Liam Witbooi

Preferred portfolios:

Secretary

Vensters*

Media*

*further elaboration under the suggestions heading.

Suggestions:

Firstly, the Vensters portfolio, I think it would be a good idea to introduce a

Vensters/Welcoming committee. This committee would help with the setup and organisation

that goes into Vensters. Such as; banner painting, clothing stencils (if needed), creating and

teaching the dances to the first years and making sure that everything runs smoothly on the

night of Vensters (eg backstage help), etc. I’d also like to suggest that this committee be

comprised of mentors because they do work closely with the first years, but also maybe

opening it up for the rest of the house to apply. Reason for that is because Vensters is a

wonderful experience for the first years and it will give them a chance to expand their network beyond the mentor and HK bodies by getting to know other Piekemanne that they can also connect with.

Furthermore, by allowing other members from the house to be part of the committee it would then potentially give the mentor and HK bodies time off from the first years to complete other tasks that may need to be done. This idea came about when I thought back to my welcoming week with Pieke in 2019. I remember the mentors and HK always being present and active during Vensters rehearsals, I know how much activities and planning that needs to happen during welcoming week and I think having this committee would be able to

lighten the load.

Secondly, the Media portfolio, I’ve noticed that ‘Media” is not a set portfolio in Pieke.

However, I think that it would be a good idea to establish one. Social media is an important

aspect in modern-day life and I think that having an active social media presence across as

many platforms as possible would benefit Pieke, especially if we look at the good ideas like

the Instagram instalments of the “Lockdown Diaries” and the “Pieke Cookbook”. What could

also be a possible venture is to create a media committee, open to the house for

participation. This would allow our members to voluntarily serve the house with their various

skills as photographers/videographers, editors, graphic designers, etc. If this proves to be

successful it could provide Pieke with a media team that could cover our events that are

organised throughout the year. Such as; welcoming week, Vensters, huisfondsdans,

huisdans, socials, etc. The content would then be posted to our social media accounts and

then subsequently can be used as a reference, for prospective Piekemanne and the rest of

campus, about what our PSO has to offer.

Problems in previous leadership structures:

A problem that I think needs to be attended to would be the separation between the

leadership and the first years. I experienced it during the 2019 welcoming week and I was

pleased to hear (via the zoom calls) that it was partially eased this year.

What type of leader I am / want to be:

I consider myself to be an approachable person that’s easy to talk to and that’s what I’d also

like to bring to the table if I am elected onto the Pieke HK body. From my past experiences

in leadership positions, I find that people can be helped easier when they know that they can

ask for help without having to hesitate.

I strive to be a very honest person and this tends to be a double-edged sword as it acts as

both a strength and weakness because the truth can sometimes be harsh. I am also

organised and I am always eager to learn and adapt, given that the world and society are

ever-changing, I believe that it is important to be flexible. I would say that my biggest

weakness would be trying to share duties as I can sometimes be very controlling.

If I should be elected, I expect my HK term to have various obstacles which I will have to

overcome together with my team. As I have stated above the world and society are ever-

changing and if one is not prepared to tackle whatever is put in your path it will prevent growth.

On the other hand, I also expect it to be filled with many memorable and enjoyable moments.

A few of my plans for my potential HK term would be to have a hands-on approach with

Vensters. It has always been my favourite event and I enjoy dancing and working out dances

so I would really love to work on that. In addition, I would also like to organise a game night

or two, possibly during welcoming week or sometime during the year in collaboration with a

residence on campus or with other PSOs.