Media Release 

8 February 2022

2022 Web Rangers South Africa : Bigger and Better

JOHANNESBURG, 8 February 2022 – Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), together with partners –  Department of Communication and Digital Technologies (DCDT), the Film and Publication Board (FPB), Google, Meta, and Dendons are proud to announce the launch of the 2022 Web Rangers intake.

The Web Rangers programme is an international digital and media literacy initiative designed to empower young people with critical skills so they engage with media & the internet responsibly and encourage their peers to do the same.

The young people who form part of the programme:

• Create innovative online safety campaigns that empower their peers with skills and information.
• Become child online safety ambassadors that promote active digital citizenry within their communities.
• Engage in high-level ICT related policy discussions and submissions that will ensure that their voices are heard and participation prioritized.

Since its inception in 2016, the programme has directly trained more than 1500 young people across South Africa. Through the outreach activities of these incredible Web Ranger ambassadors, a further 6000 children have gained critical knowledge on how to use the internet and social media safely and responsibly.

Going into its 6th year of successful implementation, the programme seeks to continue to upskill learners, teachers and parents through a rigorous training process. In 2022, the programme will have a special training focus on schools in Mpumalanga, Free State, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, Western Cape, while continuing to provide support to all 9 provinces through its outreach activities.

Programme lead, Phakamile Madonsela shared her excitement for the annual launch – “ Web Rangers has always launched its annual intake on Safer Internet Day because it provides the perfect opportunity to raise awareness on the important work we do around child online safety. Web Rangers is the only digital literacy initiative in South Africa to enjoy support from business, government and civil society, and to be able to continue to expand in the work we do in 2022 is just incredible!”

Madonsela also mentioned that there will be a big surprise in store for the 2022 intake that will be announced soon.

For further information, please contact:

Phakamile Madonsela, Media Monitoring Africa, Tel: 011 7881278, phakamilek@mma.org.za

For more information about Web Rangers SA and its work for children visit  www.webrangers.co.za,

Follow Webrangers SA on Instagram @webrangersza and Facebook @webrangersSA.

About MMA

Media Monitoring Africa‘s vision is a responsible, quality media that enables an engaged and informed citizenry in Africa and across the world. MMA aims to promote the development of a free, fair, ethical and critical media culture in South Africa and the rest of the continent. To achieve MMA’s vision, the three key areas that MMA seeks to address through a human rights-based approach are: media ethics, media quality and media freedom.

For more information about MMA and its work for children visit www.mediamonitoringafrica.org
Follow MMA on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube