Young Region C performers astound and impress
Young poets, singers, actors, and magicians alike impressed the Region C community at a Youth Arts Day held at the Roodepoort Theatre.
The 1st Generation Foundation is a group of young, passionate leaders sharing the goal of making a positive change in their communities. They aim to address social challenges and educational development while fighting poverty, unemployment and inequality.
The founder of the organisation, Mpho Eaye, believes wholeheartedly in providing the younger people with the skills and opportunities to become the founders of change in South Africa – the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Seeing the high number of unemployed youths, especially those within the arts space, Mpho used his organisation to host the second annual Region C Arts Show. The arts show was started to promote sport, arts and culture programmes in communities, thereby giving the younger, unemployed residents in Region C something practical to do with their time rather than something criminal. “Young people often become involved in drug and alcohol abuse because of not having anything to do. This left us wondering who our future leaders would be if most of our youth are on the streets with nothing to do,” said Mpho. He continued to say that the 1st Generation Foundation has come to the conclusion that they cannot blame anyone, including the government, for the problems in the country – they need to take action or nothing will ever be done. “We aim to provide arts career guidance and mentorship.”
The Region C Youth Arts Show was hosted at the Roodepoort Theatre on 4 and 5 June as a part of Youth Month, giving the performers the chance to show their talents on a stage they may one day be paid to perform on. From poets and actors, to singers and musicians, the stage was dominated by talented performers from throughout the Region C area. 4 June was used as a workshop day, where performers could come to the theatre and learn about the performance industry and how to make it a career, and 5 June was used as a competition day that was open to the public.
The 1st Generation Foundation hopes to bring these youth arts days to the rest of the City of Joburg regions in the near future. Their main goal is to develop a community of young performers so large, that with the right amount of sponsorships, they will be able to host a Youth Arts Festival for the entirety of Johannesburg.
The 1st Generation Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Dobsonville, and can be contacted by sending an email to info@1stgenerationfoundation.org.za or by calling 079 216 0421.
