Presidency, during the launch of the children's website in Pretoria, The Union
Buildings
23 March 2009
Programme director
Ministers
Members of the National Children's Rights Advisory Council
Sponsors
Our special guests - children
Members of the media
I would like to extend warm greetings to you all.
The deepening of democracy and access to services, especially the poor
families and communities is dependent on the continuous interaction between the
people and the government. This is also an imperative in the children's
sector.
In the words of one of the heroes and leaders of our country Oliver Reginald
Tambo, "A country that does not value its children does not deserve a
future".
We are gathered here today to witness one of the key achievements in the
children's sector. Our children need continuous information about their rights,
and of course not forgetting that rights go with responsibilities.
The Presidency initiated a process where children will be able to access
interesting information on the Presidency website. This is a good initiative
and we are proud about the product. The target audience for this website is
children between the ages of 6 and 13. It is developed with the aim of creating
an interaction in terms of visual and content for children in these age
groups.
The website is designed in flash to provide animated and interactive
experience for the end user. Key content issues include information about our
National Flag. Our children need to know the symbolic importance of the
National Flag. As a caring nation, we have an obligation to teach our children
about their country and national identity. We can only do that by ensuring that
children understand the national symbols.
We also deemed it important that our children should be afforded an
opportunity to understand the responsibilities of The Presidency. Our
Constitutional imperatives, especially section 28 that relates to the rights of
children also forms part of the website. It is our intention to continuously
improve on the website. In future we will be able to include critical
information such as the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the child,
African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of children. Our children need
to know all these instruments and how they relate to their well being.
I would like to encourage all role players, including organs of civil
society and corporate sector to join hands with government in advocating for
the protection and development of children in our country. We would like to
encourage other government departments to make web space available and use the
internet as a tool to speak to children directly, furthermore we would like to
encourage other African countries to partake in such initiatives not only for
their own population but also to promote information sharing amongst all
African countries, so that we can understand one another as people and learn
about one another's cultures, something that will go a long way to discourage
xenophobia. For the Presidency specifically, this is a start for us in trying
and speak to different generations of South African citizens, through the
children's website, and through online social networking sites, for example The
Presidency has recently signed up to facebook.
I also would like to acknowledge the support we received from various
sponsors in launching the website, of course not forgetting members of
different media who will help popularise this important communication platform.
In particular the following organisations played a vital role in realising our
launch today, i.e. Fluorescence for the development of the website and their
involvement in the project from the onset.
* Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) for the
sponsorship of the computers
* Love life for their sponsorship of T-shirts and water bottles for the
children
* Microsoft for giving us access to their IT learning literacy course and
online Certificate Courses which they have made available to the entire
education community across South Africa.
Thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
23 March 2009
