Limkokwing University Lesotho Student Ambassador, Joyce Ramorara won a whopping $10,000.00 prize at the Youth Media Literacy Hackathon Competition in Johannesburg recently.
After attending the Youth Media Literacy Workshop hosted by the Faculty of Communication Media and Broadcasting earlier this year, Joyce Ramorara who is currently pursuing BA (Hons) in Broadcasting and Journalism felt motivated to participate in the Regional Youth Media Literacy Hackathon Competition.
The Hackathon programme aims to empower young people by enhancing their media literacy skills and critical thinking. Additionally, it aimed to support the creation of innovative media products developed by young people from the SADC region to specifically address unmet needs.
Out of the top 8 finalists from Eswatini and Lesotho, only two people from Lesotho and Eswatini won the grand prize with Ramorara’s pitch being one of the best two that were selected as out of the box ideas that the Hackathon would fund. Her project was named EduYou Podcast, an Educational Podcast specially designed to address young people; giving them insight information on different paths to help them make informed decisions about career choices.
Once it is set up, the podcast will be aired on a free website for easy access, and each season will consist of 6 episodes that will primarily target youth and parents. The podcast is designed to accommodate everyone, within and outside the country; hence it will run in both Sesotho and English.
“Apart from the skill I have gathered from my course of study, I feel like being a student ambassador also played a huge role in molding me in to the person I am today,” said Ramorara. She further explained that being a student ambassador helped her improve her interpersonal skills and her ability to voice out her brilliant ideas for the world to take to heart.
Apart from the Hackathon competition that comes with a $10,000.00 funding and intensive mentorship, Ramorara also won other competitions that were in line with her chosen field of study like the Inaugural Prize for Comment Writing with the Continent Newspaper that she entered in 2021. Here, Ramorara won a $200.00 prize after she published an article entitled “Lesotho needs a clear line on legal and illegal abortion practices.”
Giving a few words of encouragement Ramorara said, “Your belief in yourself has to be greater that anyone’s disbelief in you. One must always believe in themselves and their capabilities and that they’re the best; that way, they can make the best out of anything.”
