The JOYburg Revolution Has Begun!

Saturday 15 November marked a new beginning for the city of Joburg as one woman bravely began her mission to transform the city that’s been called the unfriendliest in the world, into JOYburg. Sue Jameson, Joy Activist and Laughter Coach, kicked off the first part of her first prize in the Vodacom #Firsts competition with her ‘my #First Laughter Mob’.

As part of her prize to turn her dream into a reality, she was assigned a world class production team with a producer and directors flying out from London, and a 20-strong crew gathered in South Africa. No expense was spared to ensure that this was a day that would resound in history.

The event on 15 November began at TheSheds  @ 1Fox Street. It was here that Hubert Davies opened mining warehouses in 1893 and where Joburg’s first miners pitched their tents during the gold rush…and seemed the perfect location therefore to begin another ‘gold rush’ with this brave new initiative to transform the city and “call out the gold” in the beautiful people of South Africa.

Many of those who participated were dressed in gold; and young and old had their faces painted by the crew.

At ‘go-time’ Jameson stood up on a table and began to laugh…and her 150 joy bringers stood and joined her as they released the sound of joy and laughter over the city.

After speeches, the JOYful crowd made a procession through the streets of JOYburg. A brass band led the way, together with dancers and drummers… and the marchers waved gold JOYburg flags and carried gold balloons to hand out. Placards with positive messages were carried -‘Love Wins!’ ‘Peace Rules!’ ‘Choose Joy!’ ‘Laugh Always’ and ‘I LOVE JOYburg’ banners were proudly displayed.

JOYburg Manifestos were handed out to the watching public and many of them joined the procession. It was a joyful time of song and dance, and – according to those who participated – many lives were touched.

One of the participants, Ingrid Pepler, said: “I saw so many faces light up as the mob of laughing, smiling super stars reached out and touched their hearts. I saw frowns vanish and smiles appear. I saw people reaching out and loving everybody in sight. I agree, this is undeniably the start of a revolution that will make JOYburg a beacon of light to the rest of the world – or maybe even the rest of the universe!”

Jameson explains that the entire adventure has been miraculous, and the miracles continued on Saturday.

She said, “Having watched the weather for 10 days, I was not surprised when the clouds built up, the wind blew and the rain began to pour on Saturday morning! However, I was convinced that it would all be fine. A song rang in my head… ‘I’ll march my band out, I’ll beat my drum… don’t bring around a cloud to rain on my parade!’

As we drove to 1Fox, the city was shrouded in dark clouds and rain… but as we got closer, the rain subsided and had stopped completely when we parked.

“The day was absolutely perfect, and then later the clouds built up again… and as I got into my car at 4pm to leave, the rain began – and simply poured down. Less than an hour later, there was a beautiful double rainbow over the city! Perfect!”

When Jameson’s not leading the JOYburg revolution, she continues her work, introducing people to the transforming power of joy and laughter through her Dynamic Living Programme.

Stress is the No 1 killer in the world and, according to Jameson, laughter is our greatest weapon against this. She is determined to extend the reach of the programme with many more corporates, government departments, churches and various other groups. Her aim is to build partnerships to run workshops in every South African school, hospital, police station, care givers and other stressed groups.

Ultimately, as organisations invest in the well-being of their staff, through this transformational programme, Jameson plans to reward them with the ‘JOYburg stamp of approval’.

For everyone who has participated, supported, voted, prayed, and sent love to Sue through this incredible journey, she says “thank you” and that “this prize is for each of you… and for all the people of our beautiful city. The #JOYburg Revolution has truly begun!”

The next phase of Sue’s prize will be a documentary in which the whole world will be able to see JOYburg as the ‘City of Joy’! Go Sue, Go!

You can play your part…

You can play your part by adding your voice and calling the city JOYburg – and remembering to hashtag #JOYburg in all your social media. For more information about the programme or partnering with JOYburg, or to book a workshop for your organisation, please fill in the contact form via www.joyburg.co.za.