By Roger Gertze
Perhaps the greatest empowerment tools for overcoming inequality and freeing the world’s marginalised people from poverty are literacy and knowledge. Knowledge improves lives.
Literacy enables access to that knowledge, and it is now acknowledged by UNESCO as a fundamental human right that opens the door to other human rights and freedoms.
Literacy exposes people to insights, skills and progressive values. These can in turn build an understanding of equality, the rule of law, diversity and global harmony.
As we mark International Literacy Day on 8 September, it’s worth understanding that the meaning of literacy has evolved in recent times.
Digitalisation has changed the way we acquire knowledge, and it is now a core component of literacy itself. Bridging the digital divide, and connecting more people through digital content and infrastructure is now a part of spreading literacy.
Literacy in the digital era
Fittingly, this year’s International Literacy Day (ILD) is being celebrated under the theme, “Promoting literacy in the digital era”.
Since digital tools and platforms are now among the most important learning channels – especially for the 739 million young people and adults who cannot read – digital content providers now find themselves at the forefront of the fight for literacy.
At MultiChoice Africa, for instance, long recognised as “Africa’s favourite storyteller”, one of the platform’s most powerful value propositions is also how it drives digital inclusion and community empowerment.
The organisation’s digital platforms help to bridge the digital divide and enrich lives, while amplifying African voices and enhancing cultural understanding.
At the same time, the business uses innovative methods to enhance access – pioneering regional streaming options, flexible micro-payments in territories like Uganda, and robust digital solutions like its Africa-wide Moment payment ecosystem.
MultiChoice is Africa’s biggest funder of local content and sport, bringing relevant content to audiences across the continent, and helping to shape culture in real time, and in Namibia, one testimony is the Mukorob and Ombura local content projects. MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) academies across the continent also training up dozens of talented young people every year, who then go on to create sport and local programming that reflects audience tastes, so they might see themselves in their own entertainment choices.
Adding social value
The MTF investment in people has produced 486 alumni, who have gone on to start 300 production companies, and produced 162 films. Within the organisation itself, staff of 162 nationalities are employed at MultiChoice businesses, with 44% of top and senior management positions held by women.
This is in addition to the platform’s rich educational offering via channels like Mindset Learn, Disney Jr, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network – capabilities which were significantly expanded during the Covid Lockdown years, when television was the only source of education for many families.
On the ESG front, the business also enhances value through its work as Africa-wide media partner for the £6-million Moonshot Prize, showcasing the work of African finalists, amplifying environmental messages, motivating innovators and inspiring communities to address sustainability challenges.
Staff-led CSI initiatives uplift schools, healthcare organisations, women- and youth groups, sports associations and government initiatives across Africa, from Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Angola to Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique.
These projects express the organisational approach of providing value for customers and subscribers in as many ways as possible, to ensure broad social benefits in areas such as accessibility, education, culture, literacy and social empowerment.
Access is power
In the battle to boost literacy among Africa’s people, digital channels have also become a weapon against double marginalisation – where people are excluded from traditional literacy as well as the power of connectivity.
In the digital era, access is power. Through satellite broadcast, content streaming and the development of the content creation industry itself, digital platforms are helping to empower audiences with knowledge, literacy and cultural awareness. Increasingly it’s the ticket to a better quality of life.
* Roger Gertze is a Managing Director at MultiChoice Namibia
