Background

Young Africa Live (YAL) was born out of the discovery that in a country with the biggest HIV/AIDS pandemic in the world, one of South Africa's largest mobile portals did not hold a single piece of information about the pandemic; where to get tested; how to practice safe sex and how to avoid getting it. This discovery sparked an idea at Praekelt Foundation to build a mobile platform that is entertainment-oriented, fun, interactive, and provocative. A platform that would not simply state the facts and "lecture" young people about the do's and donts, but rather create a space where young South Africans could talk about hot topics that affect their daily lives: love, sex, relationships, gender and cultural issues, as well as HIV/AIDS.

Developed by Praekelt Foundation, the portal was christened Young Africa Live and was launched on 1 Dec, World Aids Day 2009. It is supported and hosted by Vodafone Live.

About YAL

Young Africa Live consists of a combination of regularly updated, dynamic stories and live chats and a series of permanent content pieces.

The permanent content covers the essential facts around HIV and AIDS; as well as helpline numbers and contact details for referral organisations who can support YAL-users in times of need. Under the dynamic content section, daily news & celebrity stories are posted and users can ‘like' the story or leave comments. Guest bloggers write about their experiences with love, sex, dating, cultural dilemma's, gender stereotypes and other relevant issues. In addition, live chats with doctors and relationship experts help create a true dialogue between the portal and its users.

Objectives

1) Share information & Educate:

Make crucial health and lifestyle information available via the mobile portal and reach more than 30 million South Africans every month. The aim is to educate young people in Africa about HIV/AIDS and other sexual health issues in a fun, engaging, interactive, gender-sensitive, and entertaining way.

2) Generate Discussion

Through a gender-specific blog (i.e. a male and female writer will write daily blogs from their gender's perspective) where portal visitors can comment and have their voices heard, on topics such as HIV/ AIDS, health, relationships, sex, sexuality, love, and gender issues.

3) Promote HIV testing

Through easy-to-use portal information and linkages to VCT (voluntary counseling and testing) centres. If we conservatively say that 20% of the South African population are HIV-positive, that means 20% of the users on this mobile portal will be HIV-positive, but might not know their status and might continue practicing risky behavior and putting themselves and their loved ones at risk of infection. It is therefore crucial that we use this platform to, through interactive discussion, create enough peer pressure that young people will test themselves for HIV.

The Results

Between 1 December 2009 and 31 May 2011, we've seen tremendous results:

  • Total page views: Over 36,000,000
  • Total comments made: Over 1,000,000
  • Total unique visitors: Over 357,000

Thanks

Many thanks to our content partners including Traffik, Matchboxology, iTeach, Cell-Life, and Mindset.

Get Involved

  • If you are an NGO with existing youth-orientated content (especially video clips) in topics such as love, sex, relationships, HIV/AIDS, gender issues, sexually transmitted diseases, cultural practices, etc. ...
  • If you are a mobile application developer with experience in developing games, quizzes, ringtones, or other fun stuff on mobile ...
  • If you represent any of the mobile operators in Africa or other developing territories, and would like YAL on you mobile portal...

Please send an email to marcha@praekeltfoundation.org - we'd love to partner with you to broaden the scope of Young Africa Live.

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