Taxi drivers pen down their personal experiences at Murray Park Library
JOBURG – The aim of the programme is to address digital illiteracy by including the digitally marginalised groups within our communities.
The taxi drivers’ digital skills and creative writing programme kicked off at Murray Park Library on August 13.
The programme encourages digital inclusiveness.
It provides taxi drivers with basic skills in using technology such as the internet and Wi-Fi and basic computer skills.
It also introduced taxi drivers to creative writing, enabling them to write their personal life stories.
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The programme is aimed at Murray Park taxi drivers who transport school learners.
The drivers will attend the training sessions at the library during their midday breaks.
“The aim of the programme is to address digital illiteracy by including the digitally marginalised groups within our communities. The e-learning unit believes that citizens in this sector have a lot of personal stories about the taxi industry and its culture within our society that can be expressed through creative writing.
“The programme will collect such stories while equipping the group with much-needed computer skills that will allow them to be part of the digital society,” said City of Joburg e-learning manager Jeff Nyoka.
Representatives of the local taxi association were invited.
Dumisani Mdunjana from the taxi association highlighted the importance of the programme.
“We have a lot of young drivers who appreciate this opportunity. It’s an opportunity to learn new skills. They will also share their stories through writing,” he said.
A female taxi driver, Nomsa Tolbart, said she is grateful for the opportunity that the city presented them with.
“I would like the librarian to teach us how to use the internet as we need to assist the learners with their homework,” she said.
Sonke Gender Justice official Thomas Khonde applauded the city’s libraries for introducing e-learning services and emphasised that digital skills can be used to address gender issues and reporting abuse, especially for vulnerable citizens.
The drivers said they hope to buy their own laptops and they hope to learn different ways of using the internet on their laptops while they wait for learners.
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