One of the questions I was asked during the Fifa Local Organising Committee’s interviews for media volunteers was about my motivation for applying to participate in the Confederations Cup. I was very honest in my response in that I saw the occasion as an opportunity to prove Afro-pessimists wrong.
It was therefore heartening to note the “Africanism” that was on exhibition during the Nelson Mandela Challenge match between Bafana Bafana and Norway. Among the dignitaries were King Leruo Molotlegi of the Bafokeng, Nkosi Mandla Mandela and a proud Zulu “cultural ambassador” in Jacob Zuma.
I have always argued that SA would only have “something” to sell to the world during the 2010 Fifa World Cup and related events if we were to stop trying to be a Eurocentric state. There is more the world could learn from our “African-ness” as compared to us trying to mimic the US and UK.
In one of his journals titled “Biography 07”, Credo Mutwa (a cultural historian) writes about the need for tourism in SA to be presented from an African perspective in order to reflect how indigenous Africans related with the environment (vegetation, wild life, places of interest etc).
The Fifa 2010 World Cup provides this opportunity bigger than any other event ever hosted on African soil. What else would make the 2010 World Cup an “African experience” if we are not sensitive to the culture, art, values and heritage that informs African “identity”?
A prince with dignity and determination
Prince Ngarambe’s goals are to become Rwanda’s first transgender model and to uplift the country’s youth
The EFF’s principles are unshakeable
Unlike the ANC, the core values of the freedom fighters do not change with each leader it elects
