By Ndi Eugene Ndi
Ngwa Norah is winner of the second edition of the Digital Literacy Contest organized by Sisterspeak237; an organization that amongst others, seeks to promote communication for social change. The 24-years-old University of Bamenda student’s three-minute spoken word poetry that promotes truth on the social media was chosen among eight entries the organisers received for the February edition of the competition.
Judges graded the entries on a score of 50, while online engagements of the entries on Sisterspeak237 social media pages constituted another 50 points. Organisers said contestants demonstrated an understanding of how to combat fake news, misinformation and hate speech in all eight entries.
Norah who is studies at the Community and Development Studies Department of the University of Bamenda emerged winner after her entry, titled “Fake News” scored of 95 on 100, ahead of Allen Laika Tatah’s “Truth Conquers Falsehood, Love Silences Hatred” and Akalambi Claire’s “Awake” that were rated second and third respectively.
One of the judges, Ndamo Damaris said she was impressed with the entries of the second edition as each contestant brought in their unique flavor and proved their readiness to carry the message beyond.
“Last month [the first] edition had four entries and the fact that it doubled to eight this edition depicts how widely the campaign is spreading, reaching out to more people across the globe. Hence, more awareness on the subject,” Ndamo Damaris said.
The Digital Literacy Contest is part of Sisterspeak237’s Digital Literacy Project currently being implemented with support from the US Embassy in Cameroon. The first phase saw the training of 46 youths and influencers in the South West region last year, at the end of which participants committed to use tech for the promotion of peace and truth.
The Project Lead, Wanchia Cynthia, said they are happy the participants from their entries showed prove of understanding of the subject matter despite the fact that second edition of the contest was tougher than the maiden edition.
“Congratulations to the winner Norah Ngwa. Choosing a winner became a difficult task for our team. The entries were intriguing and contestants showed mastery of the subject matter. It was more interesting to get an entry from a group of hearing impaired and we pray the messages sink so together we can stop hate Speech, combat fake news and misinformation,” Wanchia Cynthia said, announcing that the March edition of the contest was to be launched on Sunday March 20 on Sisterspeak237’s social media pages.
“I am excited to see what the March edition has in store for us,” the Sisterspeak237 Digital Literacy Project Lead said.
