Samsung gives youth a voice at Orange AFCON 2013

Samsung appointed three students from the company's various African educational CSR programmes to take an active and engaging role in Orange AFCON this year by encouraging them to report on the tournament. The students were selected based on their academic performance and recommendations from their teachers.

This programme is part of Samsung's Orange AFCON sponsorship and under the theme, 'Our Passion Powers Africa', the initiative showcases Samsung's commitment to ensuring youth participation in the games by giving them opportunities to express their passion about football.

"According to the latest census, 28.9% of the South African population is under the age of 15," said Ntutule Tshenye, senior manager in charge of CSR at Samsung Africa.

"Therefore, it is crucial for us to provide youth with opportunities that enrich their daily experiences in and out of the classroom. We know how popular football is in this country, and wanted to provide an exciting platform to develop their writing and engagement skills while doing something fun."

The participating students are mentored by Samsung during the tournament, and will work as a team to cultivate unique content about the tournament and the fans. They will be assigned various themes each week, which they will write about in an atmosphere identical to a real newsroom.

Using the latest smart technology, they will take turns editing, writing, taking photographs, interviewing fans and producing articles that will be published. Interviews will take place at Samsung fan zones and stadiums to ensure the students are able to cover a wide variety of angles and have access to a very large number of football fans. In addition, each student will have a chance to present the Samsung Fair Player Award at select games.

Samsung's CSR strategy

"This programme is directly in line with Samsung's CSR strategy and commitment to sports," said Yung Kook Lee, vice president and head of Global Sports Marketing at Samsung. "We understand that sports play a direct role in the lives of many children across Africa. Therefore, we wanted to give these students a chance to get involved in the continent's biggest football tournament, while learning new skills and real life tools that will assist them as they pursue their future aspirations."

A total of three students have been selected: Refiloe Machaba, Lefa Makgato, and Kuhlekonke Kawunda. They have all participated in various Samsung CSR initiatives in the past, including Samsung Engineering Academy, the Samsung Solar Powered Internet School, and the Samsung e-Learning Centre.

Additionally, they were encouraged to invite their classmates and peers to a morning visit of the Samsung Fan Zone at Sandton Shopping Mall, Johannesburg, whereby all students were able to experience the latest technology and Orange AFCON interactions the company has available.

"This project has been so fun, and I am grateful for all that Samsung has done for me in the past and during the Orange AFCON," said Refiloe. "It has been so cool to see the games live, interview fans and further my writing skills and abilities through this programme." Kuhlekonke and Lefa added, "Thank you, Samsung, for giving us this great opportunity!"

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