Minister of Communications joins young women leaders in a conversation aimed opening opportunities for their representation in media

Minister of Communications, Ayanda Dlodlo has confirmed her presence and participation for the upcoming Activate! Change Drivers brunch that is going to be held on August 28^th 2017 in Johannesburg. Activate! is a network that connects young people and equips them with the necessary knowledge and skills to thrive in their respective efforts.

The envisioned outcome of the gathering is to encourage critical partnerships between rural women and existing structures. Conversation participants will also be contributing towards the recently-launched, Activate! Radio; a podcast show that aims to capture uncensored youth opinions across the country using WhatsApp and young journalists working in remote areas.

The motivation behind the engagement is to provide young women from various rural areas throughout the country to be further empowered with the knowledge of identifying existing structures and facilities that will enable them to grow existing programmes ranging from after school homework workshops to sustainable energy initiatives that directly serve a pocket of South Africans that are perceived to be out of reach.

The representation of rural women in media will be at the heart of the conversation. The widening of representation of young women driving change in South Africa has created an evident divide between young women from urban communities versus female youth leaders who are advocating and driving change in rural communities.

The conversation with the Minister will also explore the representation of young rural women in media and how that influences the overall perception and treatments of these future community leaders.

“Access to critical support between pro-active young citizens and South Africa’s development custodians such as; Brand SA, MDDA and GCIS is important to develop and  nourish in order to ensure that youths committed to change are well-equipped to guarantee the success of their programmes and efforts,” says Nelisa Ngqulana, Media and Partnerships Manager at Activate! Change Drivers.

Throughout the years, ACTIVATE! has developed key strategic relationships with media in order  to create multiple adequate representation opportunities in the media for rural women. Through its successful and currently running partnership with Prime Media and Lead SA, the network has been able to provide multi-faceted avenues of representation and exposure for young rural female leaders.

Consisting of a network of over 2000 young leaders from both urban and rural areas, Activate! Change Drivers prioritizes emphasizing and celebrating the power of active citizenry amongst young leaders who are actively driving positive change in their communities.

ENDS

About ACTIVATE! Change Drivers

 ACTIVATE! Change Drivers is a Cape Town based youth organization that is focused on developing young people in South Africa to be future leaders. The network is made up of more than 2 000 youth who are innovating in their communities. ACTIVATE! encourages active citizenry and has had many successful engagement events within the rural areas between local government and communities.