The Department of Energy has released a social media game to encourage South African youth to save electricity.
The game, called Save It!, was developed by the government as part of its National Energy Efficiency Campaign, comprising a schools road show and a communications campaign aimed at educating South Africans about the importance of saving energy. Save It! will be distributed free via the Internet and social networking and instant messaging tool MXit.
Energy minister Dipuo Peters stated at the Tigerkloof Combined School in Vryburg, North West, that the government is constantly looking for new ways to reach its citizens: “We are very excited to be using new media to communicate with the youth - who, let's admit, are already far more techno-savvy than any adult.”
Peters added: “Reaching the hearts and minds of South Africans starts with reaching the youth; we hope that they will take what they have learnt into their homes, their schools and, ultimately, into the future.”
Following the electricity tariff increase and the global economic recession, the government says it's even more strongly dedicated to helping South Africans keep their household electricity bills to a lower amount than ever before.
The department says in a statement that the game features three superhero characters who try to thwart the Energy Guzzler, a power-wasting monster who is using up all of the electricity available in a home. The game is aimed at primary-school children who will be able to compare the points they have scored with other Mxit users across the country.
The South-African developed social networking and instant messaging tool, Mxit, runs on mobile phones and computers. It allows users to send and receive text messages to other users, or to use general chat rooms. It is used by an estimated 14.8 million people, with approximately 250 million messages sent and received every day.
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