An intimate insight of what occurred at the Gauteng Youth Expo which took place from the 13-17 June 2019. The Youth Expo was hosted to commemorate youth month and stood as a Gauteng provincial government initiative that was coordinated by the Departments of Education and Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation to provide a space for students and unemployed youth across gauteng to showcase their talents and collections.

It brought together institutions from both the public and private sector — on the 13th and 14th, we had sports, workshop and cultural activities. Exhibitions were done on the 15th, which led the way to the most significant event of the expo — Student Designers Enroute (a fashion show which took place on the 16th of June). The main objective of the show was to create a link between the supply and demand market, it was to give scouts an opportunity to identify young models and fashion designers. About 36 young designers took part in the show, provided a start up grant by NFDA, and each designer was assigned to a model. They were all allowed to showcase 2 pieces from their collection. Make up services were provided by Cosmetology students from TVET colleges.

The final day of the Gauteng expo comprised of conversations on developmental issues the youth faced, an interaction between the participants and the guests, speeches were rendered by government officials, and a couple of designers were given an opportunity to have their collection showcased on the runway during the South African Fashion week.