WINDHOEK – B2Gold Namibia and the College of the Arts (COTA) Theatre School recently celebrated the ground-breaking of the Skyline Amphitheatre. The ground-breaking was officiated by B2Gold Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer, Clive Johnson, and Director of the College of the Arts, Angelika Schroeder Mootseng.
B2Gold Namibia is the main construction sponsor of the Skyline Theatre, which will be complete by mid- 2015. The ground-breaking was also attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Namibia, Prof Aldo Behrens; Artistic Director of the College of the Arts
Theatre School, Sandy Rudd; B2Gold Namibia CSR Manager, Sherri Lytle; and various other representatives from the Namibian arts and theatre community. Rudd has been championing the amphitheatre project for some time:
“The aim of the project is to build a venue where artists, musicians and cultural groups can perform in a space like no other. We’re taking drama and the arts out of the theatre and to the people so that we can inspire the next generation – all the while taking advantage of the spectacular view of the Windhoek skyline.”
Sherri Lytle related the rationale behind B2Gold’s support of this important project: “B2Gold is very excited about this project. Sandy Rudd has been passionate about theatre and performance her whole life. She specialises in development theatre, community-based theatre, as well as formal and informal productions. She’s known for developing and mentoring young formerly disadvantaged artists on a national and international level, dealing with sensitive issues around HIV/AIDS, human rights, and social ills. For all these reasons this project was an obvious fit for B2Gold due to the industry credentials and knowledge that Sandy and her association with COTA bring to this project.”
This outdoor theatre will be built just above the newly uncovered ancient hot springs, known as the //Gams, overlooking the Windhoek skyline – which also served as inspiration for the name of this new theatre complex.
B2Gold Namibia Corporate Social Responsibility
In 2014 B2Gold completed 30 community-related projects in Namibia as part of its corporate social responsibility commitment. The CSR programme has four focus areas, namely education, health, livelihoods, and environmental conservation. The ultimate aim of B2Gold’s CSR initiatives is to include public participation into corporate decision-making, ensuring that quality of life is improved and safeguarded through decision-making that is based upon relevant statistics and facts in alignment with Namibia’s Millennium Development Goals.