After months of educating and inspiring the South African youth to unlock their potential, the YouthX Summit is finally here. Scheduled to take place on Friday, 29 October 2021, the event forms part of Nedbank’s YouthX programme, which was launched in March 2021. The programme is aimed at unlocking the youth’s potential by providing them with the opportunity to learn from young Changemakers like Sho Madjozi, Rich Mnisi, Theo Baloyi, Amanda Dlamini, Candice Chirwa and Rivo Mhlari, who are leaders in their respective industries.
The event comes as a celebration of the YouthX Awards finalists who entered their work in August and September this year. As part of the programme, the awards were created to inspire the youth and give them the opportunity to win prizes to fund their business ideas, existing businesses, or opportunities to further their careers. One winner will be selected for each of the six award categories: Arts and Entertainment, Fashion and Beauty, Business and Finance, Sports and Wellness, Social Good and Sustainability, and Tech and Innovation.
Winners will receive R300 000 worth of prizes each, including R50 000 in cash, a Huawei technology bundle, and a mentorship, learning or networking opportunity. The awards will be handed over by the six YouthX Changemakers:
- Sho Madjozi (Arts and Entertainment)
- Rich Mnisi (Fashion and Beauty)
- Candice Chirwa (Social Good and Sustainability)
- Amanda Dlamini (Sports and Wellness)
- Rivo Mhlari (Tech and Innovation)
- Theo Baloyi (Business and Finance)
As part of the judging panel, the Changemakers were joined by industry experts and leaders such as:
- Lesley Mofokeng – Renowned former entertainment journalist and editor who worked for the Sunday Times, City Press and Sowetan newspapers
- Asanda Sizani – Award-winning editor, creative director for #Soweto40xNetflix, former fashion director for Elle South Africa and editor in chief for Glamour SA
- Jean Willers – Managing Director at Nielsen Sports South Africa
- Toby Shapshak – TED global speaker, Forbes senior contributor, publisher of Stuff + Scrolla Africa, Financial Mail and host of Stuff on eNCA
- Amanda Dambuza – Chief Executive of Uyandiswa, an author, motivational speaker, philanthropist, businesswoman and Veuve Clicqout ELLE Boss 2017
- Thami Pooe – An entrepreneur, Founding CEO of Engage Africa Media and the Co-Founder of Tshimong Academy
Candidates were tasked to be innovative, creative and come up with ideas that could work in the real world and uplift their communities. Entries were judged with a percentile weighting based on creativity (40%), innovation (40%) and community upliftment (20%)
Renowned former entertainment journalist and editor Lesley Mofokeng said: ‘It’s been an incredible privilege and honour for me to judge the Arts and Entertainment category for the YouthX Awards. The ideas were fresh, innovative and responsive to the times we are in and they show great potential. Young people are rising to the challenge to find solutions for the 21st century problems and are exploiting opportunities presented by technology and advances elsewhere. I have no doubt that the next crop of innovators, creatives and artists who will impact the industry in a meaningful way will be found through the YouthX Awards. Congratulations to all the winners.’
Categories with the most entries were Business and Finance, Arts and Entertainment, and Tech and Innovation. A total of 16 finalists from around the country will be attending the YouthX Summit, where six of them will be announced as the 2021 YouthX Awards winners.
Nedbank’s Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Khensani Nobanda, said: ‘We’re excited to host the YouthX Summit, the final event on the YouthX calendar where we celebrate young Changemakers who are ready to chase their dreams. We’d like to encourage everyone to join us for a great night of fun, entertainment and networking opportunities. Check out our Unlocked.Me social media pages to see how you can win tickets or join in online.’
The event will also feature performances from the hottest entertainment acts in the country such as Black Motion, Kamo Mphela, Costa Titch, Vuyani Dance Company and Holly Rey.
You can register and join in online by clicking on this link: bit.ly/3jVTyKu. Once registered, you’ll be taken to the YouthX webpage, where you can watch the event live and interact by commenting, asking questions and chatting with the Changemakers. The most interactive viewers stand a chance to win prizes courtesy of Nedbank and partners.
Follow the below social-media pages to stay connected, get the latest updates and learn more about YouthX.