Artscape chief executive Marlene le Roux says it gives her hope for the future when she sees young people tell their stories on stage.
Le Roux will be a special guest of the Cape Times Women in Arts and Humanities Breakfast on Tuesday at the Artscape Theatre Centre.
“I am extremely honoured and privileged to be a part of the breakfast, especially when it talks about humanity,” said Le Roux.
“Every platform that we must use in our society is to talk about human rights, it is to talk about what it is to regain our humanity, and especially about our continent and our patriarchal system, but also about our beautiful young women and young boys - and also how we need to look at civil education,” said Le Roux.
She was the first woman and black person to be appointed as Artscape chief executive in 2015, and had been with the institution since 2001.
She said that the breakfast will open an opportunity for persons with disabilities and for people from previously disadvantaged areas to share their experiences.
“We need to have experiences that will come and engage in the space.
“I am an extremely privileged and blessed woman and a proud person with a disability. I am going to showcase (what happens) when you give a person with disabilities an opportunity just to be. They can change the world.
“So we are going to have Unmute performing, which is a company that caters for persons with disabilities. They are wonderful and have been travelling the world.”
“We are a nation currently at war with ourselves. But as South Africans, do we stand by the sidelines looking in, or are we actively becoming citizens to take back our humanity?
“We are also going to showcase a young artist by the name of Robin Peters, who was a part of The Voice South Africa, and the Artscape Youth Development programme years ago.
"We are going to have Fancy Galada. We need to bring in this vibrant woman.”
Tickets are available at www.computicket.co.za.