YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS TO BENEFIT FROM EPIC GIG

MBABANE – Young entrepreneurs in the arts sector will get the opportunity of a lifetime from Epic Gig IV.

The youth-driven festival Epic Gig, in its fourth season, is calling out for young business entrepreneurs in the kingdom to contact them for an opportunity to exhibit their work during the course of the festival. The call out is for all business entrepreneurs in the arts sector from arts and crafts and other businesses in the same field. It has been over a month since Epic Gig first made the call, which is still ongoing.

This year’s three-day festival, which is in its fourth edition, will be held at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre from June 30 to July 2.
Makhosazane Pascua Pelembe, Epic Gig PRO, shared with this publication that each interested individual who would love the opportunity for their work to reach the large number of people who will be in attendance may contact Epic Gig on +268 7625 6594.

“They need to be registered in our database so that they are given the platform to showcase their work and reach many. This will come at no cost to all willing participants, as the Epic Gig will simply help them get through to a larger market than they would normally get. We advise those interested to contact us as soon as possible.”

Pelembe went on to say the benefit of empowering youth goes beyond understanding how they think and behave from a social, developmental, and psychological perspective. “Allowing youth the platform to showcase their own work, tangible ideas and opinions to others is transformative in itself. The Epic Gig has invited guests and participants to heed this call by applying their skills, talents, and resources to various festival projects and initiatives.

This commitment towards uniting organisations and creative activists to effect meaningful, sustainable, and inclusive change will result in a drop in depression and substance abuse among our youth,” said the PRO. She went on to say that their goal this year is to go to all four regions of the kingdom and do activations that will help identify youth doing arts in the different tinkhundla and give them the platform to showcase their skills, businesses, and services.

Those in the performing arts will get a chance to perform on the Freshman stage during the course of the festival. The youth identified from all the regions will then be granted space and all the required equipment to exhibit in each dedicated pavilion at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre, to showcase their businesses and generate some income at no cost to them for the entire duration of the festival. They will then be registered on our database for the Business Eswatini (BE) initiative, which helps train youth in arts and business as well as fund their projects and businesses. There will also be other initiatives held at the other pavilions, such as:

• The Film and Television Training and Exhibition
• The Asikutulisane Arts programme discussion
• The Modern Day Business and Youth Seminar
• Let’s Talk: Youth in Rehabilitation, featuring Vulamasango Youth
• The Beauty of Culture Exhibition
• SME’s Exhibition

According to Pelembe, Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre is the ideal venue to host such a festival because it has all the facilities necessary to cater for all the activities the festival has to offer. “We will need the entire venue for the execution of this festival. Most of the challenges faced by the youth in the kingdom stem from lack of activities, job knowledge, exposure, and platforms that will help them showcase their creativity and give them skills to thrive in their respected fields,” said the PRO.

She went on to say that this leads to depression, which then leads to substance abuse and their joining movements and organisations that lead them astray and create so many problems in the country. “We are targeting to get over 2 000 youth participants from the 34 tinkhundla centres that will be visited and also from registrations. These will be the ones that will be given the pavilions to showcase their businesses and arts for free during the entire course of the festival,” said Pelembe.

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