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#WomensMonth: The Lixesha Series - Athambile Masola

12 Aug 2016

TEDxCapeTownWomen will take place on 29 October 2016, under the theme "Lixesha | It is Time". Inspired by Huffington Post's Sophia project, TEDxCTWomen asked some previous speakers to share their thoughts on time, lessons learnt from inter-generational sharing, and what important skills have taken them years to acquire.

#WomensMonth: The Lixesha Series - Athambile Masola

Athambile Masola was born and bred in the Eastern Cape, and then moved west to Cape Town to start her teaching career at Claremont High School as an English teacher. She is a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, with a history in languages, philosophy and a Masters in Education. Athambile is a contributer to many blogs, including My First Time, FeministSA, Bokomoso Leadership Forum, her own blog Ixhanti Lam, and is also a Mail and Guardian Thoughtleader.

In 2013, Athambile shared her talk on "Learning from Teenagers" at TEDxCapeTownWomen. She has since moved to Johannesburg where she continues teaching, and learning from, South Africa's youth.

1. What does the concept of time mean to you?

Masola: Time means a way we organise our lives. It's also related to how we show things have value. If you value something you tend to give it more time in our lives. Time is also about making sense of the world; another way of organising the world into some order (time zones).

2. What is the greatest thing you have learnt from a younger or older generation than yourself?

Masola: I learned the importance of being kind to myself from an older generation. I tend to put pressure on myself to do things but watching and interacting with older people reminds me that there's no rush for certain things. It's just a matter of being kind to yourself while making decisions about where you want to be.

3. Tell us about something in your area of expertise that took you years to learn.

Masola: I've been a teacher for almost five years and I'm still learning how to listen carefully to the people I work with but especially to listen to my students and respect their views(especially when I disagree).

4. Our TEDxCapeTownWomen theme this year is "Lixesha | It is time". what do you believe is the most pressing issue we as a community/city/country/world need to address at this moment in time?

Masola: Inequality. In all it's forms but especially the inequality between the rich and the poor. It has contributed to so many other issues which is frustrating because it is something that can be fixed.

Website: http://xhantilam.blogspot.co.za/; Twitter: @Athambile.

Watch Athambile's TEDxCapeTownWomen talk: