KZNBDS staff and the learners
The KwaZulu Natal Blind and Deaf Society (KZNBDS) recently had twenty of their members undertake a digital media training course at their head office in Durban.
The digital training is an initiative from Media24 under the platform called WeCan24 – a mobile based digital school and youth news network developed by Media24 helping youth to be citizen journalists.
“We started last year to focus on blind and visually impaired learners from the Cape Town Society for the Blind and five candidates from KZNBDS as a pilot, “said Tina Thiart, from the NPO Network, one of the training partners of the project.
“There is an opportunity for these learners to utilise voice notes to make podcasts and tell their stories,” Tina added.
The one day crash course equiped the learners with basic elements of using visual media, recording sound, conducting and handling interviews.
Wecan24 aims to attract the diversified voice from schools as well as the youth for a wide readership on its digital platform.
“I did the initial training last year but nothing happened after that,” mentioned Siyabonga Vilakazi, one of the five KZNBDS members that took part in the training last year.
“I’m glad that I’m again part of this project and have been signed up to on the platform to contribute and for my voice to be heard. I have so much to talk about on the needs of blind people and their exclusion from socio-economic platforms,” added Vilakazi.
The training was done at the KZNBDS Media centre which was recently renovated and painted by volunteering students from the University of KwaZulu Natal on Mandela Day. The students took time to come to the training to meet digital media learners and to describe the murals they painted on the walls.
The training was a jointly done by Wecan24 training partners; the NPO Network, Clothes to Cash Exchange and THISABILITY NEWSPAPER.
If you want to be part of the program, kindly register on www.wecan24.co.za and request training for your school or organisation.
