Digital inclusion of youths in civic spaces in Zambia

By Subilo Malema

Looking back at the availability of digital spaces in my much younger days, much needed to be done. As a girl hailing from the land of copper and minerals, the Copperbelt Province, I was hardly involved in any civic activities and barely ever heard of them in my community. Political decisions affected us in the long run, but we were never called upon to add our voices. Civic engagement has only been a conversation for those in power, and our duty has been to accept whatever the people we elect give us. We still remember times when voicing political views was nearly criminalised by previous governments. Including young people who represent the majority in Zambia is paramount.  

At the fast pace of the digital space, being proactive and engaging with people on all levels is essential. Creating a feedback ecosystem that allows citizens to engage on all fronts can increase dialogue as more citizens join the conversation. Loop is creating an ideal world where even the most vulnerable in communities can speak up and inform decisions through their feedback. The Zambian Governance Foundation (ZGF) is rolling out Loop as a tool for civic inclusion, focusing on young people. Young people being the most conversant with digital tools, we are creating an environment that allows them to inform policy and participate in national affairs. 

Creating a safe digital space for voicing opinions and demanding accountability by civic leaders, Loop moderators are in place to ensure that views shared using the Loop platform provided are being used for the good of the communities and are not contravening any community guidelines. The African Charter on Democratic Election and Governance (ACDEG) also aims to establish the necessary conditions to foster citizen participation, transparency, and access to information of African Union (AU) member state citizens. Zambia’s failure to domesticate the Charter creates a lacuna that gives way to irregularities in the execution and upholding of the law. Therefore, people must be empowered with information that allows them to hold said states accountable. 

The Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) has partnered with the Zambian Governance Foundation to implement a project entitled ‘Digital inclusion of young people in Zambia in civic spaces‘. With over 60 per cent of the electorate being young people in the previous election, we see that it is sacrosanct that young Zambians are in the know regarding legal and political decision-making. Over 300 young people have been trained on what is contained in the ACDEG charter and encouraged to call for the domestication of the charter. 

The popularisation of the ACDEG Charter is a mandate given to all member states by signing and ratifying the document. Creating context-adapted information for disseminating information on the charter and its contents is a task that many African civil societies have undertaken to ensure that they create demand among African citizens to hold their governments accountable. ZGF hopes that through the Loop platform, more young Zambians will be able to engage with the Charter and voice their opinion on governance issues that affect them. 

This article was written by Subilo Malema. For more information on the digital inclusion of youths in civic spaces, contact ZGF via our email zgf@zgf.org.zm.