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The Siyafunda CTC Model
Siyafunda CTC uses the Community Knowledge Centre model (CKC) to reach previously disadvantaged and underserviced communities. A CKC is a community center with digital tools that will provide varied services. The CKC will be owned by local partners and offer local resources. The CKC is a place where community members can access the Internet, learn practical and creative skills, begin a program, and finish with a digital portfolio containing a skills checklist, writing samples, a resume, work qualifications, and media documentation in the form of photos and short films. Siyafunda CTC partners with existing organizations to adopt this model to uplift their communities. Our aim is to further grow this network.
Community Knowlege Centre (CKC) Overview
A CKC is a community centre with digital tools that will provide varying services. The CKC will be owned by local partners and offer local resources. The CKC is a place where community members can access the Internet, learn practical and creative skills, begin a program, and finish with a digital portfolio containing a skills checklist, writing samples, a resume, work qualifications and media documentation in the form of photos and short films.
The CKC Manager is a key figure in the community. The Manager is in charge of the centre’s daily life and its strategic vision for the future. The Manager’s role consists of four main components:
- Mapping the community from two perspectives:
- Mapping the community characteristics, opportunities and needs- How many children are in the community? How many of them attend school on a daily basis?
- Mapping local and national organizations in order to create a wide range of services for the community, and also to coordinate each organization’s resources for the community welfare. For example: How many health centres, doctors, nurses, or hospitals are in your community? Are there other organizations involved in the community?
- Making it Happen- Writing a working plan for the coming year according to the mapping and managing a budget that address the present needs but also looks to the future.
- Making it Sustainable- Marketing and advertising the centre’s activities, thinking about ways to make it sustainable.
- Human Resources- Recruiting volunteers and employees who will operate the ongoing activities of the centre and serve as community leaders as well, to building them as a team and leading them toward reaching the centre’s goals.
Thanks to the knowledge and understanding of community needs, the tools and skills acquired throughout trainings and daily life; and a vision of promoting a thriving centre and community- most of the CKC managers become leading figures in their community.
Sustainability means keeping the vision alive. To do so, learning new skills will be a constant requirement. One example is continuously creating surveys. Knowledge of this skill will allow CKC Managers to learn everything from whether the centre is meeting the needs of the community, to determining what resources are most vital to support a thriving community. Sustainability also means learning the tools to create a budget to manage the community centre, to track revenue and understand expenses.
The Goal of the CKC training is to provide basic knowledge and tools for the management of the community centres. At the end of the training, the manager will be able to write his or her centre business plan for the coming year, think about the best way to advertise his or her centre and look for partners in the local communities which will help make the centre sustainable.
The training is divided into three modules- Community, Centre Management and Media & Technology, plus a summary model – “One Day in Centre Life”. Each one has subject units which combine Knowledge, Skills and Practical Tools needed for the CKC managers’ daily work.
The summary module, a “One Day in Centre Life” activity, aims to give the CKC managers a sense of how a CKC works on a daily basis. The activity will present case studies of a community Centre in Africa – how it looks, examples of working plans, budget structures, marketing, and advertising tools, such as flyers, local media, and how to become a local entrepreneur.
The measurable objectives of the ongoing program include:
- Understanding of the community through community mapping
- Building digital skills and understanding of media through portfolios
- Increasing participant’s skills in leadership, business, and community development through demonstration projects
The desired outcomes of the training include:
- Serving as a catalyst for understanding, learning, inspiration and actively improving the quality of life
- Serving as a communications and marketing tool for the community
Serving as a model for other communities to embrace
The purpose of the training is to empower individuals to understand their needs and opportunities, and those of the community. This includes access to the basic technology tools to improve the quality of life and the thinking skills necessary to integrate relevant information into their lives.
Through an intensive training including basic technology mastery, media literacy education, peer teaching, job skills and entrepreneurship, those participating learn to think critically, communicate effectively, and produce creatively. The intensive training is followed by peer-led practice and online “coaching”, pairing community members and mentors for face-to-face, and remote support.
Those participating learn to master the relevant technology skills and the core concepts of digital literacy. They also acquire essential workplace skills (writing a working plan and a budget, sustainability, time management, accountability, and self-motivation), practice business planning and business management (expense reports and income statements, SWOT analyses, and Return on Investment concepts) as they are relevant to the particular environment.
It is vital to know where and when (as well as when not) to use the technology for learning, community development, presentations, management, or to acquire additional subject matter knowledge.
The goal of the Community Knowledge Centre is to support people in your community to develop the 21st century skills necessary to succeed and thrive in today’s world. This Community Knowledge Guide (CKG) will cover:
- Technology literacy
- 4IR skills
- Future skills
- Financial literacy
- Media literacy
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Leadership skills
- Collaborative skills
- Business & Entrepreneur skills
- Global awareness
- Civic engagement
- Life skills