Last month young journalists have begun reporting Live from Parliament in Cape Town as part of a new initiative led by youth platform Live SA, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group and Indigo Trust.
Live SA journalists and photographers will be casting a youth lens on parliamentary committees, policy-making and MPs as part of a wider campaign of engaging young people in the democratic process.
Rofhiwa Maneta (23) is one of the young journalists reporting Live from Parliament. “I am really excited to be reporting the real truth about what happens in Parliament and how it affects young people. With talks of “walkouts”, “parliamentary privilege” and “points of order”, it’s easy to switch off from parliamentary proceedings, so our hope is to translate politics into something that young people read, understand, share and debate,” says Rofhiwa.
Parliamentary Monitoring Group Monitor and Projects Manager Rashaad Alli says: “We, together with our People’s Assembly project, are excited to undertake this initiative with Live SA. Their dynamic youth team will help to demystify Parliament and provide opportunities for young people to find their voice and advocate for change.”
The Indigo Trust is supporting the partnership. “The Indigo Trust is delighted to support this project. The voices of youth are so often ignored and many disengage from politics altogether. This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that the issues being discussed in Parliament are conveyed in a language which they can relate to. In the long-term, hopefully this will result in young people becoming more socially engaged,” says Dr Loren Treisman, Executive at the Indigo Trust.
Livity Africa is the youth agency behind Live SA. “Live from Parliament builds on Live SA’s year-long Voting Is Power Campaign which has engaged with over 100,000 young people in South Africa through live debates, broadcasts, social media and youth-created political content,” says Gavin Weale, Founder of Livity Africa.
“Our ambition is to create opportunities that unleash young people’s influence in society. We feel Live from Parliament will achieve this by encouraging greater connections and accountability from Parliament to young people,” says Gavin.
To follow Live From Parliament, visit www.livemag.co.za/vip/ or www.pa.org.za, follow @livemagsa @PeoplesAssem_SA #livevipza or www.facebook.com/LiveMagSA and www.facebook.com/peoplesassemblysa.
