Over the past few weeks, the teams at Jozi My Jozi, Johannesburg In Your Pocket, and our valued partners have been hard at work on the 2025 edition of #JoziMyJoziWalks. In response to our callout, applications have poured in, and now a selection of walks have been chosen. The chosen walk guides will each receive an allocation of funding, and other forms of support in order to host these experiences over one weekend.
Sthembiso Dlamini, CEO of Gauteng Tourism Authority says, "We have been most inspired by the richness of tourism content that is emerging, showing Joburg as a destination that has a lot to offer to visitors. We’re excited to be able to support this, and see Jozi My Jozi Walks come to life."
From the judging panel
After the first call for entries for the 2025 iteration of Jozi My Jozi Walks, Joburg's would-be tour guides weren't shy to deliver: Fifty submissions were received to lead walking tours in the city's key neighbourhoods. What followed was the tremendously difficult task of whittling them down to just 12. It soon became apparent that 14 would be a fairer number.The judging team assembled by Jozi My Jozi's creative economy catalyst Dawn Robertson, included PR manager Janet de Kretser, Mbali Zulu, and Maria Malepa (Malepa is of Lebo's Soweto Backpackers fame), and Johannesburg In Your Pocket's founder and editor Laurice Taitz-Buntman.
"From this process, one idea stands out above all: Joburg’s complex character is understood and experienced differently by each person who walks its streets, underpinned by their unique perspective. Jozi My Jozi Walks has unlocked a series of utterly authentic stories and ways of telling them," says Taitz-Buntman.
Key themes that emerged from the 2025 walk submissions
Here's what stood out to us from the 2025 submissions.
COMMUNITY: In Joburg's neighbourhoods, residents find ways to connect, support one another, and shape identity together through everyday life.
CREATIVE ECONOMY: The city is fuelled by rich creative and cultural activities, and Joburg has a powerful creative economy.
FOOD: The multicultural history of this migrant city is represented in what we eat and is a source of inspiration for cooks and chefs, from street food markets to eateries.
NIGHTLIFE: Joburg's streets after dark reveal hidden rhythms and patterns of social life, and a deep desire to gather and connect safely.
RESILIENCE: Many city neighbourhoods deal with great adversity, and this has shaped responses driven by creativity and activism to drive social change.
SUSTAINABILITY: Urban agriculture, food systems, clean water, and ecological initiatives show how communities are responding to environmental challenges with practical solutions.
"It's heartening to see that in what appears to many to be a largely unmanaged city, people are constantly inventing ways to create opportunities, thriving communities, and neighbourhoods," says Robertson, of Jozi My Jozi.
The winning Jozi My Jozi Walks of 2025
The judges have spoken! Now for the moment we've all been waiting for... the fabulous lineup for Jozi My Jozi Walks 2025, in alphabetical order.
ALEXANDRA
1. Alexandra Impact Tour
Led by Josephine Katumba, the Alexandra Impact Tour will take visitors into the heart of Johannesburg's oldest township, Alexandra, exploring Gcwalisa’s community-embedded outlets that tackle food insecurity, unemployment, and plastic waste. Alongside visiting local spazas, eateries, Alexandra High School, the Alex Museum, and Nelson Mandela’s first Joburg home, participants will connect with community anchors and youth entrepreneurs. More than a sightseeing tour, the Alexandra Impact Tour will offer an authentic, collaborative window into township resilience and innovation, with every visit contributing directly to local impact.
2. Alexandra: Walk, Listen, Connect
Alexandra: Walk, Listen, Connect led by Abby Sechoaro invites visitors into one of Johannesburg’s oldest and most storied townships. This walking tour uncovers Alexandra’s layered history through its worker hostels, striking murals, bustling markets, and thriving street culture. Along the way, residents share personal stories of resilience, creativity, and pride, offering an authentic connection to the township’s past and present. More than just sightseeing, the experience challenges stereotypes, sparks meaningful conversations, and directly supports local livelihoods. It’s a journey into the heart of Joburg’s history, culture, and community spirit.
BRAAMFONTEIN AND NEWTOWN
3. Time Flies and the Great Mace
Dr Myer Taub (a past #JoziWalks alumnus) and Zeno Jacobs of Wits School of Arts, are putting together a treasure hunt engaging with the Wits campus and surrounds in Braamfontein and Newtown. While the details will likely remain under wraps, as that's part of the fun, we guarantee this will be unlike anything you've experienced before.
4. The Moving Garden Studio: Colour & Cultivate
Join Nkululeko 'Nkuli' Motloung of Plenty Green Africa for this experience, a partnership with an urban farming project, and Eating With Marbz, a chef and recipe developer. Enjoy a healthy, garden-inspired grazing table while Wildcraft Art Studio will supply materials for a painting session, allowing guests to express themselves creatively. You can look forward to sharing the meal preparation while enjoying curated vinyl music rooted in urban and indigenous culture. The experience will include a guided tour of the Wits Food Sovereignty Hub – a vibrant example in the heart of Johannesburg of how urban spaces can be reimagined through urban agriculture, ecological sustainability, and community-driven solutions to food insecurity.
BRAAMFONTEIN WERF
5. Made and Remade – A Walk of Joburg Stories
The Made and Remade – A Walk of Joburg Stories explores Braamfontein Werf (Milpark), tracing Johannesburg’s story of reinvention through 44 Stanley, Atlas Studios, and The Test Bakery. Beginning with coffee at Bean There and stops like the Drum Archive Store, Mr Vinyl, and the Library of Things We Forgot to Remember, participants will encounter cultural spaces that connect the city’s past and present. Guided by Tebogo Galagala from Banditz Bicycle Club, the tour highlights how old industrial buildings have been transformed into hubs for food, fashion, film, and design, offering an engaging, people-focused experience rooted in Joburg’s spirit of transformation.
BRIXTON
6. Brixton through the Lens of the Youth
Attended the Brixton Light Festival? This is gonna be equally fun. Join Camille Behrens along with Shade community to see Brixton through the lens of the youth. This walking tour invites you to experience Brixton as a lively, interconnected neighbourhood where cultures and generations meet in the streets, parks, and alleyways. From bicycles, skateboards, and children’s games spilling into public spaces to murals, music, and performances animating the urban landscape, the area thrives on creativity and community. The walk also explores how waste, art, and play shape new ways of imagining the city. Along the way, you’ll encounter Kingston Frost Park’s Saturday buzz of cycling lessons, soccer games, and art classes, witness local artists activating alleyways, and enjoy amagwinya from Ma Jeanette’s kitchen.
FORDSBURG
7. Jozi Table and Also My Jozi Tours
For those of you who weren't aware: There's more to Fordsburg than just the Oriental Plaza. Co-led by Faarooq Mangera and Lehlomela Khumalo, join a tour experience in Fordsburg that weaves together memory, migration, food, art, and activism across Fietas, Mayfair East, Burgersdorp, Fordsburg, and Old Chinatown. Co-led by The Jozi Table and Also My Jozi Tours, this experience blends a sensory journey through Jozi’s migration, food, and art with a deeply personal walk through mosques, homes, and activist histories, centring community memory, resilience, and the city’s layered stories across generations.
HILLBROW
8. Hillbrewed Walking tour
Ever passed through Hillbrow and curious to explore its streets? Tebogo Mabye, who you may remember from Masterchef South Africa 2024, is hosting a walking tour of Hillbrow that will talk you through some of its forgotten stories, and what makes this inner city neighbourhood unique. Mabye will lead you to cool hidden spots. Expect martial arts demonstrations, flash mobs, art sights and tasty bites on the way.
INNER CITY
9. Indigenous African Food tour
If you are fascinated by indigenous African food in Johannesburg and the melting pot of cultures, particularly in the City Centre, this tour is for you. Led by Kganyapa and Ayanda of Exotically Divine Pulse, who occupy the historic Drill Hall, this tour maps the traders and markets selling traditional produce and ingredients.
JEPPESTOWN
10. Culture, Creativity, and Community and Eyes Over the Walls of Jeppestown
Discover two sides of Johannesburg’s living heritage. Food technologist Sithuli Mbeje and craft expert Eugenie Drakes lead a Kwa Mai Mai tour, where rural Zulu traditions thrive in the city through food, craft, and community-driven markets – highlighted by tasting shisa nyama and other local delicacies. Then Thusi Vukani of Too Greenish Movement guides a walk through historic Jeppestown, revealing fading urban spaces, rich architecture, and vibrant community life, culminating in a visit to Wolhuter Hostel and a performance by an Isicathamiya dance group. Expect an immersive experience that celebrates heritage while reflecting on contemporary challenges.
KENSINGTON
11. The Magical Kensington Moonrise Walk
Led by Ufrieda Ho, Dionne McDonald, Fleur Honeywell, and Bronwyn Krige. here's a chance to take back the pleasure of walking our city streets at night. On this route, you will explore parts of one of Joburg's oldest (and hilliest) suburbs to reach a cherished but hidden lookout point with sweeping views over the city. Expect lit giant puppets, a lantern procession, and a musical backdrop.
LORENTZVILLE
12. Water for the Future
The most interesting things in Joburg are often accidental, and the start of Water for the Future is indicative of this. Romy Stander, the NGO’s director, in Lorentzville, started a simple mission of cleaning the Jukskei River eight years ago and which snowballed to benefit the surrounding community. Stander will now host a walking tour of the Jukskei River, along with providing solutions for climate change in the city. This is an opportunity to experience the intersection of history, science, community, and nature restoration for climate change adaptation. The route holds deep historical value, tracing stories of how the river has shaped the people and the city around it.
MELVILLE
13. Melville Unlocked: Voices of our Village
According to Aubrey Moloto, leader of this Melville tour, "Melville represents something that has become rare in urban South Africa: a neighbourhood where the community actually works." It's not the trendy cafés or weekend markets that make Melville special. For Moloto, it's witnessing "How residents, artists, entrepreneurs, and community organisations have genuinely collaborated to solve problems, celebrate heritage, and build connections that make daily life better for everyone." This immersive experience is a chance to meet some of the people who make Melville tick.
SOWETO
14. The Soweto Art Mile
Built in 1969 by Ephraim Batana and Caroline Kinini Tshabalala, the iconic Eyethu Cinema lives on through the family-run Eyethu Heritage Hall – a cultural venue on the first floor of Eyethu Shopping Centre in Mofolo Central, Soweto. Nowadays, the Hall honours the cinema’s legacy with colourful pop-art-style exhibits that capture the spirit of its golden era. The couple’s granddaughter, Lerato Tshabalala-Mini will now lead a tour called "The Soweto Art Mile". The walk uses performance like choirs, local brass bands, poetry, jazz, and a market to activate historic and cultural spaces along the route. Each stop highlights Soweto’s resilience and artistry, from Robert Sobukwe’s home to Eyethu Heritage Hall and Inside-Out Music Jams, ending at Mofolo Art Centre with food, crafts, and music.
This judging process revealed incredible potential for growing Joburg's tourism offerings. By introducing new additions alongside Joburg's already established offerings, Jozi My Jozi Walks aims to support and grow emerging tourism businesses.
Now that the final walk list has been announced, the next part of the process gets underway, which entails a series of workshops where walk hosts will gain access to specialist coaching and mentorship in preparation to host you. Watch this space for updates.
SAVE THE DATE for the 2025 edition of Jozi My Jozi Walks on Sat, Sep 27 and Sun, Sep 28, 2025. In addition to the walks officially part of the programme, there'll be a broader lineup of walks around the city from known Joburg tour guides and heritage experts. It's going to be jam-packed and wonderful – you don't want to miss it.
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