The Lawilink Centre can contribute actively to youth development in education, training and media technology, in particular: computer training, magazine designing/publishing, photography, business management and videography. This model has already been tested with Zimlink which has a successful track record operating in UK and Zimbabwe. Zimlink has identified Malawi as a country in which this mode
l can be highly successful. Zimlink has created a branch of our growing family LAWILINK in Malawi. There is a huge potential in Malawi, Lawilink by creating benefits in the form of, increased employment, training and education. Lawilink intends to create a hub for the Malawi population and the southern African region. It will add to the drive to empower Malawi’s young and highlight the potential of Malawi to transform the region. It will open up Malawi to opportunities in other countries where Zimlink is operating: Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, South Africa and the UK. Our operation in Malawi is empowering & enabling citizens by supporting government initiatives, eradicating poverty and creating employment. Lawilink - Zimlink are international brands as such we are at the forefront of coming changes to Africa. Made up of over 300 staff from all over the world with experience in many different fields this contributes in the way we operate as an organisation. Lawilink is unique in the way it operates no other company in the world dose what we do the way we do it. Lawilink – Zimlink lead the way through mutual exchanges with the communities and companies we work with. Citizens who have access to education and technology live longer, are almost certain to find employment or form business’s and create a future we can sustain. Lawilink presents the opportunity to join and work with an organisation that will catapult Malawi and generally the SADC region to another level. Lawilink is set to be one of the largest media and community interest organisations in southern Africa and the world. Our understanding of the world we work in is reflected by the diversity of our organisation's personnel. Our members are derived from students, non-professional and professional individuals ranging from consultant oncologists, BBC/Aljazeera media staff, business entrepreneurs and authors. We are constantly giving back to our communities by training youths how to use media tools as a source of empowerment. This can be exhibited by our successful and on-going projects in Zimbabwe, the UK and Malawi. Lawilink is the sister of Zimlink which has already taken the UK and Zimbabwe by storm. Our teams are predominantly and purposely made up of the local people so the skills learnt will benefit the local communities for the long term. We believe that the skills should be given in the communities we work as this has both an economic and educational impact on the labour force in that region. Our argument is: Why bring labour from Europe, America and Asia when Africa itself has the skills and labour needed to run projects for Africans by Africans! Since the launch of the Lawilink online magazine on Friday the 12th of June 2015, the interest from the global community is increasing at a remarkable pace. The page now has over 2,500 fans and is growing by the day. Lawilink is following in the footsteps of its sister organisation Zimlink, which has successfully operated on a similar model both the UK and Zimbabwe. The award winning Zimlink site now has over 60,000 online views with the page at 30,000 likes, out ranking most of the national press radio and television in Zimbabwe. Lawilink is a registered NGO and non-profit organisation, all proceeds are used to fund the Education, Training, low cost media and projects in the community. Lawilink promotes the free exchange of information & knowledge with local people through film, media and photography. Lawilink main objectives are to facilitate a dialogue between Malawi, the UK and the rest of the world through media. The organisation provides laptops, cameras and training to on-going projects in Zimbabwe, Malawi & the UK; Lawilink will be spreading this model to other Southern African countries once the model in Zimbabwe & Malawi is established and proven to work. We have an online magazine/s, online channel/s and website/s with British, Zimbabwean & Malawian editors and teams who work to bridge the gaps between sectors of society, particularly the younger and older generations. Lawilink at all times remains, neutral, non-political; empowerment and inclusion are our over-arching themes putting us in a unique position. Lawilink fully supports the free exchange of information and knowledge and as such our content is openly shared. We offer joint copyright on all material and promote this at every opportunity. Zimlink already provides video and website services at no cost to other organisations who do not have the facilities or means, whilst at the same time training the members of those organizations enabling them to become self-sustaining. Malawi is a potential creative hub for Southern Africa, with its prime geographic location and links with other nations. We can contribute significantly to the development of social media in Malawi and the SADIC region. Young people coming out of higher education hungry for change, for a chance to shape their world, and this potential can be developed and their drive accelerated given a portal for them to showcase their abilities. Our flexible business model can adapt to meet these needs. Lawilink is a non-profit organization created by Zac Darkes. Zac has grown Zimlink & Lawilink with a family of volunteers based in the UK Malawi Zimbabwe and the rest of the world since November 2013. Without any funding, an online magazine/website receives 200-1000 hits per day, a page is growing at a rate of 200-800 likes per week, and a YouTube channel, Zimlink TV, has received over 17, 000 views to date, with over 60,000 views from the online magazine. Lawilink located its HQ & training centre in Blantyre Malawi. We are using film and photography to empower individuals, organizations and communities to work together, creating better understanding of the geo-social community. By joining together we can learn, transform and create new links. Lawilink source’s local technology where possible and promote business and social links with the United Kingdom (UK) and the rest of the world. Blantyre City the oldest urban centre in Malawi, established by the Scottish Missionaries in the 1870s. Blantyre city offers a number of economic opportunities but lacks resources to meaningfully implement its strategies and provide the required basic social infrastructure and urban services required for economic development to take place. Over 65 percent of the city’s population lives in informal settlements which occupy about 33 percent of the land in Blantyre. Poverty stands at 34 percent while unemployment stands at 18 percent. Improved governance, management capacity and job creation/training are seen as major factors needed for reducing poverty in the city. Given the underdevelopment in Malawi, the location of Blantyre within a 7 hour drive of the capitals of Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Blantyre offers a prime location, as Malawi’s second largest city & commerce capital with its mixture of low to high income groups, sprawling high-density ghetto communities. Blantyre’s failing economy and lack of development was the main consideration when locating our HQ there. Lawilink can reach out to the youth and develop a solid base in which to provide education and employment Lawilink is already doing this. Lawilink by 2018 will seek to establish a larger centre in the rural area of limbe to the south of Blantyre. Lawilink can grow, nurture local talent and skills regardless of the disruption created by the current economic crisis. What is missing is a portal that can link the activities for all communities. There is much to gain from the active presence of a platform that can showcase and share the creativity and skills of all communities. Such a portal can propel growth and help introduce those featured to a whole new audience. This is what Zimlink & Lawilink aims to provide. Lawilink harness the power of media to provide a platform where the creative, entrepreneurial and enterprising skills of the Malawian, Zimbabwean and Malawi/Zimbabwe-UK communities can be showcased to the international community. In the process Lawilink will grow, nurture and support the communities’. In essence, we will link Zimbabwe, Malawi, Malawi/Zimbabwe-UK, and anyone affiliated with the communities to the rest of the world through media & education. Part of our mission is to become the preferred organisation that artistes and events managers choose to provide digital media coverage. The organisation is guided by 2 principles: empowerment and inclusion. Lawilink is open to everyone, every skill and every social group, allowing mutual growth – of the individual and of Lawilink. The organisation hopes that our driving principles equip others with skills that can change lives, and allow different communities to interact, connect, share and understand the creative sphere around us. Lawilink provides media coverage for artistic, cultural and community events of in Malawi, UK and Zimbabwe. In doing so, Lawilink works with volunteers, particularly young These volunteers unique opportunities of being able to either apply their theoretical knowledge or acquire relevant skills ‘on the job’ at no cost to them. In Malawi, equipment will be provided free of charge. Ownership of equipment will be aided by providing training in the care and maintenance of equipment. Over the past three years Zimlink & Lawilink has actively worked with well over 1500 different organizations, individuals and events providing support. All Lawilink and Zimli
