Mobile community, Young Africa Live (YAL) was introduced on Vodacom Tanzania yesterday, marking its debut in the East African market.
The portal aims to give young people a platform to engage on topics including love, sexual health, gender, relationships and other relevant issues. Created by Johannesburg-based mobile developer, Praekelt Foundation, YAL is intended to encourage conversation through an accessible medium, and so aid positive behaviour change around relationships, safe sex and HIV.
“The platform will therefore empower youth to become catalysts for change, connecting them to Tanzanian healthcare providers and create a new experience of what can be achieved by mobile Internet as a platform,” the Foundation says in a release.
Young Africa Live: Tanzania is available free to Vodacom subscribers through the Vodacom Mobile portal, and was released on World Aids Day - two years after the launch date of YAL in SA.
“Over the past two years, what started out as a desire to provide young South Africans with free access to information on HIV/Aids through their mobile devices has turned into a vibrant community of engaged young people who use YAL to gain information, discuss issues - and also have fun,” says founder Gustav Praekelt.
YAL has grown to become SA's largest mobile community for young people, according to the Foundation, with a base of more than 656 000 users.
Users can access the portal even if they don't have airtime. “Through Young Africa Live and Vodacom, Tanzania's youth can now get onto a mobile platform at no cost and get information on some very topical and important issues,” says Rene Meza, MD of Vodacom Tanzania.
“Most importantly, Young Africa Live gives users the opportunity to 'talk' to other young Tanzanians about the things that affect their lives the most - be it their love life or female genital mutilation,” Meza adds.
“As we've seen in SA, this peer-to-peer conversation is incredibly powerful in changing people's lives for the better, and we are excited about giving young people in Tanzania access to this.”
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