ABOUT

Image Courtesy of Khwezi Becker : Storytelling Tree

WHAT DRIVES US.

The Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust is a Non Profit, Public Benefit Trust founded in 2012 on the success of its founder and Executive Director, actress and storyteller, Dr Gcina Mhlophe. Dr Mhlophe explains her inspiration “my own people have named me Gcinamasiko, which means the keeper-of-heritage, I wear this name like a blanket and honor it with my being”. Establishing The Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust is true testimony of Gcina Mhlophe’s commitment to preserving oral history and educating all South Africans towards an understanding of the value and role of Oral Tradition in a modern South Africa society.

MISSION &

OBJECTIVES.

Mission Statement

The GCINAMASIKO ARTS and HERITAGE TRUST is committed to preserving oral history, providing writing, story-creation and storytelling opportunities and enhancing a culture of reading within both established institutions (especially those who have poor access to resources) and the public arena of South Africa using the medium of edutainment as a basis for delivery of its aims and objectives.

Aims and Objectives

Contribute to the heritage of story-telling as an art-form through festivals, mentoring, training, public debates and performances
Establish programmes that give the broader public access to facilities that allow them to share their own stories, histories and experiences
To promote a culture of reading and writing through skills-transfer workshops and performances at schools
Programmes implemented will include a strong focus on empowering women and the girl-child whilst ensuring that men and the boy-child are not excluded

TRUST
MEMBERS.

Dr Gcina Mhlophe

Founder & Executive Director

gcinamhlophe.co.za

Dr. Gcina Mhlophe is an acclaimed author, poet, playwright, director, performer, and storyteller. Inspired by her grandmother’s tales, her storytelling has taken her from South Africa to global stages like the Royal Albert Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo on children’s projects and the opera production Africa at the Opera, which toured Germany.

Dr. Mhlophe has written over 18 books, translated into all South African languages and several international ones, including Italian, German, and Japanese. A champion of literacy and indigenous languages, she has released CDs celebrating storytelling traditions and received seven honorary doctorates and multiple Lifetime Achievement awards for her contributions to African literature and heritage.

As Executive Director of the Gcinamasiko Arts & Heritage Trust, founded in 2012, she continues her mission to preserve South Africa’s cultural heritage, alongside leading the Nozincwadi Literacy Campaign, inspiring a nation of readers.

Mathabo Kunene

Chairperson

mazisikunenefoundation.org

Mathabo Kunene is the Executive Director of The Mazisi Kunene Foundation, based in Durban. Professor Mazisi Kunene, Mathabo’s late husband was a great freedom fighter, literary icon and poet. A talented writer whose inspiration was the history of Zulu people, the liberation of Africans everywhere and the oral traditions of African literature. Kunene’s works were originally written in Zulu before they were translated into other languages, because he championed the inherent value of African literature written in African languages. Emperor Shaka the Great & Anthem of the Decades are two of his best known works.

Mathabo's strategic & developmental leadership is vital to all aspects of the Foundation's work. Inheriting her philanthropic nature by watching her parents selflessly, pioneer educational opportunities for disadvantaged children.

Travis Gale

Trust Member

appletreegroup.co.za

At the age of 18 Travis was inducted into the world of cause driven adventure when he and a friend, Stephen Bonaconsa, spent a year cycling 17,000km across four continents raising R1.7 million for vulnerable children. It was on the tour where Travis penned a vision for an organisation called Appletree.

After studying HR at UKZN, Travis spent a year on the island of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand working in the dive industry. His experience of the devastating 2004 tsunami catalysed a return to South Africa with a renewed fervour to work with people. Upon return, Travis established Appletree alongside a group of facilitators. Over the past 14 years, Travis has developed himself as a speaker, facilitator, consultant and coach serving clients from a wide range of industries including; Engineering, FMCG, Financial Services, Insurance IT, E Commerce and Retail.

As a Director of the Appletree Group, Travis plays a role in developing offerings which enable human transformation and the cultivation of healthy organisational culture. He has now dropped the bicycle for trail running shoes. He has been married to his wife Toni for 10 years and is the father to two cute and energetic daughters.

Iain Ewing

Treasurer

ewingtrust.co.za

Iain is a Director at Ewing Trust Company, which he joined in 2001. He studied Marketing at the University of Port Elizabeth, and then Law through UNISA. After joining the Asset Management business, he moved from Law and qualified as a Certified Financial Planner, and is a Member of the Institute for Financial Markets. Together with his father, Iain founded the Ewing Charitable Division, and sits on a number of Boards of Trustees. Iain is one of the original Trustees of the Gcinamasiko Arts & Heritage Trust and, through his vision and dedication, he has assisted in growing the organisation to where it is today.

Ryan Pillay