Smartphone Divide

Digital Rights Explored: Local Fights, Global Perspectives

In this episode we explore the topic of the smartphone divide in Namibia amongst its youth. In Namibia, smartphones are the main entry point to the Internet for young people. The country officially has an excess of smartphones per capita. Yet the distribution of smartphones shows a deep urban-rural gap, and therefore leaves around half of the population disconnected from the Internet. In this episode we explore what is at stake for young Namibians who are not digitally connected, in terms of their livelihood opportunities.
Petrina Mathews and Opeyemi Toriola are both experienced MIL facilitators at MiLLi* (Media and Information Literacy Learning Initiative). They take us on a journey to rural Namibia, all the way to the Zambezi region, located in the extreme north-east Namibia. Here they talk to and train youth who are not digitally connected.

In the second part of the episode we talk with MILEN member Venu Arora, an expert on smartphone devices as an access point for first-time digital users. Venu shares with us what some of the general reasons are behind smartphone divide(s). But also what governments, companies and MIL practitioners can do to bridge the digital divide and help youth to keep up with the progress and development, and provide them access to any knowledge system(s), which is their basic human right.
Read and follow the work of Venu Arora @ideosyncmedia Follow the work of MiLLi* @millinamibia
For more information on digital use in Namibia (number of internet users, social media users, and mobile connections) check out this Report.

Our expert speakers featured in this episode are:
Petrina Mathews - MIL Facilitator at MiLLi*
Opeyemi Toriola (aka Tangi) - MIL Facilitator at MiLLi*
Venu Arora - Co-founder Ideosync Media Combine and Professor Voice Equity at the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication, Jindal Global University

This episode was created by:
Host and editor: Alexandre Amaral
Producer: Ena Omerović
Co-producers: Petrina Mathews, Opeyemi Toriola, Joost van de Port (founder MiLLi*)
Consultant (partner Deutsche Welle Akademie): Hanna Hempel

This is a Podcast made by the Media and Information Literacy Expert Network (MILEN) with the support of Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW Akademie).

Contact us with questions, comments or your Stories on digital rights' violations at:
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