Renaldo Schwarp
The alumnus award honours a member of the alumni community who has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Schwarp, who is currently digital lead at Jacaranda FM, graduated with a BA (Drama and Theatre Studies) degree, specialising in media from the university in 2012, whereafter he completed his postgraduate degree.
As one of the youngest recipients of this award, Schwarp was commended for building a prominent and credible career in media since graduating. During the online ceremony held on 1 October, he was lauded for the skilful way in which he uses his skillset and platforms to amplify stories that are inclusive and truly representative.
“I’m honoured and grateful for this acknowledgment from the university. Receiving this type of recognition from my alma mater is a career highlight,” the multi-hyphenate said.
Since graduating, Schwarp has worn many professional hats, working for some of the biggest media brands in South Africa. As an award-winning journalist, radio host, TV presenter and producer and digital media specialist, he is a great example of a modern, well-rounded media professional and changemaker.
“I think if you have a platform, it is not only important to inform and entertain, but also to try to affect change – however small it may seem. That is why I am extremely intentional with which projects I spearhead.”
To date, perhaps Schwarp’s greatest contribution to the advancement and celebration of fringe narratives in the local media landscape, has to be the work he does with his production and PR agency, Sharp Pictures.
In 2019, the agency produced Skeef: Die Dokumentêr, an internationally-recognised film on the lived experiences of LGBTI+ South Africans. It screened in the USA at the Palm Springs LGBTI+ Film Festival, the Kyknet Silwerskemfees and, more recently, as part of the US Toyota Woordfees 2020 Film Festival.
Schwarp, who in 2019 was listed as one of Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans and also received a Koker Youth Award at the 2019 Afrikaanse Taalraad (ATR) Koker Awards, is currently writing his first book that is set to be published mid-2021.
