
Tjipo Keaikitse – award winning jewelry designer;
Boipelo Seleke – fine artist, tattooist, entrepreneur, radio presenter, poet;
Petula Khulmann – dancer, radio presenter;
Lebogang Akanyang – model, basketball player, vocalist;
Samantha Mogwe – Pop star winner, vocalist, instrumentalist;
Andreattah Chuma – IT Auditor, poet;
Mandisa Mabuthoe – artist, performance poet;
Bontle Moreetsi-broadcaster,journalist;
Amantle Montsho -commonwealth games gold medalist athlete;
Moratiwa Molema – recording artist, poet, vocalist, film maker;
Ndiyapo Machacha – theatre practitioner; Tebby Gasennelwe – Survivor Africa winner, journalist, entrepreneur;
Oratile Jazzelle Kebakile – MC, radio presenter, entrepreneur;
Maxy – traditional vocalist and dancer;
Tshepiso Gower - Allan Gray Fellow, Poet, up and coming Economist;
Angela Kerrison - International Soprano;
Boikanyo Peke - Accountant, karateka, Gym owner and personal instructor;
Tracy Bortsie - saxophonist;
Bogolo Kenewendo - macroeconomist.


*bogobe - a hard porridge made from pounded, sometimes fermented, sorghum.

HARARE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS 2011

The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is in it's 12th year. It's probably one of the biggest festivals in the region, definitely one of the most multidisciplinary live performance spectacles with a comprehensive festival program. Wonderful stuff for children to do in the kids zone and a lot more for the discerning culture bandit seeking solid entertainment and fantastic company.

It's being held at the Harare Gardens from April 26 to May 1st 2011, so if you happen to be in Zimbabwe or the region around that time come and check out a ton of international acts including the sonic slam chorus which I'm a part of alongside Norway's Cecilie Giskemo and Asbjoern Lerheim, Zimbabwe's Prudence Katomene, V Mukarati and Dikson *whose poetry video for the edgily-enchanting poem limbo is accessible on you tube*

>Last year (2010) I performed alongside Comrade Fatso, Outspoken and Zubz (SA) as part of an explosive set backed by the amazing Chabvondoka band. I also took part in the Hivos poetry cafe sessions (alongside Phillippa Yaa De Villiers and Richard Brown) hosted by Chirikure Chirikure - who recently had some of his poems anthologized in Chinese among other African greats and the occassional upstart such as myself thrown in for good measure in the book No Serenity Here.

'Times New Roman';">Come and see what is likely to be a very different Zimbabwe than you would otherwise imagine, if only for a few days. Vist http://www.hifa.co.zw/ for the early release programme.

A few months later here is where you can some of our poetry-music-thingy-ma-jig http://soundcloud.com/dikson/these-women-by-sonic-slam

HALF WOMAN, HALF AMAZING

This year Botswana celebrated International Women's Day in earnest. 


The Department of Women's Affairs went to a town just outside the capital city Gaborone, to commemorate this Day's centenary (1911 - 2011). While 3 of my artists (my company Sauti Arts and Performance Management handles PR, bookings etc for a handful of Gaborone's finest talent) were performing at a concurrent event at Botswana Craft, I attended a panel discussion at the University of Botswana chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs Prof. Frank Youngman.

The theme this year was Equal access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway to decent work.

Lots of interesting presentations, some arguably contentious feedback from the floor and 3 hours later a gentleman's :) agreement to develop mentorship programmes and encourage young women to not only consider majoring in the sciences but to complete the course and not just look for the-hard-to-come-by-anyway-jobs but rather seek partnerships through which they can begin to create an industrial base. One of the experts on the floor mentioned that Africa is actually de-industrialising rather than building industrial bases and that introducing innovation as a guiding principle and of course given this years theme that focusing on science and technology as a catalyst for an 'industrial revolution' was the way to go.

The Head of the regionally inter-governmental organisation: Southern African Coordinating Committee's Gender Unit strongly urged those present to read existing policies/strategic documents in order to hold politicians accountable. Referring everyone to certain documents had already been ratified and therefore should be upheld by the countries who had committed to signing them as well as pointing out that those that had not yet been ratified provided an opportunity for advocacy.

One gentleman in the audience, who is also a gender studies student, pointed out that he found it "not enough" to simply shift the blame to policy or politics but rather women begin to walk the talk by supporting each other especially when it came to potential ways of influencing policy such as voting each other into national office

Given that there is still so very much to do, it's great to see that there is still so much practical passion from the folks at the Gender Policy Programme Committee as well as the SADC Gender Unit.

Here's to a hundred more years of less cause to lament and more reasons to celebrate ourselves, and each other.