By Spy Uganda
Kampala, Mukono: With only ten days to the polling day, CCEDU seems not to be ready to give up on mobilizing Ugandans to participate in decision making for their leaders as today with support from UN Women has taken lecturers to over 40 youths from Mukono University via zoom and 45 youth offline to engage them on the election day procedures.
https://www.facebook.com/omulembegwadigito/posts/108315314529302
It is worth noting that CCEDU developed a voter mobilization campaign dubbed Mulembe Gwa Digital, Beera Mu Class to engage the youth through ways that appeal to them. The campaign is largely through technology, language and images (visual/audio).
READ ALSO: Let’s Join Hands for a Clean Voters’ Register In 2021-CCEDU’s Charity
The campaign utilizes peer-to-peer communication across multi–media platforms to speak emotively and influence young people to positively to appreciate, participate and engage in 2021 elections. Some of these peers are Josephine Karungi and Samson Kasumba.
CCEDU is also utilizing popular characters on the entertainment scene and social circuit plus online influencers and trendsetters to speak to the youth about their right to vote and encouraging the youth and women to the elections and urge them to turn up to vote in big numbers on January 14, 2020.
READ ALSO: CCEDU Speaks Out On Hoima Woman MP By-election
According to CCEDU, youth and women in Uganda have been marginalized, stereotyped and relegated to spectator positions in political activities. They have been stigmatized as ‘bandits and wrong-doers’ during elections and political peak seasons and while this applies to male youth, the female youth have not been spared by sexist tendencies and being ‘closed out’ from key spaces for participation through fear, monetization and demobilization based on some gender dimensions like ones marital status among others.
CEDDU adds on that the 2021 electoral processes have seriously undermined the participation of young people who have largely been labelled as destructive.
READ ALSO: Gov’t Warns Election Observers Against Reporting Live Events Ahead of 2021 Elections
The organization, therefore, views the youths as very impressionable, especially the category between 18 – 24 years. The 30% resides in urban areas (cities, municipalities, towns, trading centers) they are trendy, information-driven and are also viewed as influencers by their peers in the semi-urban and rural areas and this is the reason the campaign is reaching them specifically.
