STAFF WRITER
A GROUP of former and current Mdantsane boxing champions struggling to adapt to the digital world on Monday received a free digital literacy skills workshop courtesy of the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) and NEMISA.
The digital skills workshop took place at the NU1 Mdantsane Library.
The boxers included former IBF Minimumweight boxing world champion Nkosinathi Joyi who was joined by former champions Yanga Phethani, Mpumelelo Mbedle, Sakhumzi Magxwalisa and current boxer Thembelani Nxoshe. Other Mdantsane residents, young and old were also trained during the workshop.
ECSECC an entity of the Eastern Cape Office of The Premier launched the Microsoft Virtual Innovation Hub – a virtual skilling initiative aimed at bridging the digital divide amongst citizens of the Eastern Cape – in August and soon thereafter received a request from Mdantsane social justice activist Kholiswa Tyiki to come and train the former boxers in digital skills.
According to Khawuleza Project Management Office Business Intelligence manager at ECSECC Xolile Martin, as a multi-stakeholder council, the entity then roped in NEMISA to honour the boxers’ request due to NEMISA’s extensive experience in conducting digital literacy workshops face-to-face under strict COVID-19 protocols.
“Today we started with teaching the boxers digital literacy so that they know how to use basic technologies as well as digital equipment such as laptops, smartphones and tablets. From here on we will give them advanced relevant technical skills such as Digital Content Creation, App Development, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning. In this way participants will be able to do technical control during YouTube production, create YouTube content, software development and IT project implementation,” Martin said.
Tyiki said: “I approached ECSECC to say we need to skill our former boxers and current boxers because the issue is, in the Eastern Cape we celebrate them when they are in the ring when they are outside the ring no one is there to give them skills, to pay attention to them, to groom them into whatever. It was a first of a kind that a community member approaches an organisational entity on behalf of a community that is neglected.”
Joyi said: “Former boxers like us wake up and do nothing, we just sit in the sun but now I have hope. I won’t just wake up and do nothing I have something to do now.”
Petani said: “This boxing career ends and leave us with nothing so we are looking for something that we can do to take care of our children.”
Magxwalisa said: “We have learned so many things some of which we did not know, especially on our smartphones. We thought a phone is for WhatsApp and receiving calls reality is it can do a lot.”
Speaking about her learning experience after the workshop, resident Nontsikelelo Sofomiya said: “Today I got an opportunity to learn how to create an e-mail and an invite. There is a programme called Google Calendar which you can use to create an invitation for your upcoming event. If people can’t attend there is also an option for them to join online.”