KeReady2Flex Challenge Launched to Encourage Young People to Vaccinate.
Less political protocol and more personal control. That’s the essence of KeReady2Flex.
The #KeReady campaign, a youth Covid-19 vaccination movement launched in February, today announced the launch of the KeReady2Flex Challenge. This initiative, using both social media and community engagement, invites young people to take control of the communication about Covid-19. #KeReady challenges them to frame Covid-19 and vaccination related messages in their own style using their own creative talent. They are encouraged to perform, paint, move, write, and share these messages and creative elements with #KeReady.
The KeReady2Flex Challenge arises from both survey and anecdotal feedback from young people that they want to take back charge of their lives after the restrictions of the State of Disaster, yet still help to bring about an end to the Covid-19 pandemic. To show young people that their ideas have value, the most creative, emotive, and persuasive designs will win rewards totaling R100,000 a week from 9 March to 26 April 2022.
With social media as their canvas, stage and playground to flex their creativity, young people are invited to create content in the form audio clips, video, graphics, photographs, and drawings. All content is to be posted on their preferred social media platforms with the hashtag #KeReady2Flex. Entries are submitted through WhatsApp by sending the word “Flex” to 060 019 0000.
#KeReady campaign launched, as a frank dialogue, between young people and government ministers, without the traditional speeches at a TVET College. The KeReady2Flex Challenge continues to push these boundaries.
With over 7 million young people under the age of 35 years already vaccinated, the campaign aims to encourage even more youth to come forward over the next two months. Although young people are at a lower risk of getting sick from Covid-19, the risk of severe illness is not zero. Vaccinations, therefore, remain key for this age group to avoid any potential lengthy illness and hospitalisation that can be avoided with a jab. Many also live in households with older family members who are at higher risk.
The past two years have been tough, especially for young people with lockdowns limiting their social circles and opportunities, now is the time for them to flex and show off their creativity.
Lebo Motshegoa, youth mobiliser and content lead for the Demand Acceleration Task Team working with the National Department of Health says:
“The power of young people is in their creativity and tenacity to live in the moment and be ready for what tomorrow may hold. Opportunity lies in the positive choices and action that we make, like getting vaxed.”
“The KeReady2Flex Challenge is quite radical. It is about young people taking centre stage and being creators of their own messaging and really letting their voices be heard. So often it is older people, or people far removed from the reality of young people who make decisions for the youth and who create messaging that has no appeal to them,” Motshegoa adds. “Young people get labelled as apathetic, but how are they supposed to react when others speak on their behalf?”
“The campaign was launched after intense engagement with young people across South Africa. It is deliberately unbranded so that it is an uncontested space for the youth, it also represents the views that young people repeatedly shared in these engagements, where they have expressed that they don’t want to hear from government, or from politicians or even from paid influencers about vaccines,” says Motshegoa.
Dr Saira Carim is one of the young doctors who form part of a network of young health professionals, who call themselves the ‘Vax Squad,’ and engages daily with young people on various platforms including social media answering their many questions. She says, ‘young people feel left out, we were ignored in the beginning when vaccine messaging focused purely on the elderly and the KeReady2Flex Challenge aims to put this right. What’s more young people have been presented in the media as not embracing the vaccine when in fact they have assessed their risk well and come forward faster than older age groups.’
Another doctor from the ‘Vax Squad’, Dr James Menyah-Artivor, stresses the point that,
“Young people say they are tired of all the mixed messaging and misinformation that is out there in the media, especially on social media and that they do want to know the facts. Not knowing who to trust they want honest conversations with people who cut through the clutter providing them with direct answers that are medically sound.”
The Vax Squad will provide answers to the questions that are raised by young people as they create their vaccination messaging and submit entries to the KeReady2Flex Challenge.
To make sure that no young people are left out 100 non-government organisations (NGOs) across the country will be asked to run local KeReady2Flex Challenges and to submit images, video and audio on young people’s behalf. These NGOs will be supported by DGMT with store vouchers to support events and prizes in the form of KeReady merchandise
The Challenge, which will run over an eight-week period, will reward 15 winners weekly, with cash voucher prizes totaling R100,000 every week.
The KeReady2Flex Challenge is run by a team of young people from the DG Murray Trust (DGMT), which is a foundation committed to building South Africa’s potential. All prizes have been sourced by the DGMT.
For any questions specific to the KeReady2Flex Challenge contact Flex@vaccinesupport.co.za or WhatsApp ‘hi’ to 060 019 0000.
#KeReady social media handles: Twitter / Instagram/ Facebook: @Kereadysa