Deputy Minister Mr Philly Mapulane to offically open the NEMISA Digital Skills Summit and Launch Digital Skills Programme


MEDIA RELEASE

The Deputy Minister of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), Mr Philly Mapulane, will on 16 February 2022 officially open the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) Digital Skills Colloquium and Summit and further launch the Digital Skills for Decent Jobs Programme aimed at the promotion of digital skills among South African youth.

NEMISA, which is an entity of the Department, will host the programme, called Digital Skills for Decent Jobs, at the Digital Skills Colloquium and Summit to be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cape Town, from 15 to 17 February 2022. The programme is a collaboration between the Department, NEMISA, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

NEMISA has a mandate to develop creative media and digital skills in South Africa to ensure that South Africans have the necessary capacity to participate in the digital economy. The Summit is part of the institution’s mandate to bridge the digital divide and will be held under the theme “The Future of Work and Digital Skills”.

The Digital Skills for Decent Jobs for Youth Programme is an initiative of the UNDP that is aimed at encouraging a collaborative effort among countries and organisations, to tackle unemployment.

“South Africa faces the triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment, with unemployment, especially among our youth, increasingly becoming a chronic challenge.As a country we welcome the effort by both local and international partners to tackle this challenge, especially given the ever-increasing need for digital skills.” says Deputy Minister Mapulane.

The programme follows on the Letter of Intent that the Department signed in 2019 from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in which South Africa was invited to join the global campaign to develop the Programme on Digital Skills for Decent Jobs for Youth. The Letter sought to formalise the partnership between ITU, ILO and UNDP to coordinate and collaborate in the development of a programme on digital skills for decent jobs for youth in South Africa.

“The Summit in Cape Town will serve as a platform to attract investment in digital skilling as well as forge partnerships with various organisations, including the academic sector.” says Deputy Minister Mapulane.

Issued by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies

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