Digital campaigning
Digital campaigning was one of the strategies used by the Africa Youth Partnership project team in influencing equitable recovery from the covid-19 pandemic in African countries. In Tanzania and Uganda, social media handles like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook of individual staff and Youth Task Team (YTT) members, Restless Development and YTT members’ youth-led organizations in Tanzania and Uganda were used in pushing the project agendas of education digitalization in Uganda and Youth development fund management in Tanzania. Messages were created in video and poster format by YTT members on specific topics and shared on social media platforms on a daily basis. The digital campaigns have raised awareness of the public (estimated to have reached over 1,000,000 people) on the two targeted topics and highlighted some gaps that need to be improved as we are recovering from the pandemic effects in Tanzania and Uganda.
Organizing two radio programs discussing education digitalization and effective management of youth development funds under Local Government Authority (LGAs) in Tanzania.
Organizing radio programs was part of AYP strategy to raise people’s awareness on key effects caused by Covid-19 and highlight gaps in the recovery programs as identified in the desk review done by YTTs in Tanzania and Uganda. Again the radio programs were meant to be part of advocacy strategy for an equitable recovery in our countries by highlighting the role of youth and the importance of engaging them in designing and implementing programs and policies in our countries. The two radio programs (two hour sessions) were organized in Morogoro (DIZZIM FM) and Dodoma(Dodoma FM) and led by the young people (YTT members in Tanzania). The main topics discussed in the radio programs were; how young people have been affected by Covid-19 economically, economic opportunities available for youth, youth participation in recovery efforts and the effectiveness of the youth development fund in Tanzania.
The two programs are estimated to reach over 5,000 (60% males, 40% females) audiences and it is believed from listeners’ interactions to promote youth engagement through creation of spaces needed to amplify their voices to audiences of policy influence while confronting the existing barriers that compromise meaningful youth engagement in Covid19 recovery efforts especially in the economic sector.
5 Youth Task team members and 2 Restless Development staff (Benetius and Badru) had a 60 minutes’ live program at Dodoma FM radio on 20th December 2022 that was meant to highlight and air out key issues discussed during the national dialogue held on 19th December 2022. This radio program gave young people space to air out their voices on key concerns that decision makers and development practitioners should work on to empower young people and the responsibilities of young people for their prosperity.
