South African Roadies Association Networks for Opportunities SARA, the South African Roadies Association, is the only institution in the whole of Africa that offers training in lighting and sound engineering. The organization was established by Freddie Nyathela in 1995 with the aim of giving young people career prospects in the entertainment technology business and equipping them with the necessary qualifications. Every year, 40 young people learn their professions at the school in Johannesburg, South Africa. Up until 2004, the association just had a single room, and it was only with the financial support of the National Lottery and the French embassy that a building with enough space for several classrooms, administration offices, and a storage area could be purchased. Nevertheless, the school still needs to be expanded further because the training program is in high demand. Far more applications are submitted than the training center can accommodate, and applicants come not only from South Africa but also from many other African countries. When they complete their training, many of the graduates work all over the world: One former student works in Dubai as a lighting technician and others are on tour in the USA with the UniverSoul Circus. But most of them will return to South Africa, purchase equipment, and start their own businesses to organize and hold events such as festivals, concerts, and weddings. SARA offers an education at NQF Level 4 (South Africa's National Qualifications Framework) and rents the necessary equipment to graduates for them to use at their own companies. Nyathela started out as a roadie in the '80s for one of the most well-known South African bands, Harari. Harari was the first "people of color" band to own its own technical equipment. "This was my chance to work with the material and travel," Freddie said. "I was in neighboring countries such as Soheto, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. We did our own shows. During apartheid, 'people of color' were not allowed to learn technical skills, and I clearly saw the imbalance in the entertainment industry. That was the moment when the idea was born: Something had to be done so that those who came after us would not have to experience the same things we did. They had to be given a chance to learn the technical skills needed to do productions. This is future-oriented and gives people the opportunity to work worldwide," Nyathela said. To put this idea into practice, he began to set up international support networks and to build SARA. The South African Roadies Association now has connections to organizations all over the world. They support Freddie by sending professionals to South Africa to teach young people and share their knowledge. Many international guests also participate in the Live Event Technical & Production Conference (LETPC), which has taken place every year since 2015. The list of international partners is long: VPLT from Germany, the Backstage Academy from England, and many other institutions from around the world support SARA's goal of giving young people from the townships and other parts of Africa professional opportunities. Festivals such as the Roskilde Festival in Denmark also cooperate with SARA. "We have created all of this because experiences in other countries and cultures are very important for young people and expand their horizons. Meeting people from other cultures and learning from each other is a valuable experience. The South African government is now also beginning to show interest in our work. Up till now, support came from outside the country," Nyathela said. "When I sit here in Frankfurt today and look back, I can say that things are developing very well and that young people have more opportunities now. Many who have completed their training now run their own small lighting, sound, and production companies or work in this business area," he continued. But Nyathela still has many more goals. He is actively working with the government, for example, to improve the training even further and raise the qualification level to NQF Level 6. 
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