Case study – Social media and politics in Uganda

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a political foundation with a long history of promoting independent and professional media through journalism trainings and scholarship programmes as well as facilitating networking and dialogue platforms.

They are particularly interested in facilitating conversations on how social media can be an effective tool for political participation. Over the last five years KAS have organised an annual conference in Kampala which brings together key stakeholders from government, civil society, academia and the media to discuss the impact of social media and highlight the opportunities and challenges. The conference provides a platform to discuss how social media can help shape social and political interactions.

KAS has also commissioned a number of reports which research the evolving nature of social media and how politicians and political actors can use social media for campaigning, organising and engaging with their electorates. In 2019 they published a report entitled Social Media, local governance and development in Uganda. The paper explores why social media can help improve local governance and how local government can utilise social media to promote citizen-government engagement. The report concludes that if citizens are actively involved in discussions about government programmes and major policy changes, service delivery and quality of life will improve.

For digital governance to work the report recommends that:

• Central government implement localised social media policies
• Central government ensure local government leaders understand the importance of social media in their communications
• Local government departments integrate social media communication in their annual budgets
• Local government departments are trained in the use of social media

References:

Agena M, Ojok D & Achol T (2019). Social Media, Local Governance and Development in Uganda.

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Uganda and South Sudan. Research Paper 19/01.