KICK IT UP! — TEBOHO TRUST, SOWETO

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Soweto KICK IT UP! Project

Provides journalism training for an at-risk girl to report from the World Cup
add to watch list

Soweto KICK IT UP! Project

Provides journalism training for an at-risk girl to report from the World Cup

Project Summary

Young women in the impoverished townships of Soweto, South Africa, are still being left at a disadvantage as a result of their gender. While both girls and boys in Soweto are vulnerable to the threats of drug use, gang violence, and HIV, young women do not have access to the training and technological resources that could allow them to enter male-dominated fields such as journalism and athletics.

Global Girl Media has recognized that while these disparities present serious challenges, they also represent an opportunity to empower young women to become agents of change for their communities. In preparation for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup, GGM has organized a program called “KICK IT UP!” that will train 20 at-risk South African girls as journalists who will report on the competition.

This project will ensure that one carefully selected girl is able to participate in “KICK IT UP.” This young woman will be selected from among the 230 students enrolled in Teboho Trust, an after-school program dedicated to ensuring at-risk young people complete their education. It will specifically fund her enrollment in a specially designed Global Girl Training Academy during which the participants will be put through a rigorous curriculum, combining modules on the rudiments of sound and ethical journalism with hands-on training. The project will also enable the chosen participant to become part of one of GGM’s “News Bureaus,” teams of four of the prepared girls, who will create unique videos, blogs, new media and print content during the World Cup. This media will subsequently be distributed through GGM’s cutting edge website so that an international audience can learn of Soweto’s challenges and triumphs as told from the perspective of twenty young women.

Learn more about the project

What?

KICK IT UP! will begin by establishing the Global Girl Training Academy, where a select group of 20 girls will be put through a challenging journalism program. This academy will pair the girls with seasoned broadcasters and journalists and train them in responsible, solutions-based journalism training. They will also be exposed to editing, story writing, web 2.0 basics, on-air media training, and opearting a HD digital video at the Global Girl Academy, based in Soweto, South Africa.

Then, during the World Cup (June 11-July 12, 2010) the Global Girl Team will be divided into 5 teams of 4 girls each (divided into broadcast, print, etc) who will then produce videos, blogs, new media and print content for digital upload and distribution on a wide range of topics including:

• World Cup 2010 Impact and Coverage
• Girls and Sports/Leadership Development
• Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender Justice and Reproductive
Rights
• Educational and Career Opportunities
• Cultural Identity, Music, and the Arts

All of these materials will be made available on GGM’s interactive website so that it can inspire and generate discussion among viewers. GGM will also be using its partnerships with The Press Institute among others to maximize the distribution of the girls’ reporting to on-line popular sites.

Why?

The internet and new media technologies have created unprecedented opportunities, opening a world of possibilities for education, communication and activism on a global scale. Yet these opportunities are still only available to those with the financial and educational resources necessary to participate. Global Girl Media has chosen to address this “digital divide” by supplying the equipment, education and support necessary to empower young women in Soweto's marginalized community with critical thinking, technical and leadership skills necessary to take part in what is arguable the world’s largest sporting event, the 2010 World Cup, that is to be held for the first time on the African continent this summer.

How?

The girl who will be sponsored by this project will be selected from among students participating in Teboho Trust's educational support programs. She will be chosen according to her strengths in the following areas: spoken English, demonstrated interest in media and/or journalism, strong writing and creative skills, and in good standing within the program.

Once selected, this young woman will attend the Global Girl Academy. The academy's curriculum has been developed in partnership with The Press Institute, a four-year-old international NGO that uses journalism as a development tool in order to create strong, professional female reporters that can increase access to critical global issues from a female perspective.

Key parts of the 10-day curriculum will include:

• What makes a good story? The elements of
journalism.
• Production skills, including hands-on experience
with HD video camera and sound equipment,
lighting, including introductory postproduction
and editing
• On-air talent training.
• Exposure to cross platform digital technologies.
• Instruction in the rules of football, key teams,
players and participants in the 2010 World Cup.

During the World Cup, GGM will use its media connections with the Hufﬁngton Post, Alternet, CCMC PUSH Journal, Women’s Enews, Feministing, Jezebel, WorldPulse.org, teen.com, etc, as well as the ofﬁcial websites for ESPN, SuperSports Channel, FUEL TV, Soccerpages and FIFA’s ofﬁcial website to ensure the 20 participants’ coverage of the competition is maximized.

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Soweto, an impoverished cluster of townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg, is still coping with the legacy of South Africa’s apartheid system. Formerly a government relocation community developed to institute segregation, Soweto has only recently begun to receive basic social services such as electricity, running water, health care, and quality education. Although progress has especially been made in the last five years, the lack of professional training programs and employment opportunities continue to pose challenges for Soweto’s residents.

Young women in Soweto are particularly vulnerable to the tragic consequences of their home’s limited resources. All of Soweto’s teenagers face serious struggles that result from living in an impoverished and under-served community. Systematic violence, drug use, gangs, unemployment, HIV, and the breakdown of families are all realities that these young men and women confront on daily basis. Among this at-risk group, however, girls cope with the added challenges of educational and employment gender-based disparities. Across South Africa, 30-40% of school age girls drop out and more are deprived of the technological training that could allow them to enter fields that remain male-dominated.

Learn more about Soweto

Community member details not available yet.

Direct Impact of Your Project

• Enables one at-risk girl to participate in a specialized digital journalism program so she can develop the skills to successfully report on the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup
• Allows this participant to interact with women who have succeeded in male-dominated fields either as athletes or journalists
• Empowers one young woman to use the most up-to-date digital media to broadcast the stories of her neighbors and community worldwide
• Harnesses the power of media so one girl can recognize her own potential as an agent of change for her community and country

Extended Impact on Your Partner Community

• Addresses Africa’s “digital divide” that is preventing most of its young women from accessing and using technology to create and distribute digital media
• Offers the Soweto community examples of how empowered young South Africans can reflect on the challenges they face on a daily basis
• Demonstrates the power of technology in educating and connecting young women to at least 100 people
• Encourages a generation of young women in the developing world to invest in their educations so they can bear witness to their communities’ struggles and progress

KICK IT UP! — TEBOHO TRUST, SOWETO BLOG

Upcoming Fundraiser Film Screening of Pray the Devil Back to Hell, May 3, 6:30 pm at the UCSB MultiCultural Center

by Carly W. on April 22, 2010

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Global Girl Media Benefit Concert

by Carly W. on April 07, 2010

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Global Girl Media and Youth CineMedia

by Carly W. on February 20, 2010

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How You Can Get Involved and Fundraising Plans!

by Carly W. on February 12, 2010

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Introduction

by Carly W. on February 12, 2010

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read previous entries

MEDIA GALLERY

Promo Video

Global Girls in Soweto, South Africa prepare to train as journalists to cover the FIFA 2010 World Cup

MEET THE CP

Carly W.

Goleta, CA

0 LIVES IMPACTED

About Me: I am a senior in college, graduating this year! I have been studying Sociology and I am particularly interested in women and girls' empowerment and hope to focus on this topic in grad school as well as contribute to bringing this topic into everyday life.