By Buhle Andisiwe Made
Rhodes University final year Journalism and Psychology major, Zamamiya Majola, has hosted a cohort of senior phase learners (Grade 10 through Matric) at a Career Connect Expo at Nombulelo Senior Secondary School.
Majola regards herself as a media practitioner with a background in audio, writing, film and photography. She is interested in, “how multiple media forms influence and impacts cognitive or behavioral development”, and started her own company, Mykhanda Media, to offer multimedia support and training.
Mykhanda Media has also created learnerships for three learners from Nstika Secondary School, Khutliso Daniels Secondary School and Nombulelo Senior Secondary School, where the students have the opportunity to intern at the agency and gain practical skills within the multimedia industry.
The Career Connect Expo on 21 April was a pre-launch event for more detailed career expos in Humanities and STEM subjects that Majola plans to hold in future. The factor beta event invited career exhibitors to showcase their businesses and training skills, and presented the youth with the opportunity to interact with exhibitors and learn more about their work.
The exhibitors who took part included the Albany Museum of Somerset Street and Shiba Sopetla, a seasoned theatrical production designer for some of the biggest South African acts. Sopetla offers sewing workshops from beginner to professional level. The Siyahluma Multipurpose Group, hand crafting marvels, specializing in pottery, clay mining and training, and based at Egazini in Extension 6 were also at the expo.
Lithemba Mzweni, photographer, ‘Hairitage’ exhibition curator, and the founding executive for Gemini Vision, a creative agency capturing the essence of the world through photography and film also took part, as did Metropolitan Insurance, and Maxnote Media, a music, dee jay and sound engineering company run by Mzwakhe Ntlabathi. Rhodes Music Radio (RMR) was the entertainment partner for the expo, featuring executives from the station assisting to generate the live audiences together.
“The event achieved exactly what it intended to” exclaimed Majola. The expo was envisioned to generate a school of pupils and educate them about the different career paths available. The event also helped Mykhanda Media to gauge the different interests of learners, for future expos.
Majola says her main challenge is funding – she hosted the event using her own capital and with the assistance of her mother, and received on-the-ground backing from her friendship circle and the learnership program students. Majola would welcome any donations that will go towards the execution of future Career Connect expos, she said.
Upcoming expos will be announced on Mykhanda Meda’s Instagram page, @mykhandamedia. A Humanities Career Connect is set to take place on July 15.
