Sadrag Shihomeka publishes article on engaging citizens in the NAWA Journal of Language and Communication

Shihomeka's paper aims at exploring how the youth use mobile phones as an engagement tool to interact with civic and political leaders in regional and local politics in the Ohangwena region. The research was conducted through the use of ethnographic participant observation, focus group discussions with Youth Forum Executives and semi-structured interviews, which were conducted with regional councillors and other stakeholders who deal with youth issues in the region.

The findings revealed that although mobile phone numbers for regional politicians were made available publicly, the youth still found it difficult to talk directly to the politicians as their calls were either not answered, or they were instructed by the assistants in the councillors’ offices, who usually answered the politicians’ phones when they were in meetings, to make appointments.

Additionally, it was revealed that the majority of the youth felt that most councillors tended to be available for engagement only during election and campaign times. Though public town hall meetings and mobile phones, as well as social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, emerged as the most promising platforms of engagement that can enable both citizens and politicians to interact without any geographical constraints, there is less mobile engagement from the political leaders to the youth and vice versa.

The study recommends that special youth ICT literacy and political participation programmes be developed and facilitated country-wide, and that mobile social media integration in political engagement activities should be strengthened to enhance participatory democracy and digital inclusiveness.

The full article is available via EBSCO HOST.