By Bongani Shongwe

The prospect for 2021 is growth, sustainability & ownership in all aspects beyond our borders.

With all the tools we’ve been equipped with and assistance we’ve received from the Jamlab Accelerator Programme we have been positioned in such a manner that we can bloom wherever we are planted.

The idea was conceptualised by an individual but is sustained by a whole community made up of my amazing team, the readers, guest writers and everyone who shares all our links on various platforms.

This year, we are focusing on giving this very community our utmost best. We plan on taking up space on every digital screen from mobile devices to digital billboards, digital banners in malls, mobile transit TVs, every screen across the world from Melbourne to New York’s Times Square to Taipei to Mbabane and beyond.

We also plan on launching our physical print copies for our different distribution channels, taking up space on shelves, tables and counters from homes, to airport lounges, to embassies, to the offices of all our strategic partners.

We plan on fostering new partnerships that not only support the work we do but increase the impact of what we do and promote the need for collaborations instead of working in silos. We also plan on taking ownership of our eco-system from production to publication, which includes releasing our own app and website to prevent outsourcing to third-party sites as we previously had done in 2020. This year is all about ownership, owning our journey, owning our growth and owning our lessons.

My personal plans are to continue gaining knowledge about the media industry, to continually learn, question and test ideas, theories and practices, as there is no room for complacency as we never stop learning.

I plan on traveling to different destinations and engaging with different cultures, different languages, and people to not only learn from them but share what I have to offer as an individual and what potential lies in the youth in my country, as we are what will change the narrative and status quo of eSwatini.

The JamLab Accelerator is a six-month hothouse programme for journalism and media innovators. It is based at Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in the heart of Johannesburg.

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