ZAPP Fest 2026

On Saturday the 14th of March, ZAPP will once again host ZAPPFest, our annual regional youth poetry event, welcoming learners and their teachers from schools across Gauteng. The event will take place at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre and the Inside/Out Centre for the Arts in Forest Town, Johannesburg. Participants will spend the day engaging in creative writing workshops and guided tours of both centres, exploring themes of empathy, memory, social responsibility, and the power of language. Drawing inspiration from these spaces and the histories they preserve, learners will craft original poems responding to the world around them. The day will culminate in a live poetry showcase, where learners and educators will perform their work before an audience and a panel of guest judges. From these performances, a number of outstanding young poets will be selected and recognised for their creativity, voice, and engagement with the themes of the day. ZAPPFest aims to foster a spirit of creative expression, critical reflection, and dialogue among young writers, offering a space where poetry becomes a tool for understanding both history and the present moment.