Across the continent, over 80% of girls enroll in grade one, but by the time they reach university, only 6% are successful in continuing their tertiary education. BRAVE is changing this. BRAVE creates opportunities for girls living in some of the most dangerous communities across the African continent to complete their education and become effective, ethical leaders, modern-day adventurers, and advocates for themselves and others.
Following the overwhelming success of the inaugural BRAVE dinner and exhibit in July 2016 , GUILD is generously hosting the second annual BRAVE exhibit and auction at their flagship gallery in the Silo District in Cape Town. On Thursday, 23 November, invited guests will be treated to live music, very special canapés and cocktails by Spice Route, followed by enthralling stories from extraordinary women explorers, leaders, and adventurers, including two of the all-female Black Mamba anti-poaching team, a poem by acclaimed artist Justine Mahoney, lead Singita guide Margaux Le Rous, and Rock Girl spoken word poet Miche Williams. These young women are all resilient leaders, paving the way for the next generation of girl leaders.
At the auction, artists and designers, along with luminaries from across South Africa, will come together to raise funds for scholarships for the very first young women to enrol in the ALU School of Wildlife Conservation, and to support the fifth Rock Girl Road Trip. At the event, the first ever BRAVE mobile studio will be on hand and a BRAVE award will be distributed to a woman or girl who lives the mission of BRAVE, to build a just, equal and safe society.
Once again, the auction will feature one-of-a-kind pieces created by well-known artists and designers, including a BRAVE cuff by Kirsten Goss, a BRAVE mosaic bench by Lovell Friedman, a BRAVE limited edition bench by Laurie Wiid van Heerden of WiiD design and Ceramic Matters, an exclusive BRAVE ceramic table by Ceramic Matters and WiiD, a custom BRAVE knife and knife making course from Conrad Hicks, specially-designed tables by Anthony Shapiro and Rock Girls, bespoke safaris from Wilderness Safaris and Singita, and weekends at four Perfect Hideaways retreat. Adventure experiences offered include an adventure day with an Escape+Explore guide and Rock Girl intern and a surf day with Waves for Change on a custom Mami Wata surfboard, which you can take home. In addition, a BRAVE pop-up shop will offer limited-edition bracelets, T-shirts, BRAVE unisex scent, handmade BRAVE bowls, and other items.
GUILD is the most significant gallery for high-end contemporary, limited-edition design in South Africa, and is also devoted to creating a safe environment for its team and for those artists and designers in its stable. BRAVE is honoured to partner with the gallery.
This year’s BRAVE event comes at a unique moment, coinciding with the unprecedented mobilization of millions of girls and women, and people around the world behind #MeToo and other local and global movements to speak out against sexual harassment and assault, something that BRAVE has been doing since our inception in 2010. This year’s event is also taking place on the eve of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence – an important marker for us this year as our girls are celebrating the one year anniversary of writing weekly column for the Cape Times that began last 25 November on the even of the 16 Days campaign.
BRAVE award winner and UN Women head Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka has said tha “Everyone has the right to live their life without violence or the threat of violence. This holds for all people, no matter what their gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity or caste, and irrespective of their income level, sexual orientation, HIV status, citizenship, where they live, or any other characteristic of their identity.”
Violence not only has negative consequences for those who suffer it, but also for their families, the community and society at large, and it comes at a high economic cost for society. Every one of us has been a victim or knows someone who has been a victim of violence – and this isn’t normal. BRAVE believes that violence is not inevitable—violence against women and girls doesn’t have to be the status quo, as it is for most of the girls BRAVE works with.
Like many of the African animals that we all hold dear, and that our girls often see for the first time on our BRAVE Road Trips, African girls today in 2017 are threatened by horrific violence. The girls can relate to the experiences of endangered cheetahs, rhinos and elephants we see. One in three girls around the world has experienced sexual or physical violence. The girls on our Road Trips feel a connection to the animals – they also feel endangered. .But the girls’ experiences as explorers in their own country – meeting other girls far off the beaten path, questioning Constitutional Court judges, learning about our earliest ancestors at the Cradle of Humankind, dancing under Venus as the moon rises in the Madikwe Game Reserve, interviewing girls in the mining communities around Rustenberg where one in five girls have been raped – these interactions make them stronger, more resilient, and more determined to ensure that we are all safe – girls, our treasured African wildlife, and everyone.
In 2018, we are focusing on the crisis facing both our African wildlife and our girls by raising funds for girls to attend the African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation. We need women leaders in conservation not only to save our endangered rhinos and elephants, we need girls equipped with the business, management, diplomatic and leaderships skills to save our planet. BRAVE is committed to creating the next generation of African leaders not only in conservation, but in business, and law, and design, and government too. We are focusing on education because Africa has the world’s lowest secondary school enrollment rates – although 80% of children start grade one only 28% of youth are enrolled in secondary school across the continent. In South Africa, 40% of girls drop out of school before grade eight, exposing them to risks of teen pregnancy, gansterism, drugs, unemployment, and sexual violence. But it gets worse, Today a girl in sub-Saharan Africa has only a six percent chance of receiving some form of tertiary education.
BRAVE educates girls to enable them to navigate the challenges in their lives – sexual violence, poverty, lack of reproductive health care, climate change, patriarchy – so that tomorrow these same girls have the resilience to become our next-generation leaders, disrupting the systems that keep injustice in place and hold back entire communities. BRAVE inspires and challenges girls (and all of us) to have the courage to do the right thing, whether it be staying in school, saving our planet, speaking up against injustice, and demanding more from our current leaders.
Graca Machel has said that “individuals must find the courage to end harmful practices that impoverish girls, women and their communities.” We cannot let half the population live in fear, because if we do, we all live in fear. Worldwide powerful girl and women leaders have stepped forward – Malala Yousafza, Sheryl Sandberg, and Thuli Madonsela are just three examples – and millions of girls and women are breaking the silence through global campaigns like #metoo. People across the globe are speaking up, and BRAVE believes that everyone has the courage to be part of the solution that will provide opportunities for girls. Being BRAVE takes practice, but with enough practice we can create a culture of bravery that does not tolerate injustice or inequality in South Africa, in Africa, and across the world.
ABOUT BRAVE
BRAVE was launched in July 2016 to create a more just, equal and safe society. BRAVE is a movement committed to providing opportunities for girls and young women to become ethical, effective leaders. Rock Girl Road Trips and scholarships for girls to attend the ALU School of Wildlife Conservation are two of the initiatives supported by BRAVE. In the next ten years, BRAVE will create a cohort of girl leaders across the continent, extending our network through the use of social media and technology to reach over 100,000 girls by 2027 and provide post-secondary education to 100 girl leaders by 2020.
ABOUT GUILD
GUILD is recognised as the most significant platform for collectible, limited-edition South African design. Exhibiting at the best design fairs around the world, and collaborating with leading global galleries and institutions, GUILD has spearheaded the high-end design category in Africa.
Date issued: 25 September 2017
By: GUILD and Rock Girl
Contact: India Baird at 082 734 4569 or india.baird@gmail.com or visit www.rockgirlsa.org
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