EU Bushfire Schools Festival 2024 to inspire youth artistic expression
Stories by Siphesihle Dlamini siphesihled@rubiconmedia.group THE 13th edition of the EU Bushfire Schools Festival was officially launched at House On Fire on April 17, 2024 under the theme, “Art Effect: The Transformative Power of Artistic Expression in the Creative Economy”.
Present at the launch was the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Ndzima, as well as the EU Ambassador, Dessislava Choumelova.
Each year, the MTN Bushfire festival facilitates an interactive programme for young people in Eswatini’s secondary schools, high schools, and out-of-school art youth clubs, as well as teachers through the EU Bushfire Schools Festival’s dynamic programme of arts education, creative performances, and workshops. The festival works towards providing sustainable access to the arts and developing a unique platform of creative expression and dialogue for the youth in Eswatini.
Inspired by MTN Bushfire’s Bring Your Fire call to action for positive social and environmental change, the EU Bushfire Schools Festival is one of the festival’s series of arts development initiatives which have informed the festival’s track record of capacitating local talent and creating entrepreneurial and employment opportunities in Eswatini’s creative sector.
Established in 2010 to support the creation of a national arts curriculum in public schools, the EU Bushfire Schools Festival facilitates creative performances, workshops, and interactive outreach programs for students as well as teachers. The inclusive nature of the festival has seen 9 720 learners, 616 teachers from all four regions of the country, as well as 63 facilitators participate since inception.
Each year, MTN Bushfire, in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and other partners, explores a specific theme that is used to impart positive social messaging to the students and teachers who come to the festival. The 2024 theme; ‘Art Effect: The Transformative Power of Artistic Expression in the Creative Economy’ fosters creativity as a catalyst for positive social change. It encourages entrepreneurial pursuits in the arts and cultivates sustainable futures for youth. This theme also underscores the Schools Festival’s commitment to nurturing artistic talent, fostering cultural dialogue, and inspiring young individuals to use their creativity for the betterment of themselves and their communities. EU BUSHFIRE SCHOOLS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
This year’s EU Bushfire Schools Festival will manifest in an Open Day on May 30, 2024. This will be a blended peer performancebased program curated to integrate and advance the European Union’s mandate to improve youth employability, cultivate positive social behavioural change in youth and introduce them to the language of the arts.
The programme will comprise a Storytelling & Production Training and an On-Stage Programme featuring drama, gumboot dancing, poetry and orchestra performances by high school student groups and local artists.
A new, exciting development for this year’s Schools Festival programme is the Multidisciplinary Exhibition which will serve to launch local youth artists into the broader industry through an exhibition of their work.
The youth will have the opportunity to exhibit visual art, film/animation, graphic design, photography, sculpture, and sound installations. The festival will select a minimum of 30 learning institutions and youth organisations across the country’s four regions to participate in the festival.
These are from a mix of rural and urban settings with a total of 600 people attending.
Local arts facilitators will be engaged to work with some of the schools to curate creative performances that communicate this year’s theme and showcase cultural diversity and innovation. Students will interact with various environments that explore technology, visual arts, and performance showcases.