Bridging the digital gap among youth
BRYANSTON – Facebook Southern Africa has remained committed to investing in Africa’s youth all while helping to close the digital gap between and within countries.
It is important to bring youth industry leaders together to inspire and demonstrate the importance of digital skills.
This was according to Facebook’s head of public policy for the Southern African Development Community, Nomonde Gongxeka-Seopa at the recent Youth Digital Skills Forum.
The forum, which aims to encourage dialogue around digital skills, is the result of a partnership between youth-led organisation Digify Africa, based in Melville, and Facebook Southern Africa, based in Bryanston.
Alongside Gongxeka-Seopa on the panel was National Youth Development Agency CEO, Waseem Carrim, Digify Africa COO, Qhakaza Mohare, head of IAB Education Council and managing director of Hello Computer, Joey Khuvutlu, and many more.
According to Mohare, one of the main objectives of the forum was to inspire and inform young South Africans who are interested in careers in the digital space.
“[We want] to showcase how digital tools can be used to promote economic recovery through entrepreneurship and job creation especially in the period of Covid-19 which has challenged us to innovate,” said Mohare.
Carrim noted one of the main challenges that the youth of today were faced with was unemployment.
“Our estimation is that during the lockdown, as a result of the pandemic, approximately two million jobs were lost and estimations today suggest that only one million of those jobs have reasonably ‘bounced back’,” he said.
Gongxeka-Seopa added that this was one of the reasons why Facebook Southern Africa had remained committed to investing in Africa’s youth all while helping to close the digital gap between and within countries.
“As we celebrate Youth Month in June, it is a timely reminder that developing digital and technology skills among the continent’s young people is key to igniting economic recovery.”
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/296368/city-launches-drive-for-youth-entrepreneurship/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/293836/propelling-youth-forward/
