JOBURG PRIDE ANNOUNCES MAY AGM

Joburg Pride will be holding its AGM this may, allowing interested parties to learn about the event’s successes and failures.

According to the organisers, much of the success of the 2007 Joburg Pride was due to the fact that the festival was organised by a non-profit company with a board of volunteers for the first time in many years.

“Apart from the rain which threatened to spoil the event – but failed to dampen the spirits of the thousands who attended – the success of the day resulted in a number of processes being put in place that the board believes will stand the festival in good stead for several years to come,” said the board in a media statement.

Planning has started for the 2008 festival and an Annual General Meeting is planned for early May that will also constitute a feedback session which members of the public are welcome to attend.

“It’s time to review what worked and what didn’t,” said outgoing Chair Tracey Sandilands, who has stepped down and will be handling the organisation’s admin going forward.

Newly-elected joint Chairs Tanya Harford and Zak Mbhele will host the AGM, and, aside from giving feedback on the highlights of the 2007 Joburg Pride, the theme and the message for the new year will be presented.

“The publicity that was generated around last year’s message of encouragement to take a stand against hate crimes was much better than we had expected,” said Zak Mbhele, who is also a member of the Wits LGBT organisation Activate.

“We plan to continue to address this theme in the 2008 festival, as it’s still an issue that various LGBT communities are grappling with.”

At the meeting, the board will outline the draft plans for the year and will call for volunteers who would like to take part in putting together another great Joburg Pride.

“We really need people to come along and give us their feedback and tell us what they want out of Pride 2008,” said Tanya Harford.

The AGM will be held on Saturday 10 May at 13h00. The venue is the Executive Boardroom, 4th floor Council Chamber, Sandton Civic Centre / Library.

Kindly RSVP for seating purposes before the end of April if you plan to attend, as well as forwarding any items you would like placed on the agenda by that date.

Emails can be sent to info@joburgpride.org, or call Tracey at 011 715 6829 or 083 708 8850.