!

2

I was at the library working on an assignment when I decided to feed my Facebook addiction. Yes, we are not allowed to be on our phones while studying but I wanted to read status updates about the Olympics. Well, to my surprise others were uploading pictures of themselves in the snow. It was interesting. I was jealous a little because I did not have my fair share of witnessing snow in Gauteng myself. To those who enjoyed the view – high five! And WELL DONE to our Olympics Champions.

South Africa remembers women who took part in the liberation struggle this month. Lilian Ngoyi can be remembered as one brave woman who led Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, Sophia Williams - De Bruyn and another 20 000 women in the women's anti-pass march on the Union Building in Tshwane on the 9th of August in 1956. Before she died she said, “If I die, I’ll die a happy person because I have already seen the rays of our new SA rising. "It was said about her; "She was all work and no theory."

There is a lot that can be mentioned about women who laid a name for themselves and are still remembered even today. Today we read about powerful women who started on the foundation built by these women – the likes of Khanyi Dhlomo, Wendy Luhabe, Basetsana Kumalo, Dr Ramphela Ramphele, Carol Bouwer, Gerry Elsdon, Felicia Mabuza¬-Sutle...the list goes on and on.

I quoted Dr . Somadoda Fikeni, a Political Analyst saying about women in TYM's old article titled “Oral history remains an important way to collect history”: “We only hear of male voices that played a role in the liberation struggle. The only history we hear of women is that of the 1956. I believe that women also played an important part that needs to be told. They played nurses when men were injured during the shooting, they had to hide men from security forces, and they turned their homes as meeting places and cooked for them. We also need to hear stories of the children of the celebrated struggle fighters. We should remember that they had to endure days if not months on end without their fathers.”

Women play different roles. August might mark a historical event about women but every month, everyday women have to be celebrated. Man, don’t wait for August or mother’s day to show her how special she is. Do it everyday. Our cover star, Salamina Mosese is one such dynamic woman who has climbed the ladder of her career to reach her pinnacle. We moved with her from her first TV role in Soul Buddyz. Why don’t you read more about her to know more. In our Sports page we are joined by Masingita who tells us an overview of what was happening during the Olympics. Happy reading! Much love...Mmabatho Makotanyane

Typo, and no, not the sound you would expect to hear when “type” is pronounced while watching a Nollywood-produced movie, it is a typographical error that according to Wikipedia is a mistake made in the typing process (as of spelling) of printed material. Furthermore, the term excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors.

It’s not hard to miss a misspelt word when you read, and it’s not hard for a misspelt word to temper with the meaning of a sentence altogether. We see this everyday on social networks, Twitter being my focus here. Some of us have given up on trying to brush up our diction, so we boldly write without Autocorrect’s aid and decide to let the world know what’s on our mind.

Note: Autocorrect will sometimes refuse to validate your intellect. So, all the money that your parents paid for your school fees better come in handy, aided by common sense. Though unaware, some of us have resorted to short-hand writing for its ability to put a point across in fewer words, but good grammar is often found wanting. After all, who’s to notice u’r mstk wen u ryt lyk diss (sic)? My point does not lie here though.

For the purposes of this read, celebrities will amount to people in the spotlight (radio, television and print media) and commoners (for a lack of a better word) will refer to those that are not. No offence intended. There is nothing

by Masingita Masiya

wrong with the places that both celebrities and commoners hold in society; purpose and function separate us, not deeming the other important over another.

To an extent, we have made gods out of celebrities – inerrant and incapable of any wrong. They entertain and inspire us so much that we seem to forget that they are as human as we are. That sets us up for heartbreak should one day they not meet the high standards we set for them; the very same that we ourselves cannot adhere to.

Among a community of commoners, a misspelt word is as common as a motivational tweet – recurring and anyone can do it. It is here that I can reed (sic) what you wrote and it not bother me so much so that I’d even want to Retweet it. If it’s that funny, you’ll see it fly around, and attached to it will be emoticons as familiar as “:D,” “:’D”. Nobody really pays attention to and remembers those.

Enter the dragon: should a celebrity misspell a word for whatever reason, you’d swear there’s a “buy one get one” Carvella sale at Spitz. The energy, creativity and data that go into exposing the celebrity could be used to build a small city in Nkandla. Such a good sport this can be, typo spotting, especially when handled with gloves of maturity, but flawed human nature does tend to prevail.

You see, “on these Twitter streets”, as the expression goes, a

5

celebrity’s misspelt word is a priced bull that must be killed with flair at that point, be skinned, and flaunted. As a typo spotter, do that and fame is within reach… temporal as it might be. A celebrity’s misspelt word could mean a moment of shine for some regular-I-do-tweet-Mandy.

Nowadays, you don’t have to work hard to be famous; all you need is a witty mind, a Twitter account, Screen Muncher (optional), a quick eye to spot misspelt words with and a quick thumb with which to share the misspelling, and you are firmly in business. If you are really good with the witty comments, you will be on your way not just to mentions and follows, but you might just trend on Twitter for a while.

Typo spotting is all fun and games until one takes a closer look into the whole phenomenon, perhaps the one side to it that the mirror forgets to reflect. Sometimes, and not always the norm, I do feel that the way typo spotting has been given life in the social network era is just to compensate for the sake that the typoist is famous and the typo spotter is well, not. Others see it as an opportunity to show that even some celebrities are not so smart after all. More than not, I hope, it is genuinely aimed at correcting an error and protecting the minds of the young generation from bad diction.

One can always manage to turn the supposed misfortune around and just laugh at themselves with those that surround them. I’ve seen some witty comebacks with the typoist acknowledging their error, making fun of it and laughing at themselves, then going on to post correct words, simply because life goes on. Yet some typoists take the onslaught from typo spotters so personal that they even pull a *Nicki Minaj. There are many things that may point to a person’s intellect or lack thereof, and a typo is surely not one of them.

Khaya Dlanga, a foremost social commentator of our time is a self-professed “Leader Of The People Against Typo Nazis”. This engraving on his Twitter account, according to me, is a genius of a disclaimer with regards to typos. “Typo Nazis” – could you perhaps be one of them? And every time Khaya does fall off the wagon, he can always use the disclaimer to his advantage, against you. Game, set and match.

Whether it is in correcting someone or not, using typos to bring others down just so we can feel good about any of our misgivings is petty, and yet this is the ammo some of us choose to arm ourselves with.

6

Rirothe Recycling t/a Rirothe Environmental Services

Rirothe Environmental Services provides wide range of services that are designed to help keep the environment clean, the services includes: • Street Sweeping• Hygiene and General cleaning• Deep Cleaning• Grass and landscaping Maintenance • Land Reclamation and Revegetation • Tyre Recycling • Hazardous Waste Management & more...

Tel: 072 203 0884Fax: 086 650 7652web: www.rirotherecycling.co.za

"making a difference together, RIROTHE"

Legae Upraising Adventures ccReg no: 2011/105069/23

Services

1. Team Building2. Boot camps3. Class reps/SRC leadership training4. Adventure Challenge5. Water games

Contacts083 891 1367 / 073 108 0909info@legaeupraising.comwww.legaeupraising.com

These ads are supported by TYM SME's development. To find more info, follow us on twitter or like us on facebook

Tshegofatso Molokomme is a 20-year-old young man who does not limit himself. He is a young event’s manager and hosts events in local clubs. He holds a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Tshwane South College. The young man hails from Hammanskraal in Majaneng, Tshwane. He is TYM’s August Boy Next Door. He shares with Pretty Lebese.

What is your take on the text book saga that got people talking?The government itself does not care at all, they showed us that with this story. Personally I do not blame the minister for the irresponsible actions the government displayed. I mean can you take a person who has never experienced trouble, trials and bigger challenges while he or she was growing up and say the person should motivate learners who go to school on an empty stomach? It clearly does not make sense because the person has not been in their shoes. Most of our leaders are not educated so let us not be surprised when they act irresponsibly.

Human trafficking has given us sleepless nights, what do you have to say about that?People just do it for fun, others are addicted and others are doing it for a living just to put bread and butter on their tables. It is scary. Every second we wonder who is next, who is the innocent girl or boy that will be sold. Our justice system is also corrupt; these people are working with police officers. Now the question is who will we trust again? And who is there to help?

Social networks are decreasing the work capacity of the country, what do you have to say about that? It is clear that they are bringing the economy down but on the other hand they are benefiting us. If only books were social networks, we will all be informed and boosting the country’s economy with our knowledge and qualifications rather than not doing anything to uplift ourselves. But that depends on an individual and how they channel their energies.

Please tell us how in addition our economy is going down.The government is exporting raw materials to foreign countries at a very large scale but what we are getting in return is way less than we provided, this goes back to understanding the leadership once again.

8

Molebogeng "Malebo" Baloyi is a 23-year-old woman who hails from Hammanskraal, Tshwane. She's a music and poetry lover, and loves having fun. At 19 she got pregnant while still studying Retail Business Management at the University of Johannesburg. As a young woman she says she had to pick herself up from the gossip around her, disappointment and embarrassment.

"I was too stressed and disappointed for words and the 'gossip' around my pregnancy. I had a wonderful boyfriend who stood by me. My son was meant to be, I've grown so much since he came into my life or should I say 'since I pushed his life into mine'". Despite it all, the young lady graduated last year and she's working - power to women! She talks to Boipelo Mokoke

and she's TYM's August Girl Next Door.

Who inspires you?Rusell Simmons, mainly because he's a philanthropist and that's what I'd love to live by - giving back never hurts anyone.

What challenges do you face at work and being a mom?The challenge I am facing at work is that I don't like what I do that much. The challenges I face as a mom, well there aren't so many or should I say any. I've got a great support system so I don't struggle with much really.

What are you listening to currently on your playlist?This is what's taking over my earphones - I'm a hip hop girl, all the way. I'm jamming to Chainz ft. Drake -No lie, Ne-Yo - Lazy Love, Anthony Hamilton - Broken Man, MMG ft. T Pain -Bag of money - I could go on for the whole day hey. I just love music!

Dream holiday venue ?My dream holiday destination has to be Jamaica. I'd like to experience the culture, it looks crazy. It should be on my resolution list.

What was your new year's resolution and did you keep any of them or achieved any?I didn't have any, I try to achieve my goals as I go along.9

By Pretty Lebese

TYM brings you another pair this month. Thabang and Lethabo Kudumane are twin brothers. The 19-year-olds were born and bred in Maboloka, North West. They went to Kgothalo Primary school, Mmadikete Secondary school until they went to different high schools. Thabang completed his Matric in Soshanguve Central Secondary, Lethabo completed his at Thutopele High school. Lethabo studies Office Management Technology and Thabang is currently studying Mechanical Engineering. They both go to the Tshwane University of Technology.

How was life when you were growing up, did you get different treatments from people?Thabang: for me life was not hectic that much as we grew up in a very supportive family, where our grandmother was always there to check if we are fine, where we had uncles who played soccer with us.Lethabo: adding on that, back then we were not allowed to come home after 18:00 be it weekends or during the week. My grandmother is one of the greatest but very strict.

How different are you from each other?Lethabo: very different. I am a very loud person and an extovert. People think when you are twins you do what the other does but that is not always the case. I just hope we get understood and people stop expecting the same from us. Thabang: I am an introvert. That is how I am. I dislike favouritism especially amongst extended family members. They would always look for the best in us and compare, it can be high pass rate or other life aspects. They forget that my brother and I may have shared a space in my mother’s womb but this does not mean we would have exactly the same strengths or personalities.

Your career paths are different, tell me about what you are passionate about.Thabang: I have always loved numbers, mechanics and practical work and this has always been my passion from secondary school. I am enjoying what I am studying and hoping to be one of the best mechanics in SA.Lethabo: the course was not any of my choices. I just chose it but learned to love it eventually. I work with a very hard working team called the “Go Getters” our motto is working together towards skills development. I am hoping to be one of the top managers of an engineering company. When I finish my degree I am planning to study Quantity Surveying, I believe in this course I will do wonders.

What was the worst experience you have ever had?Lethabo: the worst thing I have ever experienced was when Thabang relocated to Soshanguve with our mother to a new place in 2008, this truly tore me apart.Thabang: this is one of the experiences I do not want to recall. In the process of leaving Maboloka I thought Lethabo would have changed his mind and go with our mother and I but he did not. This gave me sleepless nights and it was a point where I realised how attached I am to him not only as a twin brother but also as a friend.

How is your relationship?Thabang: we are not just twins but also friends and very close ones.Lethabo: boys will always be boys. We will discuss girlfriends, looks and also our issues, this helps to strengthen our friendship and be open to each other.

Who are the important people in your lives?Lethabo: my parents, lecturers and the group that I am working with in my studies. Despite the economical challenges our parents had, the best part is that they kept pushing - come rain, come sunshine - they always have our backsides. Thabang: proudly so it has to be our parents. They are our best support system.

Their plans... Thabang aims at finishing his studies at a record time and finally get into the working environment at a very young age.Lethabo aspires to be one of the youngest and top level managers of an engineering company.

It is the women’s month and what better way to celebrate it than to bring you one of South Africa’s hardworking young women? You grew up watching her on SABC1’s youth drama series – Soul Buddyz. She’s a model, presenter and an actress. She was a presenter for e.tv’s kids’ programming block, Craze and a gameshow on SABC2, Crazy Games. She enjoyed acting roles on Soul City, SABC1 , Justice for All on SABC2, Backstage on e.tv, Bubom’sana on SABC1, Home Affairs on SABC1, a sitcom on SABC1, Abo Mzala and an international feature film, Beat the Drum.

You’ve seen her on ads as well. She was the face of Sadie. In 2008 you changed your TV channel to SABC3 and saw her presenting on Top Billing where she won the search and presented the show the same year. Also in 2008 she got married to former Generations and Backstage actor and artist, Tshepo “Howza” Mosese. Today, you watch her on SABC2’s Afrikaans episode – 7 de Laan. Could it be because of her Afrikaans distinction she received in Matric together with her English and History distinctions? She was certainly destined to go far in the media industry, I think Midrand

high school shaped her pretty well as she was also the head girl.

The young, talented, bubbly and hardworking woman, Salamina Mosese(29) who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Corporate Communication from the University of Johannesburg divided her time and had a date with TYM. Join us. By Mmabatho Makotanyane.

Background

I was just a normal kid in Midrand, I was 14 when I started shooting on Soul Buddyz. I was riding bicycles around my neighbourhood, not knowing that my life would change forever. I have an older sister and a younger brother growing up. We had a lot of laughs, and of course like all other brothers and sisters, we have had our fair share of fights as well. My parents were strict with us. We hated it then, but now in hindsight I can see they just wanted to protect us.

Life was not easy when I was growing up. There was always a lot of pressure from home and externally to achieve and not fail at anything. Furthermore, I have siblings, and I watched my parents struggling to balance their pride in me, and their parental duties, especially in front of my brother and sister.

Growing up on screen and in the public eye is really hard. You are trying to get to know yourself, losing friends and having extended family members treat you differently because they expect you to have changed.

Who did you look up to while growing up?Khanyi Dhlomo. I still love her to this day. She's an inspirational woman who has achieved a lot in her life.

Breakthrough as an actress

I got to know there was a talented Salamina when I saw you on Soul Buddyz. How did that come about?My brother was chosen to go to the audition, I went in with him to help him fill out his form and I helped him to rehearse his scenes. While I was sitting outside waiting for him, the director saw me and asked me to read for the part of Zandi, even though they were looking for a Zulu girl, and I didn't speak Zulu.

Have you always aspired to be an actress?No. I wanted to be a pharmacist first then a psychologist. The acting thing chose me. I didn't have childhood dreams of being on TV, it just kind of happened for me. My mom saw an advertisement for a new agency in Midrand that was looking

13

for children to join. We joined it, and the first audition I went to was for Soul Buddyz, I got the job.

Are you the people’s person - tell me about your character.I think I am more introvert but with extrovert tendencies. I love people and love to meet new people. I was always quite shy growing up, but I had to come out of my shell because of the nature of the work that I had started to do.

Most people change after being famous or getting all the attention from the public, has that changed your life? In what way? It’s actually made me more of a home body. I enjoy being at home more now, more than I did before I was on TV. Generally though, my life has changed for the better.

I have never read anything bad about Salamina in the media, how do you manage to keep the standard? What keeps you grounded? Sometimes all it comes down to is keeping yourself private. I'm a professional, so my work is important to me, and therefore I respect the space in which I work; which in my case is the public space. What keeps me grounded is knowing that I am not here because of my own greatness or wisdom.

You are now on 7 de Laan - tell me how you got the role. I auditioned for a role about two years ago, now they were looking through old tapes, they saw my old audition and invited me to join their team.

What is the difference between you and your character?There aren't that many differences, but Nthabi is cockier than I am. She is very opinionated and loves to go out with large groups of friends.

Breakthrough as a Top Billing presenter

That is everyone’s dream – you got to live it. Tell us how you got to be on SABC3’s glamorous show.I auditioned for them during their presenter search, I made the top ten and people got to vote for their favourite potential presenter. I didn't make it to the top spot, but a couple of months after the competition they called me and offered me a job.

How was the experience?It was a learning experience for me. It taught me a lot about myself and about the industry, and I will never forget the travelling, which is the great part of the work.

What has been the highlight of it all?

I went sky diving and went for a shark dive. These were just two of my favourite shoots, there were many more.

Life after presenting What happened after Top Billing? What other jobs filled in your portfolio? After Top Billing I worked for the South African Council for Educators. I wanted to work outside the industry, that's when I went to work for SACE.

Besides TV what else do you do, what are you focusing on now?At the moment, Lusanda Mbane and I are busy getting the Zazi Zithande Zithembe brand known. We aim for it to become synonymous with all things feminine and aspirational.

Giving back

How are you giving back to the community? I mentor young girls, giving them advice on work, life, love and business. I also give clothes to charity.

What are you mostly proud of as a South African citizen? Are you happy with the state SA is in after 18 years of democracy?Corruption is eroding confidence that we are supposed to have in our government officials. This is an area in our society that needs to be dealt with to restore our confidence in government. As a South African, I'm most proud of the calibre of sports men and actors that we have in the country; more should be done to celebrate them.

What do you think can be done in our country to help young people whose lives are slowly fading away owing to lack of jobs?South Africans as a whole need to become more self sufficient. We have a mineral rich country with good vegetation and climate, yet we still complain that we go hungry. We need to get more creative and stop waiting for handouts from the government.

Life in general

I have seen you on ads with the hubby – how is it like being married to someone who is in the same career field as you?It’s great because we understand each other’s struggles better. We share laughs and anecdotes about work life, and it’s one subject that we never get bored of. We have a lot in common even outside the industry, so it’s not the most

14

important part of the relationship. It’s also cool to have someone to read dialogue with, we help each other.

You are one of the young couples – how are you balancing your career and family life?We keep our private life, private, and prioritise family time over anything else. As for our careers, we have been lucky to get work that we really enjoy.

What are your other interests?I love to write and plan events.

Any chance you’ll go back to presenting?If the work comes up, then yes I will, for now I'm enjoying acting.

Tell me about your career highlightsSoul Buddyz, because it was my first break into the industry. Interviewing Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Eric Bana, while I was presenting on Top Billing. I also got to sky dive with the Parlotones. The other highlight of my career was Abo Mzala. I had never done comedy before, I had a blast.

How do you define happiness? Happiness is being satisfied with your God given self, it’s knowing that you are walking to your destiny and living according to your purpose.

‘’ We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.’’ 2 Corinthians 4:13

Christianity is in the speaking. You must speak. Talk child of God. As a kid, I always thought for one to be saved they must live a spotless, holy life and then they get saved. This has been my mentality for years and many of God’s children still believe that by merely living right, one will be saved. But no! Paul, teaching about how to get saved said, ‘’... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’’ Romans 10:9. This is the biblical methodology on how to attain salvation. It is the modus operandi on the conveyance from the unsaved to the saved. Some of the children of God think that if you believe in Jesus and His Lordship and the fact that there is one God you will be saved, but that is not completely true. Believing alone is not enough. The bible says that even demons believe and tremble (James 2:19) but that does not mean that they are saved. Romans 10:10 ‘’ For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’’ I like it in the NIV, it is much clear, it says, ‘’ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.’’ By believing in your heart you are justified, by confessing with your mouth, you are saved.This is so important. Many of God’s children are suffering terribly and this ought not to be so. They are suffering terribly because they are quiet about it. They don’t talk. Talk

to your situation, child of God. Command it to change to your specifications. There is power in your tongue. Proverbs 18:21 ‘’ Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.’’ The same way Ezekiel spoke life to the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:7) You can speak life into your dead situation. You can command the cancer to exit your body. You know, some people are still tormented and tortured by Satan because they don’t confess that they no longer belong to him. Tell him that you are not in his territory anymore. Tell him that you have been redeemed. Psalm 107:2 ‘’ Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.’’ He will not stop oppressing you until you tell him you are free from him and his demons.

I remember in 2009 I had severe pneumonia. I did not go on Facebook and updated my status ‘’sick’’ or ‘’dying’’ or ‘’death by pneumonia.’’ At some point I felt like I was dying, but I did not keep quiet. I kept proclaiming healing and divine health in the name of Jesus. This is what Joel meant when he said ‘’... and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...’’ Joel 2:28. I prophesied upon my physical condition. I told it what God says about me in Christ Jesus. I told it by His stripes I am healed from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet and before I knew it, the pneumonia was gone. I was completely healed.

Christianity is in the confession, the talking and the proclamation. Take your bible and underline everything that God says about you. Meditate upon it and confess it day in and day out. Speak the word. Don’t stop talking it.With love.

16

I am happy to see you smiling again. I am glad you realised that life goes on, it does not wait for you while you are crying over spilt milk. It is great to see that while you were down you stood up, dusted the dirt off and moved on. You looked yourself in the mirror and had an intrapersonal communication – you talked some sense in your head and knew your worth. Drawing back dear, can you see how wiser that experience has made you? It is good to see you in your stilettos again and walking tall – salute!

Gone are the days when you locked yourself in the room drowning in your tears. Gone are the days when you thought you will be down forever. Gone are the days when you took your stress out on the kids because the father left you. Gone are the days when everyone in your neighbourhood knew you were breaking because you could not even get out of the house – you were scared of how they were going to look at you now that you are back home after a divorce. Gone are the days when you lost a job and could not afford the life you wanted anymore. The man you loved and people around you became strangers because your bank statement wasn’t looking good anymore. You were treated badly but you stayed because the man was your only source of income.

“When women take care of themselves financially there will be less violence against them...” said Wendy Luhabe. I would like to break the quote down. Very often women stay in abusive relationships because they can’t take care of themselves financially. They listen to patronising words men throw at them. They stay even when abused physically. They can’t run to the police station because they are fearful. They

look at their financial state and think, “Who is going to pay off my accounts? I am going to have a bad name – my credit record is going to look bad. Who is going to pay for my hair, my expensive lifestyle, my kid’s crèche? Who is going to take care of grocery? There won’t be food in the house.”

I am glad you to see you carrying your hand bag and going to work - high five to being independent! I am glad to see you shopping and spending your own money. I am glad to see you paying your kid’s fees. I am glad to see you parking your small car outside and playing with the car keys. I am glad to see you stopping at the garage and swiping for petrol. I am glad you see you taking care of your own bill. Doesn’t it feel right? Being in charge? Finally? At least the experience drove you to a better life – a life filled with joy and happiness.

It wasn’t easy getting out of the sad situation especially when you’ve given it your all. But taking baby steps was the way to success. You knew your strength. You pushed the blankets away and said, “I won’t sleep anymore the world needs me, I have so much to offer. I can do it on my own. I can apply for a job and get myself out of this situation. I can start my small business and work my way up. I can volunteer for experience and get a job I want. I can register for a course and keep myself busy.”

It surely did work. Every situation pass. When I find myself in a bad situation, I remember what my mother told me, “An end of an era is not the end of your destiny.” It was not the end of your life, look at you now – you are still breathing – salute!

17

Productive over charismatic leadership: It’s time African youth get its priorities right

CHAIRPERSON OF WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: TSHWANE HUB GLOBAL SHAPERS

The call we need to heed is the importance to make sense of a mess before activating the message, because failure to make sense of a mess distort the message. In her career she despised petty issues and embraced pertinent matters, understanding that the role of leadership is not to seek unnecessary attention but to attend to the duties at hand. Hers it’s a case of the frying pan to the fire, judging from the previous portfolio in SA most trouble-some ministry, and yet she still had the drive to tackle the toughest of challenges. That’s a swagger of a legend unfolding, talking through hard work while her achieve-ment does the showboating. However, to many of us she is still an enigma of some sort, which branded her a rare commodity in the political leadership market. I hope she does not remain an enigma to the youth of this continent throughout her term in office.

Leaders of her kind are nothing close to charismatic, but you can’t fault them of being ineffective, underachieving or incompetence. Who needs a charismatic leader anyway if you have a productive workhorse? Nothing wrong with charisma as long as it is backed by compe-tence. Charisma is how charming, vibrant and attractive

Leadership is like beauty, not so easy to describe but you know it when you see it. And when you see it, it seizes and captivates the mind. I want to like politicians, I really want to, but many of them make it so difficult for us to share the love, I begin to suspect foul play or a deliberate act of provocation. Don’t you miss those years not so long ago when a political leader speaks on television or radio and you become attentive and remain left with a spark of hope and pride? Has the currency of the spoken words reached the all-time low? I disagree, maybe at least not yet…thanks to leaders like Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. When asked how she plans to ring changes to the African Union, the soft speaking and not so charismatic politician responded like a seasoned diplomat of note that she is, “…like a doctor first you diagnose then you treat”, she said. It’s a pity though that such effective leaders of her caliber are far in between. All we are getting used to is the Elastoplast and Band-Aid leadership breed. It is said that, the job of the police is to respond, the job of the military is to protect. The former appears to be what earned Dr. Nkosazana Zuma the stripes.

18

people find you but, competence is the merits of how knowl-edgeable and able you are for the task. In this case Africa chose well. Productivity over charisma, it is time African youth gets its priorities right.

Bobby Godsell, a member of South Africa’s National planning commission, a body tasked with a responsibility to produce a vision of what this African mouthpiece and a continental economic hub should look like in the next 20 to 30 years, summed rather well the spine of this interregnum.He said ‚ “this and the next generation of South Africans, from all walks of life, have nothing to be afraid of. We are in a country, in a region and in a world in the midst of signifi-cant change, and we have the opportunity to be part of and, indeed, to help steer that change. The challenge for our young people is to graduate from schools, colleges, universi-ties and academies and go forth to new fields of conquest and dare themselves, and our society, to see a new and better time and make our land a new and better land.” And may I add that without coherent leadership on the social integration and economic prosperity, this could turn to be good intentions and nothing more.

As I will be leaving to the WEF Annual Curators Meeting, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, this month I will be bringing you the melting pot of young thought leaders of the world.

Article Is Powered By Tshwane Hub - Global Shappers

Follow us @tym_mag

Like us on www.facebook.com/TshwaneYouthMagazine

Some of these business trends are sources of good business opportunities; others are trends we need to incorporate into our small business practices to stay competitive and keep or grow our market share. By Refilwe Ramatlhodi

Here are the five business trends that small businesses can profit from in 2012.

1. Cloud ComputingSmall businesses can directly benefit from the cloud computing business trend by using cloud-based applica-tions to cut down on the expense and trouble of doing the same thing themselves. Using someone else's mail servers through the Internet can be much more cost-effective and

hassle-free than setting up your own email server in-house, for example, especially if you don't have a dedicated IT person or department. There are disadvantages of cloud computing for small businesses, too, but they are outweighed by the advan-tages. One of the greatest advantages is the fact that using cloud computing means your IT expenditure may move from capital expenditure to operating expenditure on the balance sheet, which obviously changes the tax implica-tions.

But with increasing numbers of businesses looking to contract out business processes, small businesses are also well-positioned to benefit from the cloud computing

20

trend by picking up some business. After all, it's not size or location that matters with cloud computing, it's expertise.

2. Social MediaSocial media is one of those business trends your small business cannot afford to ignore. Facebook isn't just something that kids are using any more and social networks are increasingly becoming business networks as people's social/personal/business lives converge. Simply put, if that's where they are, that's where you need to be if you want to sell more widgets.

That doesn't necessarily mean you need to get heavily into social media marketing this year although if you do it properly, it can be a real sales booster. However, you do need to at least start developing a social media presence for your small business. If you’re just starting out with using social media for business, experts usually advice business owners to choose one social media tool and work with it over time. For instance, you might put up a Facebook fan page for your business and try to engage customers and get them interested in your products and services.

3. Mobile MarketingGone are the days when people used to carry around a laptop and a phone; it is something that we are seeing less and less of because increasingly, what people used to do on their laptops, they now do on their phones or Ipads. You don't need a separate computer to browse the Web, work on documents, respond to emails or play games because smart phones are computers.

One implication of this business trend is that you need to be sure your business is mobile friendly. Ask yourself if your web pages, website, etc. available in mobile versions look good on phone screens. Another implication is that some of the desktops/laptops in your business may be redundant or replaceable with phones.

And a third is that it is time to develop a mobile marketing strategy. Using mobile devices to research products is

becoming a common consumer behavior and you don't want your business to be left “off-screen”.

4. Rise of the Phone AppThis business trend is also consumer-driven and closely related to mobile computing. We know that a phone is a computer but it's also so much more than that, thanks to the public's insatiable appetite for phone apps. Business-wise, phone apps are replacing everything from mileage log books through to credit card readers. An iPhone app called Square for example, lets you accept credit card payments by plugging a card reader into your iPhone. The iPad can also be used as a POS (point of sale) system.

Your small business can benefit from this business trend by using phone apps to eliminate some of your other office equipment and supplies. You might also benefit by creating and selling your own phone app. The Amazon App is an (in)famous example of a shopping app; it scans bar codes and comparison shops, letting customers know if they can get a better deal through Amazon's website or not.

5. Corporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate social responsibility isn't just for big businesses; small businesses, too, can reap great benefits by being perceived as good and responsible members of the community. It matters to consumers, because in a survey recently conducted they testified that corporate reputa-tion has a significant impact on the brands they choose. In addition to that, it matters to other businesses, who want to make sure that their suppliers are as green and socially responsible as possible and appropriate to their own corporate images.

The benefit is that besides being a good thing to do it itself, it allows small businesses to compete with larger companies and can significantly improve their bottom line. If you don't already have a corporate social responsi-bility strategy, this is the year to get one in place and start publicizing your work for good causes.

21

by Mmabatho Makotanyane

TYM is joined by a young scientist. If there is one thing that is full of problems, it is Mathematics! Solving for X has been a problem for some people. But not to this genious, Lehlohonolo Phali. The 24-year-old is originally from Sebokeng in Vereening but now based in Mafikeng, the North West Province because of his studies.

He completed his Matric in 2004 at Thuto Tiro Comprehensive School. Lehlohonolo matriculated with a merit and two distinctions in Mathematics and Functional Mathematics. It is not hard to see what he has been passionate about and where his strengths were back in high school. It is good to see that he followed his passion. He was one of the top Science learners at school and scooped Maths and Science awards during his learning period. He was also chosen to attend Science Olympiads and related Science competitions for best performing students.

Tell us about your course and why did you choose it? I am currently doing a PhD degree in Applied Mathematics under fluid dynamics at the North West University (Mafikeng campus) and this is my second year. I chose to be a scientist in Applied Mathematics because of the lack of scientists in our country, especially in the black community. I chose this course because of the opportunities there are for the scientists and engineers. Other reasons are that t is regarded as a scare skill programme and there are not as many researchers in our country as there should be, which is not beneficial to the economy of the country. And for the passion I have for Mathematics and Science in general and the fact that Mathematics as a subject was my strength. Was it difficult to choose a career path you wanted to pursue?It was not difficult at all to choose because I had to look at my strengths first, the career opportunities that lies ahead and whether or not I was passionate about it. You would not want to be stuck in a career you have no love for for the rest of your life. What are some of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?I faced so many challenges but I will name a few.My family background: I come from an average family so I knew that they would only be able to pay for my first year tuition fees and that I had to work extra hard to enable myself to be liable for a bursary.

Peer pressure: Since we come from different families and the fact that most of the students at the university are not used to being without parents’ supervision, it became a problem to some of us on how to deal with the situation but I would say I handled that very well as I knew how to prioritise from what’s important to me to what’s not so important.

Keeping the bursary: I was offered a bursary from NECSA/SANHARP in 2006 and faced a challenge on how to keep it. One of the conditions of the bursary was not to fail any course or the bursary would be terminated. I had to work even harder for my grades just to keep it.

Research challenges: There are so many challenges that faces the researchers especially in science subject because of the strictness of the research markers. One thing I have learned

from my supervisor, Prof M. Kambule is never to give up, but to work harder no matter how tough it gets. I would say I am lucky and blessed to be supervised by him because honestly, at times I felt like giving up. Where do you see yourself in five years in that profession? In five years I see myself firstly as a doctor, as being one of the top young researchers in the country working for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as an expert in the field of research that I am currently in and maybe having my own research centre within the CSIR that builds and encourages young researchers in the country.

Tell us about some of the jobs in that course.For a person who did BSc in Applied Mathematics, the careers offered in this field are broad. You can venture in mathematical modeling and forensics, you can become a digital scientist, risk management analyst, lecturer, mettalogist, stock-brocker, the list goes on. It depends on the section of Applied Mathematics or Mathematics that one is in. Tell us about your job and how you keep a balance between work and school work.I am currently under a studentship at CSIR (Pretoria campus), the department sent me to complete my PhD studies in Mafikeng. They do not send me too much work from their side as they want me to complete my studies in record time, that means I do not have a problem of working and studying at the same time. What kept you going until your next qualification?My family and my background has been my inspiration. I come from a family of four – my mother, Moipone and two brothers, Tumelo and Zacharia. My father, Lazarus passed away in 2003. I was raised by a single parent ever since. I am also inspired by the group that sponsored my undergraduate studies NECSA/SANHARP before I went to CSIR. Who do you look up to and why?I look up to my supervisor Prof M. Kambule because of his knowledge and sight. I want to be like him (he laughs out loud). He has been my supervisor from 2008 when I was doing my Honours. He has always encouraged me to study further even when I thought I would not make it he still had faith in me. He is more than a supervisor to me he is more like a father.

Yay! Spring is finally here.

If there’s anyone who’s happy that seasons are changing it’s me. I’ve mentioned before of my hatred for winter because it’s just too uncomfortable and we all look so heavy in our trench coats, gloves, scarves, you know the list!

This season we are going wild, we ditch all those dull colours for bright and bold colours, it’s going to be another great one. Bright neons are back (think highlighter bright), dramatic accessories, flowers and all sorts of prints, anything that spells CHIC.

Colour blocking is still going to be around because people seem to be enjoying this trend, so once we’ll make it memorable and fun.

Floral printed jeans, yep I said it! Floral printed jeans are going to be hot. The spring runways are dominated by them and they’re going to be the season’s biggest trend.

Hands up in the air for the maxi dress, what’s summer without a flawy long dress? Mmm ladies, are yo’ll feeling me? I’m going to make sure that I become the centre stage with mine, they’re a nice spring essential. Please do wear them up or down (flats or heels) with some great chunky

accessories.

Different colour jeans are also big, we’ve seen them throughout winter and they’ll still be big in spring.

You won’t believe this but another trend that’s going around this season is dyed hair, yes ladies and gents, it’s going to be crazy, not forgetting colourful lips, my favourite lip colour is definitely orange.

Sexy see through tops are also going to hot but let’s look respectable in them. I don’t know about everyone but I’m going to have an amazing time this season and I will be getting down to the tunes of house music while doing so.

Some piece of advice though from me to you, remember that sexy doesn’t mean half naked, it means being covered with the confidence to pull it... So letsssss!!!

24

By Tshegofatso Pelle

This month I meet up with two young great designers, both from Ga-Rankuwa, different but yet alike.They tell me about their challenges, successes, highlights and their dreams.It’s always amazing meeting such natural talents who are determined to breakthrough into the fashion industry.

Where does the passion for fashion come from?Seun: I did a lot of things in my short space of working but I realised that fashion was the only thing I really wanted to do, I love it.Lefa: With me it’s different because it’s a family business, I’m just walking in my mom’s footsteps and I’m enjoying every second of it.

How would you describe your line?Seun: For men I would say street wear with a twist. For ladies, classy and stylish.Lefa: For men definitely edgy street wear and ladies, classy.

Where does the inspiration come from? Seun: I’m inspired by music and people around me who are different and stylish.Lefa: I’m also inspired by music and fabric shops, that’s where I get some of my designs.

Highlights of your careers?

Seun: Being at fashion shows with different of designers.Lefa: Exposure through fashion shows also meeting some celebrity designers.

Comfort zone VS pushing boundaries:Seun: I’m not afraid of trying new things, I go all out for style and fashion therefore comfort zone doesn’t exist in my vocabulary.Lefa: I push to the unlimited limits of life. Comfort zone was made for people who don’t believe they can reach further than where they are.

What is sexy?Seun: Beautiful Italian or Russian models (he laughs).Lefa: A great confident woman with make-up that looks as natural as possible.

What’s fashion?Seun: Fashion is life, without it I have no purpose, it’s the only way I can express who I am.Lefa: Standing alone in your own style.

How do people know about you?Both: Facebook, swap meet (event that takes place in Ga-Rankuwa for all artists), fashion shows, and word of mouth.

25

I guess that it could have been one long bleak winter season with the cold seemingly making us pay for every warm day that seemed to peak out once in a while during that spell. As if that was not enough, for some of us first timers, our fantasies had to be disturbed by the debate of whether the white particles falling from the sky were snow or sleet. For all it’s worth, it made news and put a big smile on the faces of those who had the privilege of experiencing snow for the first time, in Gauteng of all places. You might have had sleet; I had snow. That’s the end of it.

Seemingly, that was not the only thing making the news and making the South African winter special – the South African representation at the 2012 Summer Olympics was another thing worth watching and celebrating. Having had come back with only one medal (silver) from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were the thing to watch. This year’s Olympics carried with them a promise of our redemption as a country, one that was met with mixed emotions.

With only a total of 6 medals (3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), the majority (3) coming from swimming, and position 24 on the medal rankings, many feel betrayed by our athletes’ performance at the Olympics, but it is also worthy to note that this is the best that South Africa has come in terms of

by Masingita Masiya

performance at the Olympics since being re-admitted to international sport in Barcelona, 1992. We were also ranked highest in the African continent on medal standings.In as much as this was a team effort, one that might not have yielded great fruit, some of the individuals within the team that went to London found themselves breaking and setting their own records. The period between 27 July and 12 August 2012 proved to be a time of reckoning for both the athletes and us their supporters.

While Cameron van der Burgh was taking the first of the South African medals on 29 July, he also broke the world record for swimming in the men's 100m breaststroke.20-year-old Chad le Clos beat Michael Phelps to take gold in the 200m butterfly, but ironically, two nights later in the men’s 100m butterfly, Michael Phelps took gold and Chad took silver.

James Thompson, Sizwe Ndlovu, Matthew Brittain and John Smith took gold in rowing for the Men's lightweight coxless four.

Bridgitte Hartley took bronze medal for canoeing in the Women's K-1 500m sprint.

And Caster Semenya took the silver medal in the Women’s 800m to round off South Africa’s run of the medals.Also to be noted is the fact that Oscar Pistorius made his historical participation as the first double-amputee to compete on the track at the Olympics.

We can either choose to celebrate our athletes’ representation and performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics with complaints of how good they could have done or we can do it with the hope and action necessary to make sure that our next effort in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will be one that is met with individual excellence that crowns the country with collective glory.

Although a few “experts” were debating whether the white particles that fell from the sky were sleet or snow, many of us didn’t care enough not to be struck by awe and jubilation.

On the same note, we salute and welcome back home our heroes and heroines. You have made us proud.

It’s so amazing to see how reliant we are becoming on our government that we end up not doing anything on our own to grow as individuals. Other political parties are even putting pressure on the ruling party to have a subsidy used for the unemployed South Africans. Talk about easy come. Some people yearn for the impossible, how can you wish to be an entrepreneur and sit down waiting for the business and opportunities to come your way? This is not ideal - you want something - you work on it and for it.

The government has become so lenient on the citizens. Anyone can fall pregnant and receive child social support grant. In most cases this does not help the child but the mother gets to benefit out of it – you see them using the money on themselves. South Africa is now known as a country where you can get away with anything, crime - how many people you know are committing crime and you have witnessed them committing it? What have you done about it? Most answers will be nothing. Fraud - it is performed in a most convincing manner ever. You will find fraudulent identities, products, companies, money and more – people have become experts in this so do speak. Corruption – our own government officials are corrupt and they get away with it, the citizens follow as leaders lead.

These entire unethical doings delay the country’s developments. We are losing direction to being in the top list of the developing countries. Looking at developing small countries like Denmark for instance the Danish health and educational systems are free. There is no way people would go uneducated for no reason at all. Educated people mean more job opportunities. Health system is also free in Denmark, the very same good health system we find in special hospitals and doctors who cost us a fortune in South Africa. If you opt for your local public

By Thandeka Mabona

doctors and hospitals you will wait in long queues - poor service and only to be assisted by a doctor who will tell you that the clinic/hospital has no medication –poor service delivery. Yet again we say our government is failing us forgetting that so is us, the citizens by not educating ourselves and taking opportunities as they come to us.

The Denmark welfare model is subsidised by the government, and as a result Denmark has one of the highest taxation levels in the world – the world's highest tax level in 2005 and 2006, at 50.7% and 49.1% respectively, which is not bad because health, education and transport are free. The political system of Denmark is that of a multi-party structure, where several parties can be represented in parliament at once. Denmark governments are often characterised by minority administrations, aided with the help of one or more supporting parties. Unlike South Africa where we are governed and ruled by one political party, a multi-party structure could help this nation in more ways than one, don’t you think?

After all, it takes an individual to make change, our government can only do this much for the citizens hence it needs us as we need it just like an adage, “umuntu ugumuntu ngabantu”. We should help each other. If we all going to take a back seat and let the government do everything for us then it’s a long unworthy wait that will easily go.

Mandoza said in a song “ uzoyi thola kanjani uhlal’khoneni?” which means “how are you going to be successful when you sitting in the corner?” so appropriate. You snooze you lose it’s that easy. Easy come easy go when we rely on the government to make it in life. You have to work hard.

28

In order to spot quality music through your ears, you must be in position of high quality headphones or earphones. Whether you're out and about listening to your MP3 player or rocking out at home with a smartphone, your choice of headphones is critical. We've picked our three favourites across every style and category. TYM will take you through the specs that make this three headphones one of the best recommendations at moment.

The Shure SE535 headphones offer exceptional clarity; deep, tight bass; rich, enveloping sound; and great noise isolation. They are also relatively comfortable and include some useful extras such as an in-line volume control and an airplane adapter. Anyone looking for ultra-compact headphones with top-notch sound quality should consider the Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones. The Shure SE535s are expensive, but it'll be worth it because Shure has been churning out impressive-sounding in-ear headphones for consumers for more than 15 years and any new models from the company have featured mainly evolutionary changes from their predecessors.

The MEElectronics A151 earphones offer comfortable fit and very detailed sound for an affordable price. They also come with a carrying case. The MEElectronics A151s are among the most affordable balanced-armature earphones out there and deliver very good sound for the money. The first thing you'll notice about it is that it has 47-inch-long braided cable that looks like the wires used on expensive custom in-ear models from Ultimate Ears and JH Audio.The only disappointing factor is that; they have no integrated microphone for making cellphone calls and bass-lovers will probably find the bass a little too thin for their liking.

The Klipsch Image S4i earphones offer exceptional sound quality for the money. They're also very comfortable and, the package includes a few handy extras such as a storage box and cleaning tool. Plus, there's a call answer button, mic, and iPod playback controls integrated into the cord. Despite having came across plenty of decent earbuds reasonably priced, nothing prepared us for the Klipsch Image S4i. These supercomfy noise-isolating earphones offer shockingly stellar sound quality, certainly much better than others.

29

Rick Ross – God Forgives, I Don’t

By the title of the album it’s true that God forgives, while most human beings on earth don’t. Well Ross did not take anything for granted on this album, he keeps reinventing the game. Slick with the flow, production on point, and best believe the South is not going anywhere as long as Rozay is alive. This man has an ear for making great music. All these talks about how fake he is…man this is entertainment, obviously not everything everyone raps about has the truth to it. Pharrell produced "Presidential”, Ross brags about "walking on Jewish marble." Balling at a synagogue?. On "911," mashing together materialism and fatalism, he fantasizes about driving his Porsche to heaven. He also featured Jay-Z and Dr DRE on “3 Kings” and Andre 3000 on “Sixteen”. Other prominent artists he featured are; Usher, Wale, Drake, Ne-Yo and Omarion. 8/10

Chris Brown – Fortune Brown's fifth LP sounds great on the surface. The most adventurous sections of “Fortune” leap on the dubstep bandwagon. They move Brown one step from the giddy dance-pop style influenced by David Guetta on his last album, 2011’s “Fame,” and one step closer to club music. It’s a style that in the last year, has intrigued stars all the way from Justin Bieber to others. While he originally conceives “Fortune” as an extension of “Fame”, the new album turns to be more exciting with tracks like “Bassline” which matches the fractured and changeable beats of dubstep. “Till I Die” and “Mirage” borrow the street sounds of hip hop without losing R&B’s melodic shape. Ballads like “Stuck on Stupid” and “4 Years Old” recall the puppy-dog persona Brown started his career with when he was a teen. At the same time, he intensifies his latest R. Kelly-like character in fabulously filthy cuts like “2012” and “Strip”. But the album’s signature pieces lie in songs like “Turn Up the Music” and “Don’t Wake Me Up”. 8/10

Crazy White Boy – Zoma

This duo has been around for some time now. They’ve been dropping some few tracks that turned to be club bangers for the past years. This year they finally dropped a full length album that showcased more of their skills on spotting great vocalists, good production and mixing of the songs on the album. The track ‘Trust In Me' which features Tumi who is new in the music scene, gives life to it with her magical voice. Some of the hottest and best-known tracks featured on this album include “Love You Better”, “What You Do To Me” and “You Make Me” which all are major club bangers. Another outstanding track on this album is; ‘Ntokozo' featuring Buhle. This is one of the songs that created a mark for Crazy White Boy in the music industry; they also featured Tasha Baxter on “Twilight”. This album is certainly a party package-sound. 9/10

30

Pics from: google.com

Still asking yourself when will Terry Pheto appear on The Bold soapie?Well, wait no more because SABC 1 has assured the viewers that Terry Pheto of Tsotsi movie’s fame will see her appearance on The Bold & The Beautiful on the 3rd of September 2012. Her role name on the soapie is Dr Maponya who hails from South Africa. We are still proud of her achievement and we hope her role will last longer. Is there Khanyi vs Kelly situation here?By the looks of things one might conclude that yes the two are on each other’s necks. Apart from both dating different men and being in the music industry, you can spot common things that they do like, Khanyi Mbau was on Muvhango then Kelly Khumalo was on Rhythm City. Now Khanyi released her biography titled “Bitch Please! I’m Khanyi Mbau”, while Kelly will release hers towards December titled, The Kelly Khumalo Story.

Has Top TV introduced local content yet?When Top TV launched last year in June, it did not have local content such as talk shows, music, news and programmes that will attract more subscribers. Now they have local content; Pastor Khathide has his own Sunday show, Pushy former Jam Alley presenter has her own show and Kenny Mistery former Metro FM DJ. Other interesting new show is ZA News puppet satire show by Jonathan Shapiro.

Did Snoop Dog change his name?Not yet! According to various entertainment sites, they said; Snoop Dog is considering changing his name to Snoop Lion on his next album as his now committing himself to his reggae religion, though we are not sure if his change of name will also influence change of his hip hop sound to reggae too. We still have to wait and hear what he has for us in store.

• Jamaica has the most churches per square mile than any other country in the world.• 260 Lonmin miners were arrested in Marikana.• Jay – Z to shoot a documentary.• SA first national TV broadcast was in the year 1976.• There are more than 41,800 different spoken languages in the world today.

by Mmabatho Makotanyane

Fine arts! What comes to your mind? Painting, sculpture, architecture, music, poetry, drama and dancing, those were the greatest seven fine arts in the past. Today it includes more; visual art and performing art forms such as painting, sculpture, collage, democollage, assemblage, installation, calligraphy, music, dance, threatre, architecture, film, photography, conceptual art and printmaking. This surely requires a lot of creativity.

Wikipedia defines fine art as “a visual art considered to have been created primarily for aesthetic purposes and judged for its beauty and meaningfulness.”Fine arts is also another form of expressing one’s emotions. Ever seen how kids use crayons on papers to draw pictures of weird people when they are cross? They express themselves.

Another way is through music and dance, ever wondered why South Africans like singing and dancing even when they are crying for service delivery? It is how they express themselves and that can move the government to hear their plea. It has always been like that even when they were fighting for freedom. Remember the famous historical song; “Freedom is coming tomorrow, get ready mama prepare for your freedom?” The people danced and sang to keep the faith. Maybe you are familiar with the song, “Thula thuthula nana thula sana, thul’umama uzobuya eguseni…”. That is a mother or father singing to the child goodnight. Oh arts!

With that being said, let us welcome talented Thabo Baloyi and Lesiba Modiba, Fine Arts students at the Tshwane Univerity of Technology in TYM’s Arts World to show us their creativity.

“Art means the world to me, I usually draw portraits when I am sad and I truly enjoy it because this is the only way I can express myself,” said Lesiba.

Thabo said, “To me art means expressing yourself, with it you can say a lot of things without saying a word through drawing and painting”

Thabo “DJ Tsavivo” Thupana (30) and his partner Tshepiso “DJ Chax Best” Seremane (25) run the Behindex dj’ing academy in Dobsonville. The academy is for up-coming DJs and young people who find music irresistible –mainly the soulful house type of music. The academy also promotes locally branded T-shirts. It was in partnership with prominent and international DJs, this initiative aims at motivating their trainees or students. Thabo and Tshepiso have been in the music industry since high school. Their academy has only been in existence for three months but they have archived a lot. Where they have been • They have performed in one of Mzansi’s biggest concerts; the annual Macufe Concert in Bloemfontein • Chafpozzi night club• Disoufeng club

Who they have shared the stage with• DJ Andy Compton• DJ Alton Miller• DJ Ralph Gum

Where they are going• South African Music Conference• Mafikeng Spring Bash • Lesotho Spring Bash

DJ Tsavivo

DJ Chax Best

From: Winterveldt, Tshwane

Says: "I agree"

Racism is a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual belief. I agree with this above statement because each human being needs to be with people of the same culture. To learn how things are done; norms,beliefs and values that make one different.

Roots are embedded in culture .Racism characterises individuals and helps to better understand the world we live in. A book called Race by Roland Fister explains how the author calls himself racist because of the way he was raised and taught to view people differently from him. Racism is in

the mind,it is a decision that you choose to live by.

Racial differences breed a better understanding of what the other does not like. For examples, greetings in the Setswana culture are to be done throughout the whole day. This is what they believe, coloured people are generally seen to be drunkards but this is not the case because people come from different backgrounds. Racism is birthed from what our elderly people have told and taught us about other people and the different races we have. This leads to a form of ethnocentricity.

Racism is an issue that is still to be dealt with in South África, the sooner the better. 18 years into democracy and people still hide behind racism as a factor blocking the way they move forward in life? Apartheid made us different and that should be our focus. Racism is a fruit born from that. Being racist does not apply to blacks and whites only but also towards coloureds, indians and all races found in South África. Each one of us is racist one way or another,and once this factor is dealt with and accepted, means of looking at other cultures in a good way will be put into place.

Once the issue is of accepting that we are racist has been dealt with through self-introspection we can move towards a platform of agreeing to racism being a bad thing. It is that we can be able to move to a brighter, bigger rainbow nation united and moving forward.

Racism is believing in different things regarding who we are as people and races. To curb the void that racism has created acceptance and tolerance of the fact that we are different is needed. Each person needs to understand that we are different and that makes us unique. Each of us being unique means we need to have a strategy of either tolerating other races or accepting them.

Knowing who you are and all that you do helps you stray away from being racist. Racism is a form of seclusion from other races and it is welcome. Look at the people living in Orania and the Khoisan in the desert. They are well of being amongst people of their own kind.

34

From: Kagiso in Mogale City, Johannesburg

Says "I disagree"

Of all the wars waged, challenges faced and fights we’ve been in, it seems there is an on battle we lose daily as humans. That battle is racism.

It is the elephant in the room that feeds off our negligible differences and takes colossal dumps on our commonalities. This silent beast that subtlety terrorises our every thought, action and word in society, waiting patiently for no justifiable reason to set forth an onslaught of misunderstanding, judgement and hatred all in the name of race. It infrequently shows itself, but its dark latent energy is what we hear, see and feel all around us every day.

This unspoken occurrence a lot of the time causing paranoia within us resulting in us finding traces of it in places it never trod. It makes us apprehensive in our everyday meetings with those we expect to discriminate against us, and affects our

reactions to usual inoffensive behaviour. It is almost impossible to win against a beast we raised ourselves. It is almost impossible to kill the spawn of our own insecurities.

Racism is neither black against white nor white against black. In fact, racism is nothing more than judgement fuelled by ignorance. It finds its power in our silence. Our innate ability to go on as if everything is alright for the sake of peace, it’s exactly that which maintains and sustains this juggernaut.

Our problems with each other exist because we are consciously aware of each other's differences. Our constant desire to be unlike others is exactly that which separates us from each other. In trying to be better than one another we merely achieve being separated from one another. We mistaken the distance for distinction.

Seven billion human beings all separated by discrimination. You only hate that which you don't understand and discrimination's lifeline is our natural ability to misunderstand. We are similar souls separated by skin. The tone of your flesh holds precedence in this world where colour is your caption, your calibre; where your colour is your curse. The irony is that black and white are not even colours in truth.

We are all just different tints and shades of the same creature. We are all people. Beings of immeasurable potential and incredible power, creatures of intellect and intense emotion made by and for love. We all want nothing more than to succeed and precede our efforts in our lifetimes and lifetimes to come. We all want and need, live and breathe, fail and succeed – all of us, nothing different in humanity to the other.

Illogical degrees of separation only hinder our progression as the human race. There is so much to learn from each other, so much richness in our diversity it would take a lifetime to digest, but we would gain lifetimes' worth of wisdom.Forget what we are, what matters is who we are. We are imperfect creatures, in an imperfect world, all put together for a perfect reason. To learn to get along, or else this will never end... but we will.

35