DISCOVER, DEVELOP, DEPLOY

Bringing Hope to Creatives and Communities

Vision
A well coordinated talent search programme for the betterment and the livelihood of our communities, where creatives act as agents of change.

Mission Statement
Discover, Develop, Deploy.

Value Proposition
Bringing hope to creative workers and the communities where they come from.

Brief Overview (Origin)
BOM Talent Search was originally a project that was focusing on music, identifying potential musicians and facilitating music business workshops across the districts of the Eastern Cape province for the past two decades. The programme has grown to accommodate most of the art forms, (performing and visual arts), and many sporting codes. The diverse approach necessitated us to partner with various stakeholders in government and the private sector, to ensure that BOM Talent Search delivers diverse solutions for the communities where these participants come from.

This is a 100% black owned South African registered entity, whose offices are located in East London and Johannesburg. We have managed to fully launch our programmes in the province of the Eastern Cape, since 2015, and we are intending to invite the rest of the provinces in South Africa to participate in our 2023 BOM events.

The success over the last years prompted us to run the programme on an annual basis. We have seen the excitement and the commitment of the participating stakeholders in ensuring the maximum reach, hence we have decided to partner with the municipalities through South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and many other role players, both within government and the private sector. Amongst the role players, we can mention, various Eastern Cape Metros, District and Local Municipalities, SA Chefs Association, Standard Bank, EC TVET Colleges, College Sport, Arts and Culture SA (CoSACSA), South African Police Service (SAPS), National Arts Council (NAC), Vodacom, Yamaha, Guild Theatre, Universal Music Group, and many other prominent creative industry players.

Programme Objectives
More specifically, the programme seeks to achieve the following:

Forge partnerships between key role players in the creative industry, government and the private sector, in a hope to promote entrepreneurship;
Identify and nurture local talent in arts, culture and sport;
Educate participants and relevant stakeholder officials on the creative industry performance skills and business value chain, through various workshops;
Empower youth with the critical skills and abilities that they require in order to manage their own performance and success with all related industries;
Support artists in setting up enterprises.

Programme Purpose

As an industry-specific development intervention, the programme is aimed at supporting, growing and making the creative industry more accessible to localized artists.
It is also aimed at supporting local municipalities and provinces to find meaningful measures of increasing competitiveness in local industries, expand it and make it a sustainable sector that enhances cultural and job creation imperatives.

BOM Talent Search initiative is not just a normal talent search, it is a programme that addresses creative industry needs in its totality. We are using artists and the athletes that participate through BOM Talent Search programmes, as a catalyst to address a wider range of industry and community needs within our societies. BOM Talent Search programmes create opportunities for talented individuals to express themselves in their respective art forms or sport codes. The programme also ensures that they get the necessary skills development, according to their areas of need. In the process, BOM is also able to identify other members of the community who are not necessarily participating in any of the art forms or sport codes, whose career paths play a supportive role in the overall BOM programme. We capacitate such individuals with relevant skills set, increasing their chances of employability or create relevant opportunities for their thriving small businesses.

Our key competencies are in Administration, Coordination and Management of;

Talent Search programmes,
Sport, Arts & Culture,
Skills Development Programmes
Entertainment, and
All Creative Industry related events.

Talent
This is the most important aspect that our judges will be looking for. Raw and untapped or undiscovered talent is what defines our existence as the BOM Talent Search.

Originality
We always like the artists to be as original as possible, when expressing themselves. We need to see the most indigenous expression in each art form.

Creativity
There is always an expectation for artists to go beyond what is normally or traditionally expected. We expect them to be more creative, coming up with or adding new dimensions in their performances.

Knowledge
Every contestant is expected to be reasonably knowledgeable in every craft or talent that they will be demonstrating. BOM Talent Search programme is also full of skills development interventions that participants benefit from.

Commercial Viability
It is always very important to ensure that in whatever talent that is discovered and nurtured, there is always a special attention that is given to it, including the way it is packaged, to ensure its viability, commercially.

BOM ACTIVATIONS

These are used as buildup events towards the BOM Auditions. We normally go to the most-busy areas, like taxi ranks, shopping malls, etc., where we usually erect a stage and engage people of that area about the upcoming BOM intervention programmes that will be happening in their local surroundings. We usually use a mobile Stage & Sound solution, in each and every municipality that we travel to. We also make use of local radio presenters from all the respective public/commercial or community radio stations, to penetrate each and every local audience. We normally share this kind of activation on social media/digital platforms, to promote our auditions further and ensure maximum attendance.

BOM AUDITIONS

This is where we discover talent individuals from various art forms. Well experienced and reputable adjudicators are commissioned to judge all the talent that will be displayed in front of them, screening and eliminating all those who do not have a potential of going to the next round of the BOM competition. These activities are designed to happen in the Local Municipalities and in the zones, (when dealing with the metropolitan municipalities). The whole audition process is usually streamed live on social media and it is also recorded for later exploitation on more digital platforms for more audiences. All the selected participants will then qualify to proceed to the next competition round, which is the BOM District Festival. Results are usually available on the same day of the auditions.

BOM DISTRICT FESTIVALS

This is an event that happens in a district level of the municipality and it has an element of talent search competition and a live performance show platform in it, for further entertainment of the attending audience. Similar to the previous round, participants are also able to express themselves in all the other selected art-forms, performing arts, visual arts, and choral competition. This is also an opportunity for all the respective local business communities to participate in a meaningful way, to grow their markets, which will directly influence the creation of new revenue streams for developing artists. These are the District Municipality events that are being used as the feeders to the BOM Finale event, which is usually staged in Buffalo City Metro Municipality, in East London.

BOM WORKSHOPS

At this stage, we ensure that all Talent Search participants (who were selected from the auditions) with career potential are given an opportunity to attend the BOM workshops, where they will be coached well in their artistic skills, and they will be exposed to the business side of the industry that they are in. During these workshops, participants are also trained on how to use the available digital platforms for their own brands’ benefits, and digital devices are normally made available for the necessary workshop experiential training. This becomes part of the broader scope of the BOM Skills Development Programme which addresses the issue of scarce skills and it also assists in alleviating poverty within the creative sector. Such intervention usually encourages many participants and it gives them the necessary confidence they need for the next Talent Search round, which they are expected to prepare for.

BOM FINALE

The event is composed of many activities such as conferences, skills development programmes, stakeholder engagement galas, exhibitions, choral competition, performing and visual artists competitions, art exhibitions, music festivals or performance shows, visual art auctions, etc. This is a period where many of the capacity building workshops are facilitated by various BOM stakeholders or partners across various fields of studies and others are geared to capacitate specific community needs. Another BOM Finale highlight is always the BOM Gala event, whose main purpose is for all the BOM stakeholders to network, and is always for the demonstration of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) by the TVET and university students, “WIL in Action”. The event is usually attended by the executives from various organisations, government and private sector stakeholders; municipalities, TVET colleges, universities, corporates, various government ministries, church fraternity, choral fraternity, and many industry and community based structures and organisations. All the BOM Finale competitions culminate to the top winners receiving a combination of cash prizes, music instruments or equipment and art materials, all aimed at developing further artistic skills of all the successful participants.

In addressing the high youth unemployment rate in our country, we have made a decisive decision to ensure that skills development take a centre place in all our programs, as we partner with various key industry players in the private and public sectors. In most cases, the youth that we deal with, come from the grassroots of our disadvantaged and marginalised communities. Others are already with institutions of higher learning, like TVET colleges and universities, but also in need of the necessary work experience and job shadowing to complete their most needed Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programmes. Whilst the visual arts, performing arts and sports students are participating in various competition activities, BOM focuses on gathering other various groups of students who are not necessarily featured as competing artists or athletes, but playing a supportive role towards the overall success of the BOM events whilst receiving the most needed skills transfer opportunity within their area of study and emerging careers. The model encourages full participation of all our learners, including community participants.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT INTERGRATED EVENT thumbnail

Sydney Qoqonga is the founding President and the CEO of BOM Talent Search, who has been behind the development and the implementation of the entity’s operational systems, including its ecosystem. He has managed to forge strategic partnerships with various organisations in the private sector, government institutions and various government ministries, all referred to as BOM partners. Central to BOM operations, is skills development programmes that Mr Qoqonga is most passionate about. He has been instrumental in creating many Work-Based Experience (WBE) and Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities for the youth coming from various participating institutions of higher learning. He has aligned many diverse community stakeholders, to be the biggest beneficiaries of what BOM stands for, which is, to bring hope and to ensure the betterment of our communities.

Sydney Qoqonga is a multi-skilled manifold experienced entrepreneur with a passion for creative industries and the business thereof. He is a self-driven, result-orientated person with a positive outlook, a clear focus on high quality and a passion for the development of the creative sector in South Africa. He is a dynamic, innovative and versatile leader, hard working and efficient team player with exceptional personal and communication skills. For more that two decades, his entry to the music industry was by chance, having been in the engineering field. This has made him the man behind the music business value chain workshops, staging of big music and entertainment related events, development and management of creative industry brands.

03Oct

BOM FINALE FEST - Copy

2024/10/03 08:00 AM - 2024/10/06 08:00 PM
EAST LONDON ICC, EAST LONDON

This will composed of choral, performing and visual artists competitions. All the competitions will culminate to the top winners receiving a combination of cash prizes, music instruments or equipment and art materials, all aimed at developing further artistic skills of all the successful participants. .

24Jun

BOM EXPO

2023/06/24 10:00 AM
EAST LONDON ICC, EAST LONDON

The BoM Talent Search will again be hosting its BoM Expo in East London ICC, on the 24th of June 2023. The event is composed of Exhibition Stalls, where various organisations use the platform to demonstrate their goods and services to all the BoM Finale Fest visiting audience.

22Jun

BOM GALA

2023/06/22 06:00 PM
EAST LONDON ICC, EAST LONDON

We would like to take this opportunity and invite organisations to participate in our upcoming 2023 BoM Stakeholder Engagement Gala Dinner, to be held in East London ICC on the 22nd of June 2023. This auspicious occasion will be followed by an Exhibition opportunity, titled “BoM Expo”, which will also be staged in the same venue on the 24th of June 2023.

29Sep

BOM GALA (2022)

2022/09/29 06:00 PM
EAST LONDON ICC, EAST LONDON

Another BOM Finale highlight was the 2022 BOM Gala. The main purpose of this event was for all the BOM stakeholders to network, and for the demonstration of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) by the TVET college students, “WIL in Action”. The event was attended by the executives from various organisations, government and private sector stakeholders; municipalities, TVET colleges, universities, corporates, various government ministries, church fraternity, choral fraternity, and many industry and community based structures and organisations. During this event, we also gave honour to the legendary heroine, Noni Jabavu, where we launched her Foundation and also made the very first donation towards its new account, to ensure that her vision of assisting the development of young writers is realised.

2023 BOM FINALE - OPEN CHORAL (Promo) thumbnail

Winning BOM Talent Search artists announced

2022/03/10

The winning artists in the Battle of Municipalities (BOM) Talent Search have been announced, with their paintings displayed at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery until October 22. Talented artists from various municipalities showcase their work at the recent Battle of Municipalities Talent Search.

Choral verses ring out at the ICC

2022/04/10

Battle of the Municipalities brings hundreds of students and singers to the city. The conference halls of the East London International Convention Centre reverberated with the voices of hundreds of people singing in harmony at the Battle of the Municipalities competition at the weekend. ..

Battle of the Municipalities to honour legendary writer Noni Jabavu

2022/08/29

Talent search event brings hope, opportunities to those in creative industry. Artists, musicians and performers from all over the Eastern Cape will compete against one another in the Battle of the Municipalities Finale event at the end of September...

2024 BOM FINALE FEST

Head Office: 2nd Floor, West Towers, Nelson Mandela Square, Maude Street, Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Regional Office: 14 Stewart Drive, Ground Floor, Berea, East London, South Africa

DISCOVER, DEVELOP, DEPLOY

About BOM

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Strategic Approach

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