The 2010 Africa Festival of the Arts (AFA) will be staged in May 2010 in Soweto as part of the build up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
AFA is an initiative of the recently launched Soweto Events and Festivals Consortium (SEFCON).The consortium was established as part of SEFA to unite and represent the voice of Soweto based events and festival organisers.
According to Basil Dube, media spokesperson for SEFCON and Director of the Soweto Writers Centre, the AFA will be presented as Soweto’s first Pan African festival of the arts and will offer a host of cultural and entertainment events including jazz, theatre, dance, comedy, film and African choral music. AFA will also launch the Soweto Book Festival and the Project 10 Theatre Festival as Soweto’s signature events.
“We have proposed a series of consultative meetings with various stakeholders to sell the concept. These include the City of Johannesburg, 2010 FIFA Local Organising Committee, Gauteng Provincial Government, the South African Music Promoters Association (SAMPA) and the Minister of Arts and Culture,’ says Dube who is also an executive member of SAMPA.
The association’ s main objective is to create jobs for marginalised artists and to regulate the entertainment sector in Soweto. Dube said that Soweto was no longer going to depend on the city of Joburg for night entertainment as his association is prepared to revolutionise the Soweto entertainment scene.
“One of our main goals in 2010 is to produce a Soweto Events Calendar and to properly market Soweto as a tourism and live events destination,’ he concluded.
Soweto SMMEs and companies trading in the events, festivals, sports and tourism industries are invited to attend a special general meeting of the Soweto Events and Festivals Association (SEFA) to be held at the Shack Coffee Shop, next to the Hector Peterson Museum, Orlando West on Saturday, October 17 at 9am.
For free registration to attend the meeting, please contact Basil Dube on 078 7387846 or email :sowetoevents@gmail.com
