Background of Area | Project Overview | Community Meeting | The Way Forward | ALL MULTIMEDIA

After identifying the community’s concerns, our group formulated a sub-theme: “Uplifting youth, Uplifting community”. The youth are the future of this community but a large amount of young people are involved in crime. Crime affects the whole community; it prevents people from living fulfilled lives. So if young people contribute to hindering development of the community, then the community suffers. Similarly, if young people contribute to uplifting their families and contributing to development, they will be able to uplift their community. Investing in the youth will be investing in the community as a whole.  

Media Outputs (click on ALL MULTIMEDIA to view):

• Sound slides 

Our aim for the project was to make the youth’s voices heard. Our media outputs were a platform for their voices and concerns. Our first sound slide focuses on a group of young men who have formed their own cricket team, which is called The Falcons. They play cricket because they love it and because it keeps them out of doing other things like crime. They are role models for other youth in the Kings Flats community. The sound slide has a positive focus, which is different from most crime reporting which focuses on mainly negative issues instead of highlighting those positive stories about what is being done about crime.   

Our other sound slide focused on voices of the youth.  We profiled two girls from Benjamin Mahlasela High School. An important issue was that there were only seven pupils in the girls’ matric class. This is because their peers would rather skip classes or have dropped out of school. What made these two girls go to school, when the rest of their peers (brought up in the same living conditions as the girls) have chosen not to?  The answer came down to choice. Both girls emphasised that choices made are one’s own and that only YOU are responsible for what you want to achieve in your life. They emphasised that the opportunities are there, but you can choose whether to use them or not. 

• Publications

Our youth banner is aimed at school pupils of Kings Flats. The banner acted both as a platform where youth could voice their concerns, but it also had stories which will inspire the youth. The banner reflected a school/learning atmosphere as this caters for our target market and the posters were to be put up in schools.

Our first poster is aimed at the Kings Flats community and highlights issues which will hopefully create understanding and dialogue between the older and younger citizens of Kings Flats. 

Our second poster is aimed at the larger Grahamstown community. This poster highlights the needs of the Kings Flats community and inspires people to get involved and help the youth of Kings Flats. It tries to show other people that the different communities within Grahamstown need to help each other and work together to create a better and safer community.

• Television Documentaries

Our first documentary focuses on the Fingo Revolutionary Movement and the Save Our Schools Community Campaign which are projects which encourage youth development and empowerment. The documentary introduces the projects’ founders, Xolile Madinda and Ayanda Nondlwa and shows that these two men are trying to make a difference to their community. The documentary also gets stories from youth who are involved in the programmes. This is a positive piece which highlights a solution to crime. 

Conclusion:

Our media outputs were successful in that they have contributed to ‘consciousness raising’ amongst people of Kings Flats about the issues which affect the youth and the youth’s concerns. We have tried to create understanding as to why the youth commit crime. Now it is up to the citizens of that community and the greater Grahamstown community to ‘work through’ these problems and to reach ‘resolutions’.