Entities that fall under the Department of Communications (DoC) will donate vouchers worth more than R50 000 to families in Kurland township, who survived the Western Cape fires.
Addressing community members in KwaNokuthula Community Hall in Bitou Municipality, Director in the Ministry of Communications, Peter Mofokeng, said this humble contribution is meant to help the families in their time of need.
“It is an attempt to help them … start [anew] in their lives. I will also be visiting some families who suffered this gruesome loss as part of our community work and relationship building in this area,” Mofokeng said.
On Monday, the Department of Communications, together with its entities, visited KwaNokuthula, where they shared information about opportunities that exist for young people in the communication sector.
The entities included the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA).
“The communications space has a lot of opportunities for career development and youth advancement in general.
“We are working tirelessly to transform the sector, especially as it relates to patterns of ownership in media. It is imperative that in the process of dealing with media and diversity issues, we prioritize the skills development initiatives for the youth,” Mofokeng said.
Opportunities for youth in broadcasting
ICASA Regional Manager Desmond Johns encouraged graduates to apply for opportunities to gain experience in the work place through its graduate programme.
The 24-month programme has a number of disciplines such as Human Resources, Marketing, Public Relations, Communication, Engineering as well Social Science and Humanities.
Johns said the programme provides an opportunity for newly qualified graduates as well as unemployed graduates to gain practical experience and theoretical training. The programme takes 15 candidates per annum.
MDDA board chairperson Phelisa Nkomo urged people who have an interest in the media industry to form cooperatives that can establish a community newspaper in Bitou.
Nkomo encouraged community members to understand how cooperatives work so that they access opportunities that are offered by her organisation, such as training in news writing and accessing funding.
Using internet responsibly
The Film and Publication board’s Dr Natalie Skeepers urged community members to avoid putting pictures of minors on social media, as there are “paedophiles on the internet”.
Skeepers warned the youth against taking naked pictures of themselves and sharing these.
“Do not trust your boyfriend with rated pictures of yourself. If you are found with material with sexual content with minors, you can go to jail,” she said
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