Ready to decode greatness
Founder of clothing line hopes to inspire
amanda.maliba@inl.co.za LADUMA Ngxokolo, founder of the MaXhosa by Laduma clothing range, is one of many panellists to join this year’s TedxJohannesburg, taking place this Friday.
The talk, under the theme Decoding Greatness, is also intended to celebrate Nelson Mandela – and others like him – in his centenary year, while also presenting other greats who live in this day and age.
Ngxokolo reckons that platforms such as these are another opportunity for South Africans to hear how great and empowered they are, and how much greatness they can achieve, just like he was inspired many years ago to pursue his passion in design.
“With the world coming down to visit us, I’d like to be the voice that reminds us as South Africans that we are a magnificent people, and that our cultures are not supposed to separate us but are to unite us as a people, locally and globally, while also waking people up who have been sleeping on our beauty, sleeping on our commodities and overlooking everything that is around us,” said the designer.
Ngxokolo believes that our power comes from who we are, authentically.
“Firstly we as South Africans need to realise that we are enough as we are. We need to realise that the world will constantly be looking for what is new because they remain hungry from being fed the same thing over and over again.
“So now, as Africans, we need to show them that we are capable of being innovative, we are able to create things from A to Z and that we are a happy nation – despite the prevailing thoughts that South Africa is one of the worst places to live in.
“And now it is my chance to inspire others into believing in whatever they believe can make a difference in the world and that their thoughts are valid,” he added.
Ngxokolo will be joined by other accomplished professionals such as award-winning director of commercials and music videos Tebogo Malope, chef and author of Through the Eyes of an African Chef Nompumelelo Mqwebu, double Olympic gold and bronze medallist swimmer Penny Heyns, and journalist and author Sahm Venter, among many others also coming from as far as Thailand, Kenya and the US.
“I stand for black culture, as it is still important and will remain important to us forever. What happened to us is that the method of diminishing our greatness happened gradually, sort of like a generational curse that was passed on to us from our grandmothers, parents etc. They were told that what we believe in is barbaric, until it got to us. Personally, I think we lost touch with who we are decades ago, but now the responsibility to bring us back lies with us,” he pointed out.
Tackling the topic Decoding Greatness, he will deal with the importance of expressing oneself as an artist and standing up for what one believes in, creatively. For this reason, Ngxokolo believes that inspiration is everything.