Our Approach
Voxpop Africa Media Approach
Voxpop Africa has at heart the best interest of the individuals at grass roots level. The individuals who are lay people like us; not merely the academics and intellectuals. We aim to find out the meaning behind terms such as xenophobia or Black Consciousness, not just to repeat them, and to create a platform for that meaning to be imparted. We want to reach people on a practical and feeling level, and not only on an intellectual or conceptual level. Most of us don’t necessarily know and grasp all concepts on an intellectual level; for example ‘emancipation of the mind’; what does that even mean?
We want to critically look at these concepts, to humanise them and make them relevant to all who hear them in a simple and understandable way. Whenever debates around serious issues take place on public platforms, more often than never, it is the people in the know who are active in the discussions; the academics and the intellectuals, who are but a fraction of the people who are affected by the issues at discussions.
We want these debates to be made accessible to every man/ woman and child on the streets, in our homes and our communities. We want them to own the wealth of knowledge that can improve their conditions, the communities and the lives of the masses. We want to make it possible for the everyday people to express their views about important issues.
We want to look at the exclusive discussions on complex issues and to break them down to their most basic form and meaning, thus reaching a point where they can be understandable and useful to those who hear and deal with them.
There is a need for us all to be more exposed to a multitude of issues, to be more educated about them and to engage with them for the betterment of our lives. We need to incorporate simplicity to the equation of how this is achieved.
As those who have worked in the community radio sector and have our hearts set to do more work, we require support, financial support and guidance from those who have gone before us and are able to assist us to accomplish the work. We seek to find the custodians of the wisdom that can uplift and advise our people to make the choices that they are bombarded with on a daily basis. Choices that need to be made with as much information as possible.
Choice is not much without meaning, our people have the opportunity to now make choices on matters that affect them and their destinies but are unfortunately ill equipped in terms of information. The more one knows and understands what they are dealing with, the easier it can be to know what exactly it is that they are choosing.
There has to be a way to demystify the meaning of education and being educated.
Historically there has been a general belief that education belongs in the class rooms. We believe that this perception is not a healthy one. We believe that education should not be limited to the class rooms. We accept that life and the world are the stage and the setting from where most of the learning takes place.
We wish to improve the options of being able to access this learning and to furthermore gain a deeper understanding of what is going on around us and indeed what the implications are for our lives.
Only a small part of our population has the good fortune of being able to afford to get information from conventional information and knowledge sources such as the internet, television, books and newspapers etc. That part of our population is unfortunately a rather small fraction of the whole. The majority of the population is still greatly disadvantaged. This part is busy grappling with issues of survival and making ends meet, and they don’t necessarily have the luxury of searching and finding information through the conventional means as mentioned. It can be a result of not having the financial means to go to an internet café, or to buy a news paper – let alone time to read the paper. With such circumstances, it is possible for individuals to miss out on getting the relevant and important information about all sorts of matters concerning us all.
We cannot believe that the reason people do not read is merely because they are uninterested or uninspired, or the lack of trying. It is possible that there may be people who would read had the option been a feasible one for them, and had there been more access given to them to do so.
For some of us, we have an opportunity in our daily lives to interact with the world without the added pressures ( social, economic, health and environmental ) that characterise the lives of many at grass roots level.
Our duty as those who are empowered in terms of knowledge and information, is to find more ways and means to bring this empowerment to those in need.
We need to utilise our talents, our passion and our know-how, to bring the change that is so seriously needed by those with less.
Voxpop Africa intends to find the means and support to bring the reality of exposing others to the debates, opinions and general activities that are often limited to certain specific spaces. We would like to bring the voices of those that have been marginalized or somewhat silenced by circumstances to the spaces where the haves have been engaging.
We aim to increase access to various groups of people who may be far from one another economically, socially and even racially. We believe that having an open platform for debate by the general public, will help bring about positive change.
It is everyone’s job to look after those who have no means. There is not need to point fingers at Government or Non-Governmental Organisations to affect change. Change is a responsibility of us all. There is a need for a collective working together to maximise the potential success of bringing about this change.
We need practical solutions that address the bread and butter issues of individuals; sometimes throwing money at a problem in the hope that it will go away, may not necessarily be the solution. We need to bring about change in attitudes; in beliefs about ourselves and other people. We need to instil a sense of self, pride and dignity in our people.
To put meaning in words like equality, transformation, and freedom, these words need to resonate in every one of us. They need to empower us in the true sense. They need to be made to make sense.
We, by no means, imply that people are simplistic, or that they have not the aptitude to grasp concepts. We rather believe in simplifying to find meaning, and simplicity is the line between eloquence and plainness. Simplicity can bring about clarity.
