Facebook has announced the names of three South Africans who have been selected to join the Facebook Community Leadership Programme as Fellows.
They are:
* Gabriel Hoosain Khan, who supports “LGBTI Community, Human Rights” Facebook Group, which provide a safe platform where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex South Africans from marginalised communities can network and share their experiences.
* Lusanda Magwape’s, who runs “Dream Factory Foundation” Facebook Group which aims to connect youth from underprivileged backgrounds with economic and educational opportunities.
* Nadine Maselle, who runs “Salt River High Tutoring”. She is one of the top-performing learners in her school and tutors 20-plus learners from her school that are struggling with mathematics. She also spearheaded a gardening and recycling project with her school’s principal.
“Our community empowers youth from underprivileged backgrounds to make a full contribution to society by connecting them with caring mentors, quality education that incorporates a sense of purpose and economic opportunities,” says Magwape.
Maselle comments: “Many learners struggle with mathematics, a subject that is critical to the workplace. I am excited to use Facebook to connect with other learners from my school and beyond, and to share my knowledge with them.”
“We find community in unexpected places. WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram helped me to connect to – and be inspired by – young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people from across southern Africa,” says Khan. “In a world filled with marginalization, I’m committed to finding creative ways to build a world free of discrimination and violence.”
Since announcing the programme in February, Facebook received more than 6 000 applications from all over the world. A selection committee, which included employees as well as community experts from outside of Facebook, reviewed each application to identify leaders with a strong, clear and committed vision for their community.
Five global participants have been selected as community leaders in Resident, who will each be awarded up to $1-million to fund their community initiative. The final amount received will be determined based on final budget proposal created and submitted by each resident as part of their program training.
Kenya’s Noah Nasiali was selected as Africa’s only leader in Resident on the programme. He has brought together more than 100 000 farmers across Africa through a Facebook group in less than a year. Farming is one of Africa’s most important industries, and Noah’s community helps farmers obtain and share critical information.
The programme will also host more than 100 fellows and youth participants around the globe, who will receive up to $50 000 each to be used for their community initiative.