Bataung Moeketsi
LESOTHO Fashion Week (LSFW) will from 24 July to 13 November 2020 run Covid-19 Youth Masterclasses in Maseru.
The classes will alternate between Alliance Française de Maseru and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
LSFW founder Mahadi Granier told the Weekender on Tuesday that the sessions would allow for participants and speakers to exchange ideas on the challenges faced by youths.
Basotho youth’s contribution to national efforts in response to the pandemic will be the scope of the nine-week programme. The workshop will empower the participants to be innovators, she said.
Twenty-five youth and will be led by other youths who will in turn offer “innovative solutions tackling the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Among the speakers are National University of Lesotho (NUL) Labour Law and the Law of Business Associations lecturer and founder and chief executive officer of Higher Self Career and Executive Coach, Mothepa Ndumo; Nedback Lesotho client experience manager and Learning Mindset Foundation executive director Lerato Mphaka. Black Hair and The Natural Hair Studio founder, Hape Marite and GEM Institute and Lesotho Fashion Designers Associations founder Mpho Letima will also speak during the training.
The workshop’s programme will be officiated by LSWF’s head of production Thato Fonya and will be moderated by the current Face of Lesotho Fashion Week, Charlene McPherson.
Granier said the workshop would address young innovators’ challenges.
“The Masterclass will address young innovators’ experiences and challenges, enabling an environment for their solutions to upscale social impact across the country, as well as their motivations and resilience capacity,” Granier said.
“Its ultimate goal is to envision a future for Lesotho and Basotho youth in the aftermath of Covid-19.”
The sessions will be a space where both the government and the private sector and institutions of higher learning will have an opportunity to engage young people, she said.
It will also allow the youths to explore existing support structures within the country and gain an understanding of how they may “leverage” them.
“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world and a lot of young people are grappling with its effects on their lives.
“The vast majority of Basotho youth are wondering how to overcome the challenges or if there are any economic opportunities that they can take advantage of in spite of the current pandemic,” Granier said.
LSWF is a marketing platform for fashion, footwear, accessories and jewellery which has helped numerous designers start, develop and grow their businesses.
The bi-annual event is customarily held during the first three days of April or May and the first three days of October or November. Spring/summer womenswear collections are showcased during the former event, while the latter showcases autumn/winter womenswear collections.
