At approximately 351 days and some hours into it – we now know that 2014 has been a great year. From being a massively political election year – marking 20 years of South African democracy – to the soccer World Cup, to online activism such as #Ferguson. The trends at the heart of these events – such as #paybackthemoney and #ICANTBREATHE – have grabbed our attention, fascinated us, mystified us and completely revolutionised how we understand and see things.
On the entertainment and political planes respectively, two of the biggest trends of the year were ‘Real Housewives’ and an increasingly turbulent South African parliament – bringing into sharp focus our viewing culture and the importance we attach to entertainment value, even where unusual. At Live SA, we’re celebrating the end of the year with a hilarious parody of both Real Housewives and South African politics. The drama, intrigue, late night squabbles and shouting matches that have characterize either, particularly parliament, have inspired us to easy to create a hybrid of both – complete with outrageous fashions and sharp-tongued rebuttals to comments and debate.
Live from Parliament casts a youth lens on parliament and government, covering committees, policy-making, MPs, and the sitting of actual Parliament. Our team of youth journalists will be reporting Live from Parliament every week in partnership with the People’s Assembly and Indigo Trust.
The People’s Assembly connects people and their elected representatives. To stay in touch with your local MP, visit www.pa.org.za, follow them on Twitter @PeoplesAssem_SA or Facebook/PeoplesAssemblySA.
