WHAT? ...WHO? ...WHY?...
If this is the first time you are hearing/reading about the DIGGZ Youth A’live Media & Leadership project, allow me to give you some background to the project.
We officially got our tools, labour & brainpower to action in November 2003. Then we were called the Diggz Youth A’live RADIO project, training 25-30 youth to be youth radio producers & presenters on 8 community radio stations in Cape Town (Bush Radio) , Stellenbosch (MFM), Athlone (Radio 786), Rondebosch (UCT Radio), Paarl (Radio KC), Atlantis (Radio Atlantis), Khayelitsha (Radio Zibonele) & Worcester (Valley FM.
Since 2005 we have expanded to include print media training and the projects’ core focus is SUPPORTING WORKING CLASS YOUTH TO BE ACTIVE CITIZENS IN THEIR COMMUNTIES by forming and strengthening their OWN INDEPENDANT YOUTH COMMUNITY STRUCTURES.
We are young people from Atlantis, Mitchell’s Plain, Witzenberg district municipality, Khayelitsha, Phillipi and Worcester.
AS youth we have decided to form independent community youth organisations that deal with issues that affect us as working class youth, by this we mean youth from poor communties.
We are aware that there are racial divisions within the youth but the most important thing is for us it to realise that we are working class youth. We face the same issues, viz. a lack of quality education in our schools, poor service delivery for youth, as well as the problem of HIV and Aids. All of these issues seriously threaten our future.
Our organisations will give a platform to working class youth to debate and discuss issues that affect them. These organizations will not be affiliated to any political party, religious group or government structures. We will strive for gender balance in our organisations, this means respecting each other’s opinions irrespective of gender. We will organise to campaign around the issues that affect working class youth so that we can improve conditions for youth.
The core themes we focus on are Education and Youth & Local Government with Gender & HIV/AIDS as threads throughout both themes. We organise monthly workshops with +/- 60 youth from the areas mentioned above, including local fieldwork meetings in our communties.
During these sessions we engage in OUR YOUTH ISSUES! We learn ORGANISATIONAL skills, LEADERSHIP skills and MEDIA skills….WHY? Why else...BUT TO GET ORGANISED!
SO THAT WE AS YOUTH ARE ON THE AGENDA ! SO that OUR VOICES, WORKING CLASS YOUTH VOICES ...ARE HEARD and taken SERIOUSLY!
For more info contact Karriem, Lunga or Jumbo on 021 447 2727.
Email: karriem@wwmp.org.za; lunga@wwmp.org.za, jumbo@wwmp.org.za, admin@wwmp.org.za
F
