how the UN came to be in june

the CCC and the jUNe Project

In December 2007, i was working as a freelance media ajent, documenting a community project on the north coast of KwaZulu Natal. Taking a break from my workstation, i randomly wandered into the Zulu Jazz Lounge to watch our favourite Brazilian buddies Napalma performing. At this gig, I bumped into Yehudi, 7 years since we'd first (and last) met. Considering the randomness of Both our encounters, we decided that we should sit down, and see what the connection was. Through the process, I was introduced to the Yo’ City Summit (held in Durban, June 2008), and to the international partners of the conference (TEKIO, GYAN, Caramundo, Baobab Connections).

Directly from this meeting, I met Helen Samuels, who stayed in Durban a few extra days. During these days, we connected strongly and she shared her vision and experiences during two hastily arranged networking sessions.

These meetings, and the essence of Helen's word on the power of the 'collective' lead to a few of us forming a media/art collective [CCC], which became partners in the Yo City Summit, teaming up with Baobab Connections, as well as the GYAN team, to become part of the local youth representation.

Additional Programs @ jUNe

The KwaSuka SafeHouse...




In the hope of manifesting the space (physical+head-space), the CCC, under the administration of M@D ran a SafeHouse venue to hold the space that the Greendome had intended, allowing networking and celebrating.



Located at the Kwa/suka Theatre, the final two nights of the conference saw the big events. Thursday was the local LiveBand Showcase 'The Wizards of Dub' which featured the finest reggae artists in Durban.


Friday was the turn of the Hip Hop Heads, with an open-mic performance that saw delegates and local MCs instantly collaborating. Perhaps the highlight of the entire conference from a personal point of view, was listening to MCs using three different languages in one piece.


The SafeHouse Project itself, was a massive collaboration between the CCC, local hip hop ambassadors Life Check, the Durban Collective, as well as our international partners and supportive local network.

The KwaSuka SafeHouse provided a useful project, allowing delegates to really connect and share the things that connect us all. In a sense, it was a release-valve, allowing pent pressure to find constructive mechanisms in expression.



The NETTWERK event...


As an additional project, the CCC ran a networking/closing event for the baobabconnections, the day after the conference had closed. Part tour, part networking, The event hinged in the logo for the CCC, a spiral.


The journey began in the middle of the city, as engagees were driven to one of two culturally relevant and vibrant spots in Durban. From here, and through the city, the journey opened up, as we drove to the beginning of the Valley of a 1000 Hills, for a food, drinks and chat stopoff. From here, we stopped off at a local NGO, to showcase their work, and back to the city, for the Evening Performances.


The spiral we created was related to the differences between the pace of life in the city, and in the hills, continuing to the spiral at the entrance of the restaurant, and again that evening, as the spiral labyrinth that needed to be negotiated before entering the performance arena.

The labyrinth spoke to the inner journey and the need to center oneself. The evening was wrapped up by a series of performances, and the wind-down music and food.



Seperate installations included the Boabab Wishing Tree, a CCC manned tree made of recycled and found material. Here, people wrote down their wishes, as well as the 'Take1,Leave1 Box', where people could take an item from the box, provided they left something in exchange.





Perhaps the strongest element of the Nettwerk event was the Word Wall.

The circular brick wall that bound the Labyrinth was used as a massive canvas, with chalk handy and i colours. Here, at the edge of the journey each person had taken through the Conference, was the space to introspect and recollect.

jUNe and the CCC

The CCC...

The Circle Center Collective[CCC] was a group of individuals banded around the idea of creating media+performances to harness the space provided by the GreenDome Tent that was meant to be installed as part of the Yo City Summit.

The CCC was an independent, self autonomous and self-governing collective, focussing on using media and performance to spread the idea of 'Wellbeing'. we proposed mechanisms to showcase the idea of 'seeking wellbeing' as a solution to making cities safer, along with many other perceived 'problems' in the world.

Through the process, we all learnt the legislative and energetic implications of using the collective structure. While the advantages are obvious, the downsides seemed to be the immediate acceptance of Hierarchy and Bureaucracy. i also found that the people associated with the CCC were largely unwilling/unable to deal with the idea of a leaderless collective.

Ultimately, I discovered that even leaderless collectives require a central point or person to co-ordinate the internal affairs and systems. Self governance is also a skill that must be engendered and learnt til perfected.

Once the CCC discovered that the GreenDome was not going to be part of the Yo City Summit, there was an interesting shift of dynamics, with a smaller team stepping forward to re-imagine and drive the original energy. This team, code named C3, initiated and produced a collaborative media project with 2nd-year Journalism Students from Durban University of Technology (Team D).

This project manifested itself as a public-wiki which screened submissions and reports from the students. The blog is still available at: http://www.safercitiesyouth.blogspot.com/

Though the quality of the reports was typically 2nd-year student level, the project was successful in spreading the idea of using blogs and other online mechanisms as part of an awareness campaign, and was a positive education for the local students.

the greenlifestyles film festival

The Green Lifestyle Film Festival

by Dorit D | Dec 06, 2009

Because we are a grassroots, non profit organization run by volunteers who are doing this not for profit, but to change the subject and content of films from the fear based, violence ridden films that are box office draws, and a media based culture that projects and perpetuates these very themes.
We believe that films are very powerful tools that instead can be used to nurture the human spirit, educate and inspire sustainable solutions for our everyday lives and restore us to our place in the natural world where revereence for life is practiced on a daily basis.

Our theme song for the film festival is Kristin's Hoffmann's SONG FOR THE OCEAN and she will be there with us once again singing it with as large a group as we can possibly bring together in the free OutDoors Arena during the weekend of the 19th-21stMarch 2010.
I think this song will resonate