What happens when you put my three favourite things all in one place?
I got to find out when I was presented the offer to moderate one of the debates at the Women, Wine & Words festival. I had always heard about it taking place in Bulawayo but I’ve never been cause my life is in Harare now. So when it came to Harare I didn’t give the offer a second thought, I was in!
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The one day festival was held at the Theatre in the Park in Harare. Enthuse in partnership with Intwasa made it happen. The first debate was about Hair Politiks and it was insightful to say the least. The panel was lively and their contributions were relevant and thought provoking. The panel included @TheYFaktor, @PamNyandoro, @ButterphlyFunk and others. DebbieH did a wonderful job moderating this session.
The next session was moderated by yours truly. Our topic was Body Positivism which was a mouthful and we couldn’t get it to roll off the tongue. I have never had such a chatty panel but I appreciated it because they gave the people their money’s worth. The funny bunch consisted of Ma Kupsy aka Fitness Bae, Tendai ‘Sokostina’ Garwe and Patience Phiri. Besides imparting knowledge, these women really dug deep. They opened up and laid bare some of the wounds that they have been carrying around about their bodies. Their bravery is what made the session amazing. People that aren’t afraid to show their scars instead of pretending that everything is perfect. There was something for every one that was in attendance. I hope I get to sit with any of these women again, their energy gave me the life to pull off our deep session. If you’d like to see them in action, you can find our video here:
Chengetayi Mnisi Samoyo took the session after that and had the likes of Rumbi ‘Newsbae’ Takawira, Patience Musa on her panel discussing women in the media. This session had so many layers, it needed a whole afternoon. Chenge really knows how to lead the conversation. The ladies shared their previous experience in the industry and the hurdles that they had to overcome to make breakthroughs in their careers. The one thing that they touched on that I thought was the highlight of the discussion is how women in the media are struggling with longevity. It’s a heated topic but one that needs answers and solutions.
TytanTheOne was brought on stage to weigh in and he gave them what I thought was valuable advice. He said women need to start telling their stories and I felt that. As women we have been told to keep our stories private. We have been taught to censor ourselves and suffer in silence. He advised us that there is a market for women’s stories and this I have been saying for a very long time now.
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I am very grateful to have been a part of this event. There are things I learnt that inspired me as a woman aspiring to be a media mogul. I met amazing people that like selfies as much as I do. I am grateful to everyone that attended and stayed through the whole thing. We need more spaces like this and you can be sure that you’ll see me there again next year.
