Anathi Nyadu, Mignon Hardie, Vhuthu Muavha at the Goethe-Institut.
Photo credit: Goethe-Institut Johannesburg
FunDza was pleased to participate in the mLiteracy Stakeholder Networking event sponsored by the Goethe-Institut South Africa in Johannesburg from 26-28 January 2015.
The event brought together a number of stakeholders that are using technology in innovative ways to improve literacy levels and to build a culture of reading and writing. These included the African Storybook Project, Nal’iBali, Mxit Reach, Yoza, Book Dash, Creative Commons, WikiAfrica, Worldreader, LIASA, the Kenyan Library Association, Joburg City Libraries, Ulwazi, individual authors and poets, and other notable researchers and academics. The Goethe-Institut had also invited organisations to extend the invite to some of their users. FunDza was so pleased to have FunDza Fanz writers Vhuthu Muavha and Anathi Nyadu in attendance.
The discussions allowed participants to map out the mLiteracy ecosystem and discuss some burning issues, such as how to increase mobile usage for literacy purposes, how to engage users in the content creation process, and how to garner support for projects.
One of the outcomes of event was the publication of a page on Mobile Literacy in South Africa on Wikipedia.
Reflecting on the event, Vhuthu Muavha wrote: “I loved the organisation of the conference and the different topics that were discussed around the advantages of mobile literacy projects and the challenges these were facing. I also like the group work activities as these helped me and the group gain ideas and answers to different questions concerning mobile literacy. I was impressed by the work ethic from all the participants as I could see each one wanted to ensure that their project benefits the literacy level of teens, children and young adults in a way that is fun and educational at the same time.
“I feel that the conference was key for people who didn’t know much about mobile literacy and its advantages. I believe that this conference opened peoples’ eyes to the fact that mobile literacy could become one of the best innovative ideas of this century, if marketed properly.
“The fact that there were participants working as librarians means that mobile literacy could be networked and marketed through libraries around the country and the world.”
Anathi Nyadu also wrote a reflection, which is available here as a separate post.