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News

South Africa
Spectacular Drumming Event Expected to Draw Thousands!

On May 6th, starting at 7pm and continuing into the early hours of May 7th, One World Beat and "Eden: A Walk with God" present a spectacular "Drumming in One World Beat" event in the Heartfelt Arena, Pretoria. Last year, 2006 co-organizer 20000 Drums ("Transformation through Celebration"), linked several exciting South African drumming events with the activities of One World Beat 2005.

A drumming circle of 450 people, known as "Klitsgras" (www.klitsgras.co.za), and 60 drummers of the "Heartsong" gathering performed the day before the start of OWB. Five hundred schoolchildren took part in the drumming event organized by the 20,000 Drums nonprofit itself (www.20000drums.org.za).

This year, 4000-6000 people are estimated to participate in OWB 2006, according to organizer Elize Thesner, who is also an OWB Global Coordinator. This number will include people who are differently-abled, as well as schoolchildren and youth affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS.

South Africa's 2006 hour of drumming will be between 12am and 1am. The event starts at 8pm (doors open at 7pm), and entrance tickets are R60.00, which are available at Computicket. Don't miss it, or you'll miss out, and don't forget to bring your own drum! For further information, contact Elize at elizet@oneworldbeat.org or 084 597 8993 (office hours only).

This will be great practice for what will hopefully be one of the biggest drumming events in history, now being organized by 20,000 Drums. The "vision" includes introducing drums and drumming to some 18,000+ schoolchildren in South Africa, culminating in an event which will gather them into a Johannesburg stadium for one day of united drumming. Residents of the city will also be included, bringing the total to 20,000.

This visionary nonprofit also conducts drumming workshops in schools, meant to empower learners and educators through creativity and teamwork. Learners and educators attend facilitation and leadership training courses, too, and apply their new skills with peers and within the community, which will encourage broader participation.

Poetry is an essential element of this project, because it provides a platform for dealing with the emotional issues which so many of these young people face. The drumming too provides an emotional grounding and healing, and is a proven stress-reducer, which these youth need to support and encourage them as they meet the daily challenges of their lives.

The mission of 20,000 Drums is to encourage personal empowerment, moral regeneration, social cohesion and community development, skills transfer and job creation. As one participant so eloquently put it: "If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing. If you have a heartbeat, you can drum." Please contact Samantha Skyring for more information (samantha@20000drums.org.za), and join these and other partners participating globally in "Drumming in One World Beat 2006", helping us all to create "transformation through celebration". To rent a drum for this not-to-be-missed event, contact Venessa Clark: +27 72 625 9591 (in S. Africa).

 

 

drumming