Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Councillor Parks Tau and University of Johannesburg Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ihron Rensburg, will launch the Johannesburg Digital Ambassadors Programme on Friday 7 August 2015.
As part of the roll out of 1 000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city, the city of Johannesburg will require 3 000 Digital Ambassadors to train approximately 700 000 city residents in digital literacy. The training will take place over a period of 18 months in order to enable residents to utilise and benefit from the broadband connections in their areas.
The Digital Ambassadors will be trained at UJ lecture facilities, via a cloud-based learner management system incorporating open source learning. The programme is hosted by UJ’s School of Electrical Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. UJ staff and students drawn from Engineering, IT, Management and Education will be delivering training and support to the Digital Ambassadors.
“The Digital Ambassadors will enable the broader Johannesburg community to engage with digital technology, for example in online job seeking opportunities, banking applications and access to digital services,” says Prof Johan Meyer, Head of School at the UJ School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
He points out that the Digital Ambassadors will further be mentored in business acumen towards achieving competence in using the digital world as an enabling technology for their own innovation enterprises.
Staff Writer
This sounds good and a great exposure to living in a digital world. Question is how much will it cost our country to get it done and properly? Considering that we still have so many basic requirements not met where money is required. Is this a primary priority too?