Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) are proud to announce Lakeside Secondary School and McAuley House Primary as the overall winners of the 2018 Web Rangers Digital Literacy Campaign competition in the high school and primary school categories. MMA made the announcement during an awards ceremony held at The Marks Park Sports Club in Johannesburg on 15 September 2018.
Web Rangers is an international programme implemented in various countries such as New Zealand, India, Nigeria and Kenya. In South Africa the initiative is led by MMA together with local partners, Google SA, Facebook, the Film Publication Board (FPB), MTN, Diana Schwarz Attorneys and the Department of Telecommunication and Postal Services (DTPS).Web Rangers encourages young people to champion safer internet behaviours within their schools and communities through the creation of innovative campaigns that promote their rights and active participation in the digital world.
This year the programme has trained 150 children in Johannesburg and 33 children in the Western Cape, on how to navigate and take advantage of the digital space. According to the Web Rangers Project coordinator, Phakamile Khumalo the theme for this year was centred on using the internet to create a better South Africa. “Being a Web Ranger ambassador is not only about being informed about online safety. We hope the Web Rangers will continue to work towards a national call to action to ensure that young people take charge of their knowledge and extend it to other younger people so they too can realise the potential of the internet when used responsibly.”
The Web Rangers campaigns submitted for this year’s competition was adjudicated by panel of judges including social media experts and children from MMA’s Children’s News Agency. According to Khumalo, both of the overall winning campaigns scored highly in terms of clear objectives, social impact and engaging content. “The campaigns showed a combination of technical skills and innovative and thinking in the execution of the campaign.”
Director at MMA, William Bird congratulated the winners, “not only have the winners shown great commitment to online safety and making SA a better place, they have also shone a bright light on the skills of our young people. Giving us hope for our future.”
Below are the winning videos:
High School Category:
Lakeside Secondary School
Primary School Category:
McAuley House Primary School
For enquiries, please contact:
Phakamile Khumalo
Web Rangers coordinator
T: +27 (0)11 788 1278
phakamilek@mma.org.za/ webrangerssa@gmail.com