‘Digital tools can change and empower societies’
By Simphiwe Kanityi – Rhodes University
DCI 4.0 workshop facilitator Marlon Parker, a social entrepreneur and web and mobile enthusiast who uses technology to empower communities, says “it is overdue that technology has been perceived just as ordinary other tools but that it can change and empower societies”. He faciliated the Digital Voices to Reconstruct Communities workshop.
Many have argued that the main stream media is not interested in what ‘ordinary’ people have to say, but it is good news to know that digital media is there to address that issue. On the last day of 2009 Digital Citizen Indaba (DCI) a number of workshops based on amplifying the voices of the ordinary people were conducted in various venues of Rhodes University. In one of these workshops, Parker started an initiative whereby ordinary people can use the features on their mobile phones to offer advices on those whose communities are broken and appalling.
In this years’ fourth DCI he conducted workshops as a way of alerting the whole African continent that digital technology can be used for the good of reconstructing communities.
Slowly change people
“If people in the community can write good stories about the drug dealers; that can slowly change those people. They will know that there is something good about them and start doing positive things in their communities” and that you cannot find in the mainstream media, Parker argued.
He then went on to urge ordinary people not to find excuses but learn to use what they have and not long for those fancy media tools. The workshop was captivating and this was not difficult to notice given the response of the workshop attendees.
Marlon Parker at his workshop (above) & workshop participants (below) – Simphiwe Kanityi – Rhodes University
