This heritage month we catch up with the founder of the Mbokodo Awards, Carol Bouwer, who has created an incredible platform for the recognition of women in arts and culture. By Zamahlasela Gabela What are the challenges of being an influential business woman, both in your industry and in your personal life? The biggest challenge for me is to make peace with labels. As one continues to work, with a particular focus on making a difference people are kind enough to offer kind labels like “influential”, “successful” etc. but for me those are simply benevolent distractions that take away from the important business of being of service to the community and doing the very best you can, to make it easy for those who come after you to realise their full potential. What has it taken to get you to where you are right now? With everything in life, I have come to realise that we are all imbued with multiple talents but it is hard work that determines our ability to realise our dreams. I have elected to forego many instant pleasures and focus on my dreams. This has not always been easy but I was always clear that I knew my potential and knew that none of what I wished to achieve could happen without hard work and dedication. Surround yourself with people you admire and those who admire your ideals as well, surround yourself with people who are willing to learn from you but they must also be willing to teach you. I have had many angels along the way and believe I have been an angel for those dedicated enough to listen. How was life growing up, and what were your dreams back then? My life in Rockville Soweto was joyful and hopeful. I was encouraged to dream and my biggest dream was to attain success - I am glad that with age, I now understand the value of the journey to long term fulfillment rather than seeking a shallow definition of success. What were your hobbies and interests as a young girl? I enjoyed cycling and loved being the only girl with a BMX bike while only the boys in my neighbourhood were getting them. When I look at the size of our yard now, I wonder what the point of that bike was, since all I did was circle a very small area. To make matters worse, our gate was always locked so I didn’t get to ride outside much. How do you juggle both your personal life and your career? I don’t. I make do with the understanding that nothing matters more to me than my family. What has been your ultimate big break in the industry? Presenting the Miss World in Africa all those years back, opened my world in ways for which I will never lose gratitude. What were your beginning steps towards climbing the corporate ladder? I have never climbed the corporate ladder, I created my own. Tell us more about the Mbokodo Awards? What inspired you to start them? The Mbokodo Awards are a conduit by which I get to gather with my fellow countrymen to honour the incredible women who are the backbone of our arts, culture and heritage in South Africa. I was inspired to start them because I felt we cannot allow a world where men are lone heroes while the women who have worked alongside them, to build our democracy, continue to go unsung. I am glad that slowly we have begun to normalise the parity and hopefully in time they will become irrelevant because we will have achieved our goal. If you could host a dinner party for three with the option of inviting anyone dead or alive, famous or not, who would you invite and why? I would invite Maya Angelou because it is through her writings that many of us found our own voices, I would have my late cousin Kedi Segalo who looked like me but was a better person and I long to hear her voice again and lastly I would have Nina Simone serenade us with song and witty banter.
