Vuselela is an interactive, competition-based reality programme that invites South African youth aged 16+ to share their stories in a variety of formats and across a range of media platforms. Its aim is to help young South Africans find their own voices and to provide a platform for them to tell their stories and participate in public dialogue about the issues that affect them.

There are 2 main components to the Vuselela project:

(a) B-ME(dia)-Ys (a series of media education tutorials and story showcase):

Via a series of 50 short interactive media education tutorials which will be delivered for free on Bozza mobile and community television in the 1st quarter of each year of the project, we will teach young people across South Africa how to use their cell phones to create short videos. We will also encourage them to go out and produce their own video stories and submit them to us.

The best mobile video stories produced by our course participants will be shown on community TV stations across South Africa every day for the rest of the year. They will also be uploaded to our Vuselela mobile channel on Bozza, where everyone will be able to view them, vote for the best entries, comment on them and engage interactively with the issues they raise.

Our underlying intention is to understand the realities of South African youth and to getyoung people across the country talking about their problems, challenges and issues, whether they be HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, poverty, unemployment, crime, drug/ alcohol abuse or domestic violence.

(b) B-YR-SLF (a reality TV series and competition to find the Vuselela hero of the year):

In the 3rd quarter of each year of the project, we will select one Vuselela finalist per province. Selection will be based on peer votes as well as on geographical area (with a focus on impoverished rural communities) and the issues covered by entrants.

The provincial finalists will each receive a one-week visit from the Vuselela Youth Crew towards the end of the 3^rd quarter. They will work together with the Vuselela team to tell their stories in a format that will form the basis of a 12-part reality TV show that explores the similarities and differences in different groups of teenagers’ lives. The series will be broadcast on community TV, DStv and Top TV in the 4th quarter of each year of the project (November and December).

Each year, for the duration of the project, the winner of the competition-based TV series will be crowned the Vuselela B-a-HERO of the Year and will win a three-year media bursary from Boston City Campus. There will also be two one-year bursaries for the runners-up, as well as smaller prizes for the other finalists and their schools.