360º PERSPECTIVES | ISSUE 7 | 2020/2021
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Collaboration driving digital literacy
» In 1987, the room-sized Cray-2 was the world’s fastest supercomputer. Today, an iPad has twice the capabilities of Cray-2 and a child can operate it. Such is the pace of the much-heralded fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
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NFORTUNATELY, HUGE DISPARITIES IN WEALTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE ensure
that the 4IR benefits the global North far more than the South. For example, the 2019 Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks South Africa first in Africa for ‘innovation’ but 63rd globally, well behind most Asian, European and North American countries. Since GII rankings largely correlate with development indices such as the WEF Global Competitiveness Report and the UNO Human Development Index, the South is also behind in terms of the interconnected aspects of technology adoption, investment in human capital and overall economic performance. The key to catching up is to develop e-skills at an individual level. The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (now part of the Department of Communications and Digital
Technologies) established the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) in 1998. NEMISA’s mission is to provide a national integrated e-skills development approach for sustainable socio-economic development and to radically advance human capacity development in digital e-skills in South Africa. NEMISA co-funds nine university-based provincial hubs called CoLabs, each with a specific focus area. The Western Cape CoLab for e-Inclusion and Social Innovation is based at UWC and led by Professor Leona Craffert. The CoLab works closely with local communities, the Western Cape provincial government, universities, colleges, business and nongovernmental organisations to co-design and deliver digital literacy and skills development programmes and research. Its programmes aim to help people understand >>