MOST RECENT: Issue 07 (July 2008)
* Villager Staff & Journalists
* Amazwi Villager Online
* Villager Publishing Program
* Villager Lodge Partners
The Villager (a South African news magazine) is written by rural African female journalists of Sotho and Shangaan descent and distributed in their home communities within the Lowveld region of South Africa. Amazwi, a non-profit organization, publishes the Villager monthly.
Amazwi’s full-time journalists and advert rep are graduates of the Amazwi School of Media Arts’ Narrative Journalism and Fieldwork Studies program (Class of 2007), a MAPPP-SETA accredited program.
The first two issues of the Amazwi Villager (July & October 2007), sponsored by the Lonely Planet Foundation, were produced with the intent of 1) showcasing the work of the Amazwi School of Media Arts’ journalism class, while also 2) introducing the first print medium produced by residents of and focused on the communities that make up the villages of Acornhoek, Thulamahashe, and northern Bushbuckridge.
The third issue (March 2008) transitioned the Villager from a school publication to a free community news magazine produced by a team of five graduates of Amazwi SOMA, each with her own specialty and perspective. Click here to read more about Amazwi’s team of local journalists, advert sales reps, and international editors.
Amazwi’s Hoedspruit-based team of volunteers, including Amazwi’s Founder, are using the year 2008 to focus on the professional development of Amazwi SOMA graduates and the further establishment of the Amazwi Villager as a local news source, a medium through which issues are discussed and investigated, and a trusted publication supported entirely by local businesses who advertise.
In March 2008, the Amazwi Villager launched a web edition. The Amazwi Villager Online provides a platform through which our writers can reach readers beyond their local communities and across international borders.
Senior Editor Lou Manzo has recently launched a new initiative catered to the local tourism industry called the Lodge Partnership Program. This program was designed to 1) increase the readership and circulation of our publication; 2) work with the international tourism market within our region to strengthen the presence of the Villager and Amazwi projects locally; and 3) partner up to expose international tourists who often only visit Greater Kruger National Park to “the real Lowveld”. If you’re interested in learning more about this program, click here to download an information packet.
