It gives us great pleasure to inform you of the build and launch of a Media and Technology Hub officially known as “eHUB Diepsloot” funded by Ericsson. On Friday, 23 June 2017 from 10:00 – 13:00 community stakeholders, media personnel and Ericsson team members will join us for the official launch! Located on 7184 Peach Road in Extension 10 (opposite the Ext 5 Taxi Rank), this 244m2 containerised facility is built on the same property as the Father Louis Blondel Centre (hereafter referred to as FLBC).
eHUB Diepsloot and FLBC are both managed by The Wot-if? Trust, currently servicing 47 small businesses and 13 organisations. Our
focus areas are Enterprise and Supplier Development, Women’s Empowerment, Youth Development, Greening/Agriculture with emphasis placed on the use and power of Media and Technology. eHub Diepsloot: An extension of the FLBC facility which is built as an Open Collaborative Workspace, since 2013.
The Wot-If? Trust prides itself on joining forces with members of the Diepsloot community towards a vision for the future known as Diepsloot 2030. To ask what kind of Diepsloot we want to learn, live and work-in by the year 2030 and guide us “Together for a Brighter Future”. We facilitate that engagement, admin and action. With Implementation Partners such as Ericsson, we also facilitate the funding to Participants who actively partake in the programmes and projects we run. Not purely to considered in a welfare mentality of being “beneficiaries”.
eHUB Diepsloot forms part of this Diepsloot 2030 vision as it will provide access to 21st century skills and opportunities. Ericsson funds the eHUB Diepsloot infrastructure with a spacious training room, Cyber Café and reception area on the ground level. The top level currently offers an open view of the Diepsloot landscape which doubles up as meeting space and think tank space with white boards and the like. Also on the top level. the only permanent resident (online radio station – Diepsloot Radio – Wot-If? Trust enterprise development participant). Future plans include an audio and visual recording studio along with editing hardware and software. Designers will also have a maker’s space that will include a 3D printer. Two line items that make up our #WotIfWishList
Amongst the many training programmes that will run inside the eHUB Diepsloot training room, will be the Ericsson initiative known as Connect to Learn. The programme relies on Open Source Technology to implement science, technology, engineering and maths studies for teachers and young girls. Launched in 2010, Connect to Learn now supports 762 scholars – the majority of them girls – across 10 African countries, empowering them and their teachers through quality learning resources. eHUB Diepsloot is the first facility to offer Connect To Learn in South Africa.
It is important that a Technology Hub of this nature supports and upskills school-goers, small businesses and freelancers within the Diepsloot ecosystem. The Wot-If? Trust’s mandate depends on our connectivity to the community and access to greater opportunities. To establish a smart and connected community we would love your support in either joining us for the launch or sharing this information with relevant stakeholders who would like to initiate or create sustainable campaigns.
View the full YouTube video of our eHUB Diepsloot launch.
Contact nokwanda@wot-if.co.za or zizipho@wot-if.co.za to secure your seat or book a meeting for discuss future involvement. You could also call 078 155 2146 to directly contact the Digital Content Editor (DiCE) for The Wot-If? Trust.
