IN CELEBRATION of Africa Month, Moyo at Zoo Lake in Parkwood was a pop of blue and white for the Castle Milk Stout campaign, which was about celebrating the beauty and pride of our African heritage and culture.
The jamboree kicked off with a debate on the topic: 'Has Africa lost it?' Panellists included poet and author Lebo Mashile, presenter Stoan Seate, actor Pallance Dladla and media personality Ntombi Ngcobo Mzolo.
The general consensus was that Africa has indeed 'lost it'.
To launch the panel discussion, the group released an advert last week dubbed #Getitback, which urges Africans to rediscover and celebrate their unique roots.
Poet Zolani Mkiva and traditional healer Gogo Moyo emphasised the imperative to protect and preserve African culture through the use of digital media and boosting the already existing heritage sites in the country. Mkiva said that if the campaign was a true social campaign, proceeds needed to go to these sites to ensure that it was not just a media stunt.
However, the big moment arrived with the limited edition 'clan cans', especially designed with African blended patterns and engraved with clan praises of various South African clans.
The 500ml cans will be available next month.
Castle Milk Stout will also be launching its first ever Clanopedia site - a web platform where the people of Mzansi can register their clan praises.
I can’t help but wonder if South Africa is going through a wave of rediscovery or the discovery has been gradual, because Nando's has gone through a similar approach with its #rightmyname campaign. Its quest is to contribute to a broader dialogue in the country by highlighting our challenges, such as the challenge of African names being spell-checked when using Google products.
Mashile and Mkiva did what they are best at - performing.
The event culminated with Moyo's celebrated African cuisine.