SA Presidency launches website for kids

The South African government has launched a children’s website it hopes will enhance interaction between youngsters and the Presidency, and inform children about their rights and responsibilities.

The web site targets children aged between 6 and 13. Says Dr Manto Tshabala-Msimang, the Minister in the Presidency: “This is a good initiative and we are proud about the product. The target audience for this website is children between the ages of 6-13. It is developed with the aim of creating an interaction in terms of visual and content for children in these age groups. The website is designed in flash to provide animated and interactive experience for the end user.”

“Key content issues include information about our National Flag. Our children need to know the symbolic importance of the National Flag. As a caring nation, we have an obligation to teach our children about their country and national identity. We can only do that by ensuring that children understand the national symbols,”

Tshabalala-Msimang urged other government departments to adopt similar initiatives. She continues, “We would like to encourage other government departments to make web space available and use the internet as a tool to speak to children directly, furthermore we would like to encourage other African countries to partake in such initiatives not only for their own population but also to promote information sharing amongst all African countries, so that we can understand one another as people and learn about one another’s cultures, something that will go a long way to discourage xenophobia.”

As part of its efforts to engage the general public in online forums, the Presidency has also joined popular social networking site Facebook.