{"id":71615,"date":"2025-07-16T16:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition"},"modified":"2025-07-16T16:57:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:57:29","slug":"pageant-director-earns-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition","title":{"rendered":"Pageant Director Earns Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong><\/span><b>The director of Junior Idol World Botswana, Lebogang Matheakgomo, says the award bestowed upon her at the recent Junior Idol World competition does not reflect only her personal excellence but also Botswana\u2019s rising reputation in international competitions.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Matheakgomo, who led Botswana\u2019s team of young queens to the global stage, in Bangkok, Thailand was honoured for her outstanding leadership, dedication, and contribution to youth development in pageantry and the performing arts.<\/p>\n<p>She earned international recognition after being awarded Best National Director, Best Supportive Director and an Appreciation Certificate at the recently concluded Junior Idol World competition in Thailand.<\/p>\n<p>The event gathered young talents and national directors from across the globe.<\/p>\n<p>In a field of experienced mentors and organisers, Matheakgomo\u2019s work stood out for its impact, professionalism, and the impressive performance of Team Botswana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis award is not just for me, it is for Botswana, it is for the girls who put their hearts into this competition, and for everyone who supports the development of young talent,\u201d said Matheakgomo in an interview recently.<\/p>\n<p>Under her guidance, Botswana\u2019s team made an impression throughout the competition, and their graceful presence on the international stage earned admiration from judges and fellow participants alike.<\/p>\n<p>Matheakgomo\u2019s award as Best National Director is a testament to years of hard work, mentorship, and passion saying, it was the fourth edition of entering Idol World, where they keep on bringing crowns.<\/p>\n<p>Her recognition also included a certificate of appreciation from the Junior Idol World organising committee, acknowledging her valuable contribution to the event and to youth empowerment.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Matheakgomo said it was a challenging journey to Thailand, among them funding hence stressed on the value of investing in youth talent, calling for more formal backing from governmental bodies and private sector sponsors to sustain such initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMatheakgomo is a trailblazer, her leadership has opened doors for many young girls, and this recognition is well-deserved,\u201d said Joyce Sapelo, a parent whose child was part of the team.<\/p>\n<p>Sapelo said Matheakgomo taught team Botswana\u2019s parents or parents who travelled to support their daughters, to cheer up every child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGosh! we supported every child from all countries regardless of where they came from, it was regarded as a beautiful gesture of unity. We were few but the cheering and vuvuzela noise we made to every child was awesome, part of Botswana good aspect,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Sapelo added that Matheakgomo reminded them that they were not just raising their children, but building future leaders.<\/p>\n<p>She encouraged parents to actively support their children\u2019s passions, talents, and dreams, whether in the arts, sports, academics, or other areas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParental involvement goes a long way, it gives children confidence and shows them that their dreams matter, whether it is a word of encouragement, helping with practice, or just being present, it all counts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Botswana<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. The director of Junior Idol World Botswana, Lebogang Matheakgomo, says the award bestowed upon her at the recent Junior Idol World competition does not reflect only her personal excellence but also Botswana\u2019s rising reputation in international competitions. Matheakgomo, who led Botswana\u2019s team of young queens to the global stage, in Bangkok, Thailand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":71614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-71615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pageant Director Earns Recognition - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The director of Junior Idol World Botswana, Lebogang Matheakgomo, says the award bestowed upon her at the recent Juni ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pageant Director Earns Recognition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The director of Junior Idol World Botswana, Lebogang Matheakgomo, says the award bestowed upon her at the recent Juni ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T16:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T16:57:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/07\/sm_1752672157.481519.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Pageant Director Earns Recognition\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-16T16:00:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-16T16:57:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition\"},\"wordCount\":490,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/07\/sm_1752672157.481519.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/pageant-director-earns-recognition\",\"name\":\"Pageant Director Earns Recognition - 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