(Illustration: Kevin Momberg) It’s been 50 years since the 1976 Soweto uprising, and this weekend Jozi My Jozi invites people to spend a symbolic 76 hours in Soweto.
The theme is Honouring the Past, Building the Future – Bridget Hilton-Barber is your guide and here’s what’s on offer:
Biyo Film Festival with Gauteng Film Commission
Saturday, 13 June
Free
/file/attachments/2993/lebosmural_806496.jpg "Eyethu Heritage Hall. (Photo: Supplied)")
A series of films across different venues — followed by unapologetic Q&As with directors, thinkers and cultural troublemakers. Each venue has local sound, live performance and visual art to turn each screening into a full-blown cultural experience. Here’s the programme:
Beyond Forgiving
12:00 – 14:30
Eyethu Heritage Hall, 113 Machaba Street, Mofolo Central
Beyond Forgiving (2013, 28 min) A poignant documentary following Ginn Fourie and Letlapa Mphahlele on a true journey of healing and reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa. A story of tragedy, forgiveness and hope.
Ubani Lore?
15:00 – 17:30
Soweto Gallery, 7533 Maseko Street, Orlando West
Ubani Lore? (2025, 10 min) A wildly original South African surrealist comedy, three odd friends on a bizarre quest for a book that doesn’t exist.
Philani Brown Retrospective
18:00 – 21:00
Native Rebels, 1345 Kadebe Street, Central Western Jabavu
Philani Brown Retrospective. Through screenings, conversation and reflection, celebrated filmmaker Philani Brown traces the evolution of his voice from early shorts to a bold, celebrated body of work.
A commemorative walking tour
/file/attachments/2993/sethmazibukowhotookpartinthe76uprising_790733.jpg "Seth Mazibuko who took part in the ‘76 uprising. (Photo: Supplied)")
Saturday, 13 June, 09:30
Tickets R490 on Quicket
Call 060 813 3239
Join a tour with struggle hero Seth Mazibuko, hosted by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. One of the original 1976 student organisers, Mazibuko was subsequently arrested and imprisoned for 10 months at Constitution Hill’s infamous Number 4 for his actions. Walk with Mazibuko as he shares the deeply moving story of the march from his first-hand perspective. The 4km walk will begin at Morris Isaacson High School and end at Hector Pietersen Museum, where Mazibuko will take an exclusive guided tour.
Details: Meet at 09:20am to depart at 09:30am from the Sunnyside Park Hotel, Princess of Wales Terrace corner Carse O’Gowrie Rd, Parktown. A bus will take guests to and from Soweto. Tickets include transport and admission to the Hector Pietersen Museum. Space is limited, and early booking is recommended. For information email mail@joburgheritage.org.za
Locrate Market
Sunday, 14 June, 12:00 - 20:00
Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers, 10823A Pope St, Orlando West
Free
/file/attachments/2993/unnamed5_187438.jpg "(Photo: Supplied)")
The Locrate Market (Locrate stands for Local Creatives) presents Generation Now, featuring food, culture, music, makers, fashion and kids’ zone. It’s a celebration of 50 years of youth culture, tracking creative evolution from old-school township styles up to today’s trends. Think local independent designers, streetwear brands, visual artists, and handmade crafts, a delicious curation of local food entrepreneurs and modern township cuisine. Plus live music including Admiral & Jah Seed, Thabo Smol, Keyy Wa, Enoch Mae, Speedsta and Lulo Café.
Sober Discussions
Monday, 15 June, 18:30 - 00:00
Onions & All, 1566 Mtangai Street, Pimville.
Free
/file/attachments/2993/muralofsethmazibukophefenihighschool_663923.jpg "(Photo: Supplied)")
Sober Discussions: #WeUprising and Jozi My Jozi host a series of solution sessions — a hard‑hitting evening where elders and youth sit at the same table. Veterans from the 70s hold space for real umrhabulo, (an isiXhosa term traditionally meaning consciousness-raising or political discussion) unpacking untold 16 June stories. Then the mic flips to the new generation, who come with answers, not excuses, offering street‑level solutions to the pressures young people face — all backed by a live artistic performance that carries the message beyond the panel and into the bloodstream.
Follow the route of 1976
16 June, 09:00 - 10:30
Start: Morris Isaacson High School
End: Orlando Stadium
Register here
/file/attachments/2993/visitorsareencouragedtospend76hoursinsoweto_319389.jpg "(Photo: Supplied)")
Youth Day starts with a poignant walk Finish What was Started, tracing the 9.1 km route the students of 1976 never got to complete, walking from Vilakazi & Moema to their intended destination, Orlando Stadium, in a physical and symbolic act of continuation. Along the way, the street becomes a moving stage: live singing, guided narration, poetry and protest theatre turn it into a living archive of defiance and survival.
The walk starts at the Tsietsi Mashinini Statue at Morris Isaacson High School, stops at the Mofolo Bridge, Confrontation Corner – where the police opened fire — Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum and ends at Orlando Stadium where there will be a Flame Torch Handover Ceremony where the 1976 generation will hand over the baton to the youth of today.
/file/attachments/2993/politicalmuralphefenihigh_972990.jpg "Plaque in memory of Mbuyisa, he carried Hector Pieterson when he was shot. (Photo: Supplied)")
The Vilakazi Experience: After the morning walk, the energy spills straight onto Vilakazi Street, where local restaurants backed by Jozi My Jozi turn the strip into a full‑blown township street fest. Brunch, lunch and sundowners roll out across more than 10 spots, each with its own flavour of live bands, DJs, cultural performances and Youth Day‑only surprises. A curated market brings together fashion heads, artists, illustrators, makers and small businesses, giving visitors a chance to shop one‑of‑one pieces, meet the people behind the brands and pour their rands directly into Soweto’s creative and visitor economy. Soweto’s most famous street has been turned into a vibrant open-air gallery. The Art Rising 76 Street Art Gallery features murals along the street by 16 different visual artists.
Jozi My Jozi has partnered with the Soweto Township Accommodation Establishments (STAE) offering people stayovers at local hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs; as well as curated cultural experiences that include transport to and from film screenings, dialogues, exhibitions and guided tours. For bookings and info call Nthateng Motaung on 060 418 0436.
For more information about the programme and to register for the events — check it out here.
The Weekend Essay — Tony Jackman
/file/attachments/2993/unnamed3_370486.jpg "Left, a selfie to prove to friends and family that I can spruce up if I need to. And right, the reason Sally Andrew and I decided to spruce up in smart but muted tones: the vividly attired Fehmz (left), whom Sally (right) was interviewing along with myself at the Kingsmead Book Fair. Which, yes, I reached — by hotel shuttle, because they insisted. But read what book fair organiser Alex Bouche has to say in this story… (Photos: Tony Jackman)")
Our Jozi is safe! — by people who live, work and play there
“Joburg people really do walk around their city, and the dire warnings that hotel staff issue to their guests are not necessarily based on reality – if the voices of real, ordinary Joburgers are to be believed. And why wouldn’t they be?
I asked readers of my TGIFood newsletter last Friday what they thought of the habit of reception staff in Joburg hotels – particularly in Rosebank, where I happened to stay recently – of urging hotel guests not to walk around in the streets. I had been staying at the Southern Sun Hotel in Rosebank’s Sturdee Avenue and had wanted to walk down the street and across Tyrwhitt Avenue to Kingsmead College for their annual book fair, where I was taking part.”
Joburg ‘Person of the day’
/file/attachments/2993/LD_433244.jpg "(Photo and text: Bridget Hilton-Barber)")
Lulama Dladla works at the Jozi My Jozi (JMJ) hub at Victoria Yards, which operates as a central engine for inner-city revitalisation, funding, organising and hosting projects to uplift the surrounding communities. Lulama works in the tinkering space – which is thinking with your hands and learning through doing, undoing and redoing to build vital cognitive skills in children. Lulama is seen here at the recent launch of the Netstar Digital Learning Centre in Hillbrow, which provides tinkering, robotics and coding to the youth in the area and was facilitated by Jozi My Jozi.
This article first appeared as a Johannesburg newsletter. Subscribe here.