Internet, Information Technology, training and support are taken to the people of Gugulethu as the Shoma Information Technology Centre opens in an initiative between government, private enterprise and the local community.
Dr Pallo Jordan, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, today opened the Shoma Information Technology Centre at the Ikwezi Community centre in Gugulethu. This visionary project has unified national and local government with private enterprise and the people of Gugulethu in the common goal of establishing a modern facility to nurture community growth and development.
The Shoma Information Technology Centre has been brought into being by the Shoma Education Foundation, an initiative by leading Internet company M-Web, which to date has spent close to R1 million in community development projects.
Resources at the IT learning centre include 20 online computers and trainers to facilitate community technology development. Sponsored by leading Internet company, M-Web, the techno-centre will bring IT and the Internet into the lives of the Gugulethu community - in many cases for the first time. This investment will help address the current IT skills shortage in South Africa in an area where unemployment is high, and the rate of students currently going on to higher education is low.
The overriding goal of the Shoma Information Technology Centre is to help close the gap between the 'information-rich' and 'information-poor' in post-apartheid South Africa, via the provision of equal access to technology and the Internet.
Thandi Chaane, the Executive Director of the Shoma Education Foundation, believes that an initiative like this will help drive the African Renaissance. "At Shoma and M-Web, it is our dream that the next Bill Gates will be born out of a community such as Gugulethu. For that dream to be realised, we need to close the gap between those who have access to information technology and those who don't."
Ms Chaane went on to say that M-Web shares the government vision of an African Renaissance. "We believe that Africa is rising, on an economic, social and cultural level. The renaissance will include the major challenge of mastering new technologies, and Government cannot be expected to shoulder this responsibility alone. It is therefore critical for business and government to join hands in constructive partnerships to give impetus to this dream. "
According to Marlon Abrahams, Corporate Social Investment Manager for M-Web, satellite technology will be the next step for the Shoma Information Technology Centre. "We are passionate about this and other community projects we have established in South Africa. This is not a hand-out, but a partnership with the community. In the next couple of months we will be upgrading the computers at the centre with new satellite technology."
This is the third M-Web initiative in the Western Cape to date, an area where only some 5% of the community have access to resources needed to develop IT skills. "We want to level the technological playing field in South Africa. Our country faces a massive IT skills shortage, and in a global economy where technology is pivotal, we want to do whatever we can to realise the dream that the next generation of IT leaders will come from communities like Gugulethu."
Editors note
Shoma Education Foundation
An M-Web initiative, the Shoma Education Foundation is supported by MIH companies Orbicom, MultiChoice and M-Net. The Shoma education model uses multi-media technology to meet the needs of educators who are faced with the challenge of implementing outcomes-based education (OBE) in local schools with the inherited legacy of an apartheid education system. Shoma employs a three-phase approach that uses satellite; the Internet and collaborative lesson planning to ensure educators are fully engaged and take ownership while they acquire new skills. Shoma will facilitate training and education at the Ikwezi Community Centre. M-Web is South Africa's leading Internet company.
About M-Web
M-Web is the Internet company that was unbundled from the MIH Group last year, thereafter listed in March on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as a linked unit with MIH. M-Web is currently the fastest growing service provider in the residential market, and is currently building its profile in the corporate environment. The company has a user base of some 57 000, and focuses on delivering superior, infotainment-based content. It has invested in leading edge network and service infrastructure to ensure it provides subscribers with a fast and reliable service. Headquartered in Cape Town, M-Web owns Computicket, has sister operations in Johannesburg and Durban and a national staff count in excess of 300 (700 including Computicket).
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