Cape Town - Blackboard, an organisation in the education space, is exposing under-privileged high school pupils to various creative disciplines and careers that they would be generally unaware of.
The organisation is doing this in partnership with the Red And Yellow Creative School of Business
Director Nkanyezi Masango said they aimed to identify young black people with creative potential to ensure South Africa’s creative field becomes more demographically representative.
“One of the most powerful tools for change in all spheres of life is creativity, and the South African creative industry will certainly be more impactful if it’s racially diverse.
“But the issue starts in high school. Most township students don’t consider creativity as a career path simply because they don’t know it exists,” said Masango.
Masango said by exposing learners in Gugulethu and Nyanga to careers in the creative industry through the Intshukumo High School, they were connecting learners within the township and its neighbouring communities.
“Ultimately, the collaboration with Red and Yellow means we can achieve two massive goals: to democratise creativity by breaking down barriers that have kept township students out of advertising and provide the industry with much-needed diverse talent,” said Masango.
Red And Yellow Creative School corporate sales head Meghan Slater said, the workshops would assist marginalised pupils with early career guidance and ensure continued focus on their chosen crafts.
“The design workshops will break barriers to entry and inspire students to consider graphic design as a career. The filmmaking workshop will cover every facet of production, including scriptwriting. By the time they complete matric, these pupils will have a clear picture of the types of jobs in varied industries that they otherwise might not have been exposed to,” said Slater.
Slater said they would also work with Blackboard to ensure that top learners would be able to join them after matriculating and guide them into the industry.
“Our belief is that education is the most important force in delivering meaningful and lasting transformation in our country,” said Slater.