Communications Deputy Minister Stella Ndabeni Abrahams says with SABC set with 16 channels, young people are to be encouraged to into the media as the digital migration process is underway
Communications Deputy Minister Stella Ndabeni Abrahams spoke at the Lusaka Community Hall in Nyanga as 35 Western Cape learners graduated from a Film and Television Production Skills Programme. According to both bizcommunity and allafrica, the Deputy Minister said the graduation of the trainees comes at a time when the department was embarking on the much anticipated digital migration project.
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams delivered a budget vote speech on behalf of the department of communications on 20 May 2015. As part of the media diversity section of the speech, Ndabeni-Abrahams said that "SABC and MDDA will support the community radio sector, through the programme production initiative which will be targeting young people. In partnership with Forscene we are going to train unemployed youth, learners and teachers on Online Video Editing Software. Chairperson, we will also be engaging the Campus radio stations across institutions of higher education in the Country.
"In addition, Chairperson, we are going to provide community radio stations with equipment and infrastructure.
"MDDA and the South African Weather Service have joined hands in capacitating community radio stations on weather reporting and analysis. This will commence by the end of June." The full speech can be viewed via the government communications website here.
These graduates are demonstrating the South African aims to invest in the digitalisation of the country and wider, the continent and its movement towards greater media consumption. The continents youth have taken to the networked life and many small businesses are run from mobile internet connections. Therefore, many state governments are looking to harness this youthful energy to create and run its media.
