#FirstThursday Soweto Night Walk

ABOUT

#FirstThursdayNightWalk in celebration of arts, beer culture, and in remembrance of Black Wednesday - 19 October 1977 when the apartheid government outlawed 18 Black Consciousness organizations.

This time we meet at @MeatMeetOrlando in Orlando East, Soweto at 6pm.

Night Walk starts at 7pm 

Dinner is served at 8pm

Stops for the next walk include:

Home of mom Letta Mbuli - South African music legend and struggle stalwart’s Soweto home at 1670 Molahloe Street in Orlando East was declared a heritage site in 2018 when the famous Not Yet Uhuru singer was honored ‘while she is still alive’ by City of Joburg and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation with a heritage blue plaque.

Home of Mr Seth Mazibuko - The City of Johannesburg honoured the youngest member of the Student Action Committee that planned and led the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976, when it declared Mr Seth Mazibuko’s house a heritage site in 2017. He was only 16 years old when he was arrested and held in solitary confinement for 11 months at the notorious Fort Prison in Braamfontein before his imprisonment on Robben Island for seven years. House No 1206/15 in Msimang Street, Orlando East, was one of the homes secretly used by the youth to plan the 1976 march. It also served as a hideout for many of those who were running away from the murderous apartheid police in the aftermath of the uprising.

The home of Somizi, Mshefane, and Mampinga - SA TV royalty former house where, revered veteran actress Mary Twala, comedy genius and actor, Ndaba Mhlongo, and the original child star, Somizi, used to call home. Today Somizi is a major player in South Africa’s pop-culture landscape. As an actor, choreographer, presenter, socialite, reality star and Idols SA judge, he is undeniably the most high profile entertainer in the country.

The #FirstThursdayNightWalk initiative is a collaborative effort, in partnership with NPC @weuprising and @june16ydf.

Every 1st Thursday of the month, we host an evening walk & dinner at 1 of the 32 different sub-economic townships that make up Soweto. By actively participating in these walks, we’re not only supporting local businesses and creating employment opportunities but also encouraging youth and community engagement in national development. Through these unique routes, carefully designed to educate and enlighten, we’re proud to showcase the rich history of Soweto to the world.

#FirstThursdayNightWalk #letswalktofreedom #werisetogether #FunkItImWalking

Tour includes

• Night Tour
• Dinner
• Drinks
• Special guest
• Special performance

#FunkItImWalking aims to make it safe for a woman to walk at any time in any condition. Founded circa. 2014, #FunkItImWalking began as an alternative form of protest against insecurity and general lack of safety for women in South Africa. Having experience the stark differences in community safety worldwide, #FunkItImWalking founder Nomsa Mazwai aka Nomisupasta declared, 'amidst all of this fear, #FunkItImWalking". Nomsa recognised the benefits of walking from health to community safety to economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.

In 2020, #FunkItImWlaking launched night walks in an effort to reclaim the streets in order to enable safety. Having been part of the International Class at the East Side Institute in New York Nomsa was exposed to the idea of transformative performance (see Fred Newman and Lois Holzman, Dan Friedman). Having also completed an Ma in International Political Economy and Development at Fordham University and on the ground experience in the Eastern Cape, Nomsa began to imagine how the performance of safety could enable safety in a community, and how safety impacts economic development and the environment needed for economic opportunity.

These night walks evolved into what is now a night tourism product which employs at least 10 people and pumps no less than R2500 into a local restaurant. Soweto is a tourism destination with over 300 000 annual visitors, very few of whom spend the night or even stay beyond sunset. This while Soweto enjoys its best weather in the evenings and has heritage sites across its entire geography.

Working closely with Community Policing Forums, the night walks have performed well to its audience and community members are becoming more aware of the tangible economic value fo safety.

SPOTIFY

DIRECTIONS