The Radio Workshop:
Giving Young People a Voice

Zambian Children’s Climate Conference

The Government of the Republic of Zambia and UNICEF are currently hosting the Zambian Children’s Climate Conference in Lusaka, Zambia. The national conference is the first of its kind in the world since the international Children’s Climate Forum was held last November in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The conference brings together nearly 200 children from all nine provinces of Zambia. The participants are being educated about climate change issues and are attending a series of adaptation and mitigation workshops in order to create work plans that they will begin implementing when they return to their home districts.

Youth Delegate Profile: Tendai Nyirenda

In the past few months many areas of Zambia experienced terrible floods that caused widespread devastation. Children in affected areas were not able to get to school and education was disrupted, and some children drowned in the floodwater.

16 year old Tendai Nyirenda hails from Livingstone, in the south of Zambia. She says that young Zambians need to work together to combat the effects of climate change.

Youth Delegate Profile: Stan Lengwe

As they are the most vulnerable, children will face the brunt of the impacts of climate change in the future. Many of the main killers of children, including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition, are highly sensitive to climatic conditions and are expected to worsen as the world gets warmer.

Stan Lengwe is 16 years old, and is in Grade 11 at Kabulonga High School in Lusaka.  He says that garbage collection in his city leaves much to be desired, and that poor sanitation contributes to the health problems of young people.

Youth Delegate Profile: Wilfred Simbule

Children are also important in getting the message across about climate change. The knowledge and skills that young people require to address the rapidly changing environment are often different from what they learn in school. The Zambian Children’s Climate Conference teaches young people that they can do their part to address climate change in their communities, and that they need to work hard to capture the attention of their peers.

Wilfred Simbule is 15 years old and a student at Chingola High School in the Copperbelt region. He says that the mines in his area contaminate the drinking water, and that it is important to educate his peers about water safety and other local environmental issues.

Unicef Regional Director Mr. Elhadj Amadou Gueye Sy

Fourteen year old Luyando Katenda from Lusaka interviews Unicef Regional Director Mr. Elhadj Amadou Gueye Sy about Unicef’s commitment to climate change.

Listen to Unicef Regional Director Mr. Elhadj Amadou Gueye Sy’s full speech at the ZCCC here:

Unicef Zambia Country Representative Lotte Sylwander

Fourteen year old Luyando Katenda from Lusaka interviews Unicef Zambia Country Representative Lotte Sylwander about local climate change issues.

Listen to the entire show

Welcome to the Radio Workshop podcast!

In November last year, the world celebrated the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the next four episodes the Radio Workshop takes a look at what this treaty means for children. Today we find out what some of these rights are, where they came from and who first campaigned for children’s rights.

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

Welcome to the Show!

Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAfm.  If you live in South Africa, you can listen live on air. Tune your radio to a frequency between 104 to 107FM to find SAfm.

What rights do children have?

Stephen Blight, the chief of child protection for Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund), tells us what rights the Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children.

Eglantyne Jebb

Who pioneered children’s rights?

It took the world a long time to agree that children’s rights should be protected by a worldwide treaty – that’s why the United Nations only signed the convention in 1989. Let’s find out who were some of the people who championed children’s rights many years earlier.

Rights and responsibilities

The learners from Esselen Park High School, in the beautiful town of Worcester, Western Cape, take us through the rights children have – as well as some of the responsibilities!

Signing out

That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show!

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.

Listen to the entire show

Welcome to the Radio Workshop podcast!

In this week’s show we meet a group of Johannesburg school girls who are immigrants from other African countries.  They talk about some of their experiences at school, dealing with prejudice, making new friends, and what it’s like to try to fit in.

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

Welcome to the Show!

Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Dealing with discrimination

Sarah, Brenda, Sharon and Divine all come from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some of them have been in South Africa for half their life, while others have arrived more recently.  Join their group discussion to hear about their experiences and opinions. 

Language is the key

It’s often hard to be the new girl at a school, but when you have to learn a whole new language so that you can understand the teacher and talk to your classmates, it can be even more of a challenge. Here’s Beni’s story:

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

A final thought

That’s it for this week. But before we go, is it possible for children from South Africans and other African countries to become friends? Yes it is! That’s the view of our group schoolgirls from Observatory Girls Primary in Johannesburg.    

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.

Listen to the entire show

Welcome to the Radio Workshop podcast!

Do you know what you want to be when you’re grown up? In the upcoming weeks we’re going to be introducing you to an interesting selection of jobs and careers. Today we’re going to meet someone who has chosen a career that all of you will know at least something about. We meet a Grade 3 teacher, and also hear about what Maitland High School learners think it takes to be a good teacher. Stay tuned!

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

Welcome to the Show!

Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show. 

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Being a teacher

Veneta Katzen is a Grade 3 teacher at Athwood Primary in Hanover Park, Cape Town, and it’s her first year on the job. Let’s find out about what it takes to make it as a teacher! 

Thanks to Nicole Wagner, a 3rd year student at the Centre for Film and Media Studies (CFMS) at the University of Cape Town, for producing that profile for the Radio Workshop, and to Dr. Tanja Bosch, the lecturer in Radio Production at the CFMS!

What makes a good teacher?

What do you think it takes to be a good teacher, and which teachers have made a positive impact in your life so far?  Drop us an email and let us know, we’d love to hear from you: info@radioworkshop.org — or add a comment below at the end of this page!

We put that same question to some of the learners at Maitland High School in Cape Town.  Here’s what they had to say about teachers.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Signing out

That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show! 

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.

Listen to the entire show

Welcome to the Radio Workshop podcast!

Langa’s Busy Bee Rugby Club supporters cheer on their team as they take on Strand Muslim Primary School.  The Under 9s match is part of the annual Canal Walk School’s Day at Newland’s Stadium in Cape Town.  It’s a tough match, and the Busy Bee’s coach is doing everything he can to squeeze out a win.

In today’s show we take you to the pitch of Newland’s stadium, and meet some of the youngest rugby players in the country (and perhaps some future rugby stars!).  We’ll find out what they like about the sport, and about some of their injuries too.

And later on in the show, we’ll be moving from the rugby pitch to the museum. Spier Contemporary 2010 is on at the City Hall in Cape Town, and it’s exhibition of artists from all across South Africa. The art on display is the result of a competition where 2,7000 entries were submitted, but just 101 were chosen.

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

Welcome to the Show!

Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Young Rugby

The annual Canal Walk Western Province Rugby Schools Day not only gives learners the opportunity to play at the famous Newlands Stadium, but it gets young rugby players even more excited about the sport. Ten primary and ten high schools were invited to test their skills on each other, win some prizes, and make a few new friends.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Spier Contemporary 2010

If you’ve been walking by the City Hall building in Cape Town, you’ve probably noticed that there’s lots of activity going on there these days. It’s home to the Spier Contemporary 2010 art exhibition.  And it’s not just art that you hang on a wall. There are performances, there’s music, workshops, and a whole lot more. And there’s art that you hang on a wall. Spier Contemporary 2010 has been bringing in learners of all ages by the busload, and letting them roam around the exhibition.

Spier Contemporary 2010 is on show until the 14th of May, everyday from 10am to 6pm, and trust me, it’s worth checking out.  And, did I mention that admission is free? Visit their website for more information!

Signing out

That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show!

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.

Listen to the entire show

Welcome to the Radio Workshop podcast!

The Radio Workshop has been working with students from Maitland High School in Cape Town, and we gave them the opportunity to speak about what’s on their mind.

So today, we hand the microphone over to them. Our topic is inspiration.  What inspires you, or who inspires you?   What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning and give it your all, or who gives you the power to succeed?

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

Welcome to the Show!

Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show. 

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Jafiya “King” Kadende

Nomthandazo “Thandi” Valashiya

Luyolo “Leo” Mahambehlala

Furaha Kanyangambi

Noziphiwo Fadana

Zenzo Chakara

Signing out

That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show! 

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.

Listen to the entire show

Welcome to the Radio Workshop podcast!

Amelinde Mute is doing what she can to better her school. “This is the resource centre in our school, this room is supposed to be a library (pictured below),” she says.  “But unfortunately we just have the empty shelves that are supposed to have books on it, and there are only 20 closed boxes with the books inside…So those books are not useful to us, because we don’t even know what is inside.”

On today’s show we’re imagining a future where every young South African has access to books, computers, and all kinds of other valuable educational resources—a future where all learners are equipped with the tools needed to succeed, and given proper guidance on how to use them.

We meet up with an organization called Equal Education, and find out about their “One School…One Library…One Librarian” campaign. Equal Education is holding a march to parliament on March 21st to create awareness about libraries in schools, and to put some pressure on the government to take action.

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

Welcome to the Show!

Radio Workshop host Mbali Vilakazi welcomes listeners to the show.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

Thembelihle High School Library: A work in progress

Nombuyiselo Hlomela is an educator at Thembelihle. She says that a library in her school would expand the learners’ worlds, and prepare them to succeed in life.

To find out more about Equal Education, visit their website.

Listen to the learners

“It would be a great dream for me to have a library in my high schnool,” says Mhlangenqaba Mxhego, a Grade 12 learner at Thembelihle High School Khayelitsha. We met up with him and some of his schoolmates in the room that will one day be the school’s library.

Our thanks go out to Amelinda Mute, Mhlangenqaba Mxhego, Thokozile Moapantsi, and Aviwe Sonamzi for sharing their experiences with us.

To keep updated on Equal Education’s activities, join their Facebook group here.

Equal Education

Next up we meet Yoliswa Dwane. Yoliswa works with an organization called Equal Education. Equal Education is holding a march to Parliament on March 21st to create awareness about libraries in schools, and to put some pressure on the government to take action. Their slogan is : “One School…One Library…One Librarian.”

To find out more about Equal Education, visit their website.

Signing out

That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show!

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.