A SchoolNet Namibia project, Hai Ti!, has been awarded third place in the community engagement category in the 2005 World Summit Youth Award.
Hai Ti!, which means 'listen up' in Oshiwambo, is a comic title produced by Strika Entertainment. It was launched in Namibia this year. SchoolNet Namibia has collaborated with OpenLab, The Namibian newspaper and Direq International, to produce and distribute the magazine.
"SchoolNet and Strika's innovation around applying a classic medium like the comic to a contemporary ICT challenge is probably one of the primary reasons it was placed in the World Summit Youth Award," says Bruce Legg, Strika writer.
"Although learners are generally regarded as eager adopters of new technology, the comic is giving them a better understanding of what possibilities ICT presents in a visual and dramatic way.
"The first 24-page issue of Hai Ti!, which continued as 20 weekly instalments in The Namibian newspaper, was entered into the awards in March and the announcement was made in October," says Legg.
The World Summit Youth Award aims to provide a wide-reaching platform for youth-led ICT projects. Entrants had to submit projects in one of three categories: development, community engagement, creativity and culture.
The goal of the comic is to engage and empower learners and teachers, by educating them about the possibilities presented by SchoolNet and its open source software and content, developed by OpenLab, says Legg.
"SchoolNet identified the comic medium as one that could achieve all its objectives in a credible, easy-to-understand and appealing format."
The comic teaches generic computer tasks, such as copy and paste, and Namibian-specific computer issues such as the consequences of lightning strikes on hardware, and also highlights the role of computers in increasing people's access to information and education, says Legg.
SchoolNet Namibia initiated the project to entice teachers and students into the digital world. SchoolNet Namibia has, since 2000, connected close to 450 schools with free hardware and free training on the OpenLab operating system, and has subsidised the telephone service to connect learners to the Internet.
The second volume of Hai Ti! will be available from The Namibian newspaper on 8 November. It will be a collection of all weekly instalments, with a pullout and fold-up brochure of tips and tricks for the SchoolNet lab.
"After a successful first year, the comic will continue in 2006," says Legg.
Strika Entertainment and SchoolNet also plan to roll-out localised versions of Hai Ti! to other regions in Africa.
Hai Ti! will be the core feature of the SchoolNet Namibia stand at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia from 16 to 18 November.
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