Development Talk

Hear it straight from the real football fans!

 

June 29, 2010

South African soccer fans. Photo: Media Club South Africa

South African soccer fans. Photo: Media Club South Africa

If you want to know straight from the fans how they are feeling about the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Winkball.com is an interesting site to look at. You can even record your own match report and stand a chance to win £1000.00.

Winkball is a user-friendly website that enables communication through video. All you need is a computer with internet and a webcam. The ball-shape of a webcamera that you can attach to your computer was probably part of the idea behind the website’s name, while “wink” refers to the personal nature of video communication, where you can see a person’s facial expressions, winks and smiles.

WebcamYou Tube is all about uploading and watching videos and Skype enables live chatting via a webcam. While Winkball also has live chatting capabilities, one can pre-record a video message and then send it out to friends and family, almost like an email. Alternatively you can post it as an entry on your video blog. You can also create a video wall on a certain topic and people can upload videos of their opinion on the subject.

Most recently, UK-based Winkball has sent out reporters to South Africa to record the opinions of soccer fans on the ground. You might see a Winkball journalist walking around with a little recording devise and they might ask you who you are supporting, etc. These comments get posted onto the Winkball website, so that they can “communicate happiness”. They have already spoken to thousands of die-hard fans.

Here are some comments from fans found on the streets of Johannesburg about the match that was played between Brazil and Chile last night.

You can also make a video of yourself giving a match report of one of the games and become a “star reporter”.  Winkball is giving away £1000.00 for the best match report every week.

Creative Consulting & Development Works is also very aware of the impact of videos, that is why we have been sharing videos with you in our blog posts since the start of the World Cup. If you missed any, click here, scroll down and enjoy.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup,Communications,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,internet,media,Social media,South Africa,sport,technology,Videos,web 2.0 — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:13 am

Elano’s shin guards and fatherhood

 

June 21, 2010

Elano Blumer scored a goal for his children.

Elano Blumer scored a goal for his children. Photo: http://pesindeyizgs.blogspot.com

After Brazilian football player Elano Blumer scored a goal last night in the 2010 FIFA World Cup match against Côte d’Ivoire, he took out his shin guards and showed them to the camera. The names of his children were written on them.

What a wonderful gesture on Father’s Day! Creative Consulting & Development Works acknowledges the potential that fathers have to protect and ensure the healthy, positive development of children. This is emphasised by the African Fathers Initiative which “aims to be a continent-wide institutional base for the generation, collection, and dissemination of knowledge and skills about responsible and involved fatherhood across all races and faiths in Africa”. Their website provides research on fatherhood in Africa, refers to policy involving fathers and gives tips to fathers on how to perform their role well. This includes how to tell your children you love them, how to raise a daughter and how to support your pregnant partner.

Teenage Tata - HSRC Press

Teenage Tata - HSRC Press

In South Africa the Human Sciences Research Council runs The Fatherhood Project. This Project aims to, among other things, “rally peer professional support to enable men to be more involved in children’s lives”. They recognise that fathers are often absent in South Africa and that cases of neglect and abuse are rife. However, the project celebrates those father figures, including brothers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins, friends, teachers and preachers that truly have a positive impact on the children for whom they are rolemodels.

The HSRC has published the books Teenage Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa and Baba?: Men and Fatherhood in South Africa.

But let’s not forget about Brazil’s  opponents in the game last night: We also have a story to tell about fatherhood in Côte d’Ivoire. Watch this video about a father’s love for his HIV positive son, posted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Living Proof Project on You Tube.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup,access to health care,Africa,aid,Book,children,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,Family,Fatherhood,Gender,healthcare,HIV/AIDS,initiative,men,Policy,Research,sport,Videos,youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:06 pm

Street Soccer – Where it all begins

 

June 18, 2010

A child cradles a home made soccer ball. One of the wonderful photographs from Jessica Hilltout's book Amen.

A child cradles a home made soccer ball. One of the wonderful photographs from Jessica Hilltout's book Amen. Source: Media Club South Africa

Many of the talented players taking part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup come from humble beginnings and started by playing soccer in the streets where they grew up.

In Africa, the game is often played with bare feet, home made balls and crookedly constructed goal posts. This is what photographer Jessica Hilltout captured in her book Amen – Grassroots Football. She took beautiful photographs of children playing soccer in Southern and West Africa.

Following on from the post on youth development and soccer that we published yesterday, Creative Consulting & Development Works today looks at street soccer and its social impact.

Street Soccer  in the Western Cape

Street Soccer is played with five players on a side and the team that scores three goals first wins.

The government of South Africa have realised the importance of street soccer not only in developing young soccer stars, but also in improving health and in keeping children occupied and out of trouble. Playing in a team helps these children to form bonds where familial bonds are not always strong and where gangs have often fulfilled the need of youths to belong.

In the Western Cape, the 2010 Unit of the Provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport organised street soccer tournaments by taking inflatable pitches to disadvantaged areas. Creative Consulting & Development Works learned about this initiative while revamping the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport’s website.

Edgar Davids’ Football Fever Street Soccer Tour

Through the Football Fever Street Soccer Tour, organised by Edgar Davids of Holland, grassroots soccer has actually brought youths from various parts of the world together. The universal language of soccer has ensured that youths from different backgrounds, cultures and nationalities can relate to one another. The Edgar Davids team have now reached the final leg of their tour, namely South Africa. The tour could be followed through videos posted on You Tube.

Watch the video of the Holland team playing the street soccer team in Alexandra township in Johannesburg.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup,Africa,children,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,Government,poverty,sport,Videos,web design,webdesign,youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 9:55 am

Bafana Bafana rolemodels endorse 2010 FIFA World Cup Charities

 

June 14, 2010

Bafana Bafana are following in Madiba's footsteps by being positive rolemodels for the youth of South Africa. Simphiwe Tshabalala scored the opening goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Bafana Bafana are following in Madiba's footsteps by being positive rolemodels for the youth of South Africa. Simphiwe Tshabalala scored the opening goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Photo: Media Club South Africa

If Bafana Bafana were not the heroes of millions of South African children before, their performance this weekend in the 2010 FIFA World Cup has surely cemented their status as rolemodels.

Simphiwe Tshabalala of Bafana Bafana scored the first goal of the tournament and the team eventually drew 1-1 with Mexico.

It is heartening to see that the players are truly being positive rolemodels. Teko Modise and Matthew Booth are for instance endorsing the Brothers for Life campaign on national television. Brothers for Life encourage safe sexual relationships and respect for and protection of women and children. Watch the Matthew Booth video by clicking here.

Matthew Booth also endorses one of the official charities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, called 1GOAL. This campaign is bringing together footballers, fans, charities, corporations and individuals to lobby and achieve the ambitious aim of ensuring education for everyone in the world. As many as 72 million children in the world are currently denied the chance to go to school.

Proceeds from the Kick-off Concert for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, held last Thursday in Johannesburg went to this charity and another called “20 Centres for 2010”, which aims to build 20 Football for Hope Centres to promote public health, education and football in disadvantaged communities across Africa.

You can also upload a video of yourself doing the “Waka Waka”, the dance that goes with the official 2010 FIFA World Cup Song, sung by Shakira, to You Tube to create awareness for the 1GOAL campaign. See Shakira’s video about this below.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup,access to health care,Africa,aid,children,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,education,Family,Gender,healthcare,HIV/AIDS,initiative,inspiration,inspire,men,rolemodels,Videos,women,youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:23 am