Amazwi

Amazwi is a South African non-profit organization committed to build upon and strengthen its founding pillars of Empowerment, Education and Preservation.

Specifically, Amazwi (meaning “voices” in Zulu) works to empower and educate rural women in the media arts while preserving indigenous cultures (past and present) and documenting social issues facing the underserved rural villages of South Africa. Amazwi is committed to increasing the voices of rural women in all forms of media. With every step we take, Amazwi works to teach women the power of the pen and the power of amazwi.

To achieve its objectives, Amazwi works to:

• Provide a practical, hands-on, low-residency media arts program for unemployed rural women. • Develop a community of international and domestic writers and artists through which ideas are shared, ex changed, discussed, and implemented. • Provide a safe space for the voices of African women to be heard, develop, and succeed. • Establish a platform from which South African women and women from other African countries can be heard while their cultures, issues and voices are preserved. • Encourage documentation using both media and fine arts to increase the exposure and discussion of social issues, women’s issues and the past, present and future of African cultures.

Currently Amazwi has three primary projects working toward its objectives:

1) Amazwi School of Media Arts 2) Amazwi Writers and Artists Residency Program 3) Amazwi Writers: A. Magazine and The Lowveld Village Voice regional newspaper