Category: zimbabwe

Blessings Chidakwa Herald Reporter

The Second Republic has made enormous strides in bridging the gender digital divide that has seen more women and girls being included digitally with more efforts to improve underway, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Officiating at a meeting organised by Hivos in celebration of women’s month, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the country was on path in bridging the gender digital gap.

“The Chinese say “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” and as Zimbabwe I believe we are on the right trajectory, as we head towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and Vision of an Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030 by leaving no one and no place behind.

Some of the stakeholders follow proceedings during the HIVOS breakfast meeting held at a local hotel today.

“Government through the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) has through the Universal Service Fund, launched a skills development initiative in 2019 which saw over 11000 citizens in rural areas trained on digital literacy and these included women and girls,” she said.

Among the attendees were ICT Postal and Courier Services Permanent Secretary Dr Beaula Chirume, Parliamentary Youth Caucus chairperson Tatenda Mavetera, Potraz Universal Service Fund Projects manager Engineer Mavis Maunganidze.

Others include Hivos Southern Africa Regional director Ms Nana Zulu and MISA monitoring and evaluation officer Ms Chido Lucias.

Blessings Chidakwa Herald Reporter

The Second Republic has made enormous strides in bridging the gender digital divide that has seen more women and girls being included digitally with more efforts to improve underway, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Officiating at a meeting organised by Hivos in celebration of women’s month, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the country was on path in bridging the gender digital gap.

“The Chinese say “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” and as Zimbabwe I believe we are on the right trajectory, as we head towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and Vision of an Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030 by leaving no one and no place behind.

Some of the stakeholders follow proceedings during the HIVOS breakfast meeting held at a local hotel today.

“Government through the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) has through the Universal Service Fund, launched a skills development initiative in 2019 which saw over 11000 citizens in rural areas trained on digital literacy and these included women and girls,” she said.

Among the attendees were ICT Postal and Courier Services Permanent Secretary Dr Beaula Chirume, Parliamentary Youth Caucus chairperson Tatenda Mavetera, Potraz Universal Service Fund Projects manager Engineer Mavis Maunganidze.

Others include Hivos Southern Africa Regional director Ms Nana Zulu and MISA monitoring and evaluation officer Ms Chido Lucias.

Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has urged learners to embrace virtual learning in this digital age to improve education in marginalised areas saying it was key in the development of the education sector.

Government is making endless efforts to ensure that Zimbabwe achieves a digital economy by 2030, in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030, through the adoption and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICTs).

In an interview, Director for communications and advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Mr Taungana Ndoro said the use of ICT allows learners to learn and apply the skills that they need in the 21st century.

“Online learning facilitates group learning and assists instructors within specific fields. It is a teaching and learning process between teachers and pupils that involves various digital mediums, such as ‘Whatsapp’, ‘Zoom’, ‘Microsoft Teams’ and ‘Google Classroom’.

“In addition, online learning does not refer to direct learning alone, and any assignments or activities, provided by the teacher online, are considered part of online learning. It was the best medium by which to ensure the continuity of pupils’ learning during the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue to be used in the event of other emergencies or disasters,” he said.

Mr Ndoro said learners needed to adapt to online learning as it was an alternative pedagogy for the era of technological development and communication.

“Interactive online learning allows pupils to uncover new information by exploring digital libraries and websites. As further technologies are introduced to the field of education, distance learning facilitates the global dissemination of information and knowledge.”

Director of ZimOnline Academy Mr Admire Mukandabvute said virtual learning allowed learners to go to work during the day and attend lessons later on in the comfort of their own homes.

“In 2021, The World Economic Forum carried out scientific research about the benefits of virtual learning and their findings echoed exactly what we were telling Zimbabweans, especially the working class,” he said.

“The other major benefit is that everything is recorded, so even a slow learner can replay again and again until a certain concept is mastered. It is different from face-to-face interaction where one can forget up to 90 percent of what the facilitator said because nothing is recorded.

“As we endeavour to revolutionise our education system we have gone a notch higher. We are now recording video tutorials to make learning even easier and enjoyable and so far we have recorded Ordinary Level Mathematics and our videos are already on the market.”

He said a ZimOnline Academy, as one of the institutions that offered virtual lessons, they wanted to contribute as much as they can to the betterment of the national pass rate.

Farirai Machivenyika

Senior Reporter

The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission has crafted an elections conflict prevention strategy that will guide it and its stakeholders in coming up with ways to prevent violence during the forthcoming harmonised elections.

This was revealed by the NPRC general manager, Mr Joseph Mashingaidze during a meeting with journalists from various media houses on how the commission and the media can work together to prevent conflict ahead of the polls.

The country is expected to go to the polls in the next four months.

“Provisions in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act reinforce the need for the media to work together with other stakeholders to ensure that we discourage violence, inciteful and hateful language when they are reporting around the elections season.

“It is for this reason that the NPRC has come up with an elections conflict prevention strategy that generates ideas about how, together, the NPRC, the media and other stakeholders are going to approach the 2023 harmonised elections from a conflict prevention point of view,” he said.

Mr Mashingaidze said strategy has themes that include promote peace solidarity messages among stakeholders and women and youth, mapping elections hotspot areas and work towards prevention of conflicts in those areas, meetings with political parties and players to ensure that the message of peace cascades to their supporters.

He added that the strategy also focuses on capacity building to ensure that there is intra and inter party conflict resolution mechanisms when disputes arise, promotion of community peace monitors and ambassadors and increase the visibility of the NPRC and its work in the communities through intensifying media campaigns and also holding peace rallies.

NPRC spokesperson Advocate Obert Gutu said the media have been urged to promote peace and unity in their reporting in the run up and during the harmonised elections.

“We are already in the elections season and the media as the fourth estate have a critical role to play in promoting peace, unity and harmony during the elections,” Advocate Gutu said.

He added that peace was a pre-requisite for the country’s development for the benefit of current and future generations.

Veteran journalist, Cris Chinaka echoed similar sentiments adding it was the duty of every Zimbabwean to ensure peace prevailed during the elections.

“The work of promoting peace and unity is a collective job for all of us,” he said, adding that the media would strive to report in a, “sensitive and not sensational manner.”