Janet Smith
The way you see the world had better be elegant, fast, utterly modern and definitely sexy if you want to survive youthtopia into the next millennium.
Even if there’s a cause, it may no longer be conducted in Jesus sandals and roll-on deodorant.
The way Cape Town’s Nobleman Motsa is seeing the world now is with his feet plugged into skates rock’n’rolling around the planet for four months. And there are no placards, just curvy day-glo tights and hot-as-hell torso-binding shirts, for the campaign he’s on.
Motsa, an endurance in-line skater for seven months, is the African ambassador on the European Commission’s One Globe One Skate initiative, which not only has the support of MTV Europe, but also has Nelson Mandela as its patron.
Late last month in London, he joined four other skaters from the United States, Australia, Japan and Germany to slide out on the first leg of the racy tour which will raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and promote the European Year Against Racism.
And Motsa did not only have to present his credentials as an Olympic gymnast, professional dancer, stunt man and sports management graduate, in order to be considered for this exhilarating project. Like all the other candidates from five different continents, he also had to submit an essay which set forth his vision for his life.
Constantly monitored by the European Institute for Sports Science at the University of Cologne in Germany, the skaters will cover 11 000 km in 16 countries to demonstrate that individuals can achieve great things by working as a team.
This statement about inter-continental unity will be carried to the world in smartly cut inserts on MTV Europe, which has equipped the five skaters with digital video cameras to document the time of their lives. The international network’s position on the campaign is that, as a voice to the youth of the planet, they can bring awareness of racism effectively.
Dstv subscribers in South Africa will witness Motsa’s dream world on speed and adrenalin on the channel from now until November 22 when the campaign culminates in Cape Town.
The skaters are in good company in promoting the European Year Against Racism. Other ambassadors include the sizzling Spanish dancer (and Naomi Campbell’s ex) Joaquin Cortes, pop artist Neneh Cherry and British athlete Linford Christie. The One Globe One Skate concept ties in with other activities sponsored by the European Commission, inclu ding a Youth Against Intolerance symposium in Belgium, training for Austrian judges on combatting hostility to foreigners, an anti-racism pop festival in Britain and a week on anti- racist cinema in France.
The EC’s budget on the year’s events is ECU 4,7-million.