What do Joey Rasdien, Lucas Radebe, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and Tshepo the Master Jean Maker all have in common? They’re exceptional South Africans doing exceptional things. And they’re all part of Playbox, a new online “edumentary” platform that vows to shake and shape up the way we learn.
The new Playbox platform features award-winning, trailblazing, and boundary-breaking South Africans putting their hard-won wisdom to work, as they share their skills and their stories with the intention of making a positive impact on South Africa – and the world.
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Increasingly, people are accessing online learning to help them navigate the ever-changing labour market and, interestingly, the highest rate of new learner growth online comes from emerging economies, like South Africa.
Online learning platforms are important tools that help to reduce the widening global skills gap by empowering people to learn well beyond the limitations of the formal classroom, and its traditional subjects list, at their own pace and in their own time.
Cue: Playbox, a proudly South African platform where anyone can learn from some of the nation’s most iconic presenters, sports stars, singers, lawyers, fashion designers, chefs and businesspeople through a series of easy-to-watch edumentary episodes of around 10-minutes each.
Meet the Playbox coaches
The collection of coaches you can learn from currently includes Radebe, a former professional footballer, Rasdien, a comedian, and celebrity chef The Lazy Makoti. In the coming months, TV presenter and actor Maps Maponyane, businesswoman Santie Botha, former Constitutional court judge Albie Sachs and lawyer Lwando Xaso will be added.
“The idea for Playbox originated as a phone call between friends, as we tried to dream up a way to keep our children entertained during the hard Covid-19 lockdown. The more we spoke, the more the idea developed, until it became this insurmountable desire to change the sentiment of South Africa through meaningful, teachable, story-form, online lessons.
“Featuring some of the most prolific South African greats, who’ve partnered with us to bring the vision to life, we hope the platform will elevate education (of kids, adults, leaders, and learners) beyond the norm, while serving as a tool for change that’s like no other,” says Playbox founder, Mark Levy.
According to Levy, Playbox is built for a South Africa where everyone can, because they did. It’s built to change lives and honour authentic South African stories by turning them into meaningful, teachable moments.
Through Playbox, you can learn skills, hear stories (and secrets), and gain insights into the never-been-told tales of the detours, the disasters, the tears and the triumphs of the humans, and legacies, we admire.
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