What a day yesterday was, I woke up this morning treating a knowledge hangover.

I mean the earlier hours kicked off on an interesting note, from conversations with the coolest most inspiring icons in the merch game to the amazing final acts from young talented poets who graced the stage with word of mouth and the energy of changing the world through word and sound.

The most insane act for me, had to be the two young men, who called isipantsula a lifestyle, who told the story of how isipantsula saved their lives-crazy! Storytelling is all around us, inspiration everywhere. All 6 senses, set out to hear, to see, to smell,to feel and to use each one to draw some sort of strength to produce or narrate or tell a story to serve a purpose to pay a due to change the world.

The discussion with the makers was one of the most fulfilling, changing lives telling stories by creating jeans? Can the revolution get any crazier? I thought not, turns out it can. I am still unable to believe how a dream can turn into a superpower. As crazy as a young woman whose pattern creation spells out her name, and a man who has created a Thesis just to remind man that he is God. Navigating the world through the eyes of a creative, or should I say their mouth as comforting as the WOMEN IN POETRY DIALOGUE graced us with their narration of what it means to be a woman to be black and to be a creative in a world that still hosts patriarchy and still holds spaces for toxicity around feminine energy being dominant in larger spaces, spaces that actually matter.

Someone from the audience yesterday posed a question to one of the makers and the question highlighted how almost impossible it is for women to penetrate creative or corporate spaces without it being questionable, and it dawned on me once more. How a Creative Uprise is a machine created to cater to creating a new generation with fresh and exciting ways to not only dream but to be a dreamer with direction and a purpose.

The highlight also was when Nando’s team blessed us with their insights of what it means to be in the merchandising business and industry.  Robbi Brozin founder of Nando’s and a host the marketing team Palesa Tshabalala ( GM Marketing Brand Experience ) and Kim Lazarus founder of “Goodbye Malaria ” who shared their experiences and to inspire participants. The passion that the Nando’s brand has for utmost creative excellence is over whelming and such a needed intervention by big brands in general and Nandos is coming to the party.

This revolution shouldn’t be just called a movement; it should be renamed a transcendence. Existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level. A special thank you to Dawn Robertson and the entire team behind her for making this possible, for fighting a battle that has been lost because nobody was ever willing to jump into the battlefield before. No dream too big to dream, no song too loud to sing, no story too long to tell. The time for the young and the creative to rise is finally here and not even gravity can hold us down.

Contributing Writer – Dineo Mofokeng 23

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