POVO Annual Report 2013
2013 was a quiet year for POVO with no partnerships. Our expenses for the year were $3,230 which included, T shirt production, covering HIFA, Update of the website, Production of Hardcopy Journals. The election played a role to a certain extent and a nation stood still in anticipation. Elections have passed and life goes on. Initially for the journal we had targeted 40 pages but because of overwhelming response we bumped it up to 48 pages! Unfortunately printing hard copies is still a challenge hence we are publishing online. Special thanks need to go to Archibald Mathibela and Bruce Goredema who work tirelessly and selflessly as editor of our articles and transcriber of articles respectively.
HIFA 2013
HIFA is always a highlight of the year both for getting contributors and marketing the brand via a stall. We were not able to get a stall this year and the event in general was a bit below par and we feel it genuinely needs some rejuvenation in a new direction as it seems to have become a bit monotonous. It will always be a thrill for the first timer but those returning, it may be losing some momentum. But what we did take notice of is a change in the demographics attending the festival, it is now starting to reflect the nation. A case in point is the Edith We Utonga show featuring Busi Ncube of Ilanga . Once seen as an elitist festival the people of Zimbabwe are slowly making the festival their own, a development that may not go down with some of the festival goers, but inevitable nonetheless. One of the highlights of the festival however was The Noisettes, UK band fronted by Zimbabwean Shingai Shoniwa, of who gave a stellar performance and covered a Thomas Mapfumo song backed by Hope Masike, Tariro We Gitare and Chiwoniso Maraire, which was the last of her performances we witnessed. Chiwoniso also performed live on stage with Chikwata263
Newsletter
With the publication of this issue will also see the launch of the POVO Newsletter which will be used to keep subscribers informed of new developments and new content on the website
Social Media
Our social scene was more active this year with Youtube and Twitter being the most active fronts. We reached 50 uploaded videos of original content from Zimbabwe with the Daniel ‘ProBeats’ Mashonganyika beat boxing in Zimbabwe. We also reached 1000 followers on Twitter with @BVZimbabwe following us. 64% of the contributors in this issue are on twitter. Tendayi Magombo was our 100th like on our Facebook page. All milestones were rewarded with a POVO T-shirt. 2012 PDF version hosted on Issuu.com had 10 times more impressions than the 2011 version.
T Shirts
As usual each year we release a new design for the POVO range of patriotic T-shirts. This year we did two separate designs with a new summer cut as well. We only produced 200 T-shirts this year.
Website
The website under went a major rejuvenation with the look and feel and many additions to the functionality and content. It was relaunched again on the 23rd of April and since then we have received twice the amount of traffic than we did in the whole of last year! We reached our 50th Contributor this year, So Profound with his poem. The latest version included an addition of categories. We are also excited by the addition of the new sections which include an archiving of magazine covers and CD artwork. Also added were portals which are mini websites which promote a certain event all in one place. A full page of quotes from articles in the website which are randomly displayed on the home page. Lastly is the blog directory of Zimbabwean bloggers.
10th Anniversary year 2014
An exciting year for us its 10 years since the inception of the POVO brand! We will do a special edition of the Journal which we hope to print. We are working flat out to make this happen. We have a few other items lined up and we will keep you posted with the final details. Be ready to contribute and let us tell the Zimbabwe story together. If you have any ideas they are very welcome on how we can celebrate this brand and movement. Contact us on patriots@povo.co.za
Contributors
Since its inception POVO has depended on the goodwill of the contributors who have selflessly given of their time and intellect to give us a glimpse of the opinions within the arts and cultural sector of Zimbabwe. Without them POVO would not be where it is today. POVO strives to ensure there is no disparity in the balance between gender. We are calling more women to join the movement and contribute their thoughts and opinions. This year we celebrated our 50th unique contributor So Profound,a poet and engineering student. We cannot forget our transcribers, editors and proof readers who so a sterling job and are very dependable. Distributors our merchandise and all who engage with us on Twitter, Facebook and on the website as well. Want to be a contributor but don’t know what to contribute? Go to page 20 and find out more. Salute! A full list of all our contributors POVO 85% of our contributors in this issue are on Twitter. Follow them!
