Children Empowerment Directorate

Response to mandate

To ensure children have access to and usage of ICTs to empower them and enhance their Livelihoods.

Objectives

• Support government Departments to promote children and ICT programs and projects;
• Provide policy advice and support on children and ICT related issues to the Department and its SoEs through Content development approach with external stakeholders-OP;
• To conduct an environmental scan towards the development of Children and ICT strategy that would guide the Department and its SoEs towards the protection of children in the ICT sector.

Programmes

As part of the Department’s commitment to equality and empowerment the Dtps has supported the Cell-C Take a Girl-child to Work Initiative. The Dtps hosted a number of young girls from local schools and provided them a first-hand experience of a corporate environment as well as exposure to business and career opportunities within the ICT sector. Considering that empowerment and equality requires cohesive understanding of both sexes, the Dtps further supported the Metro FM’s Men in the Making Initiative. This initiative which is aimed at building and restoring self-confidence in boy-children in all aspects of their growth and development and encourages stakeholders to expose boy-children to the workplace. The Department also supported the 5th World Summit on Media for Children that was held in South Africa in March 2007 through the hosting of pre Media and ICT summits in all provinces in partnership with ICASA, the ICT sector regulator and an NGO called Children’s Broadcasting Foundation of Africa (CBFA). As a follow up to this summit the Department hosted a National Children and ICT Summit in November 2008 in Bella Bella, Limpopo Province. The Department also supports the National Children’s Day and Child Protection Week by hosting awareness raising initiatives with children, parents and educators on the unintended consequences of ICTs on children and how they should be protected.

One of the key areas of focus for the department is to support initiatives on Child Online Protection and this regard we work with organisations such as the Film and Publication Board (FPB) to promote awareness on child online safety.      

Summary of the GDYC 2011/12 Targets

Children and ICT strategy developed;

• Youth and ICT strategy implemented including the service deployment for the 800 e-cadres, training of 450 ICDL learners and exit strategies confirmed for at least 20% of the cadres concluded;
• Implementation of the Disability and ICT strategy commenced;
• ICT strategy on Gender developed, including finalisation of the gender audit, mobinet portal developed and young women in ICT project implemented.