For the past decade, BRING YOUR FIRE has been MTN Bushfire’s inspiring call to action, a concept that encourages the proactive contribution of the individual towards social change. Your Fire is your energy, your spirit, your passion, and your drive to make a difference.
During this time, MTN Bushfire has encouraged participants to heed this call. The creative programme of workshops, discussions, art exhibitions and guest speakers enable platforms for conversation and debate to better understand the issues surrounding us, from community level challenges to global concerns.
‘Live Online Dialogue’
For the last five years MTN Bushfire has run a Live Online Dialogue as part of the broader festival programme, replicating the open space of the festival online and actively encouraging our audience, artists, sponsors and partners to engage around the call to ‘Bring Your Fire’. The theme for this year’s ONLINE DIALOGUES campaign will further add to the festival’s theme of Environmental Sustainability. The Online Dialogues programme will supplement the festival’s environmental messaging campaign online, operating collectively under the hashtag #GreenYourFire.
The Live Online Dialogue programme launches on Thursday, 11 May, with further Dialogues being hosted on 16 and 18 May before the final Dialogue complements the Arts Round Table event on Thursday 25 May. The dialogues will be hosted on MTN Bushfire’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, with conversations running from 3pm to 4pm on each day. Each dialogue will focus on a key aspect of Environmental Sustainability, as well as the concept of sustainability more broadly, including arts sustainability in the region and the investment in Swaziland’s future through the youth.
Festival goers, partners, sponsors and interested parties are encouraged to become active participants in these live online dialogues in the lead-up to this year’s festival. Everyone is invited to #GreenYourFire!
Schedule
11 May – Greening your Fire: How to get active for environmental change
What is the role of the arts, festivals and organisations in spreading environmental awareness and action? What is the best way to make environmental sustainability fun? Introducing MTN Bushfire’s ‘Bring Your Fire Zone’ and theme for this year, this dialogue will explore how organisations, events and festivals can play a role in the fight against climate change, and how individuals get involved personally and collectively.
16 May – Developing Sustainably
What does a sustainable creative artisanal economy look like? What are the strengths in women-led development, locally-sourced materials for artistic production, and how can upcycling and recycling be part of sustainably developing the creative economy? A special focus for this dialogue will be the role played by MTN Bushfire’s beneficiary boMake Rural Projects in implementing sustainable development programmes.
18 May – A Sustainable Future
This dialogue will explore the ways of investing in and educating our youth through the arts. What are the needs to be addressed, and how can the arts become a tool for the inspiration of young minds? This dialogue will focus on MTN Bushfire’s upcoming Schools’ festivals, Young Heroes as a festival beneficiary, and art and environmental education in schools.
25 May – Arts Roundtable
Supplementing the Arts Round Table discussion programme, this Dialogue will explore the sustainability of the arts in terms of creative economy and the role of artists in shaping messages and inciting action. This dialogue will take the discussions at the Arts Roundtable into the online sphere, bringing the online community into that space during the event.
What: MTN Bushfire Live Online Dialogues
Hashtag: #GreenYourFire
Music festival: MTN Bushfire, Swaziland, Africa, May 26 – 28, 2017
Tickets: www.bush-fire.com
Social media: www.facebook.com/MTNBUSHFIRE, @bushfirefest
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