The teenagers who participated in the Politeracy initiative received various digital training and were equipped with various devices like computers and phones to begin political education in rural areas in order to hold political leaders accountable.
This was revealed by the project's lead, Awgu Uchenna, at the Politeracy project's closing ceremony, which took place at the Centre for Memories, Independence Layout, Enugu.
The ENDsars project was created and performed by the consortium of YES WE CAN Sustainable Leadership for Youth Initiative (YWC) and Integriti Technologies, and was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands under an initiative called Voice.
"The Politeracy project was aimed at promoting political literacy through the use of digital abilities," he explained. The project's purpose was to train 200 people from 10 different areas in Enugu State on how to use digital skills for sociopolitical engagement. Mmaku, Umuode, Ozalla Uwellu, Ugwuaji, and Iva Valley are among the communities.
"The Politeracy project was inspired by the END SARS protest. The demonstration was deemed the most powerful in recent Nigerian history, and it was sustained through the use of social media.
"However, it was found that teenagers in the rural and semi-urban areas inadequately participated in the protest due to lack of proper awareness and use of social media. This sparked the concept of teaching rural and semi-urban teenagers how to use social media for sociopolitical engagement.
"The project began in August 2021 with a project team sensitization visit to the ten communities. In each of the ten communities, twenty youngsters were chosen. They were then instructed on various issues in digital skills and political education.
"The rights holders were instructed on practical procedures to effectively begin campaigns and get their views known on social media and in their individual communities.
"The Politeracy project was a huge success. The owners of the rights are now well equipped with essential digital skills and political knowledge. They are now more conscious and appreciate the significance of their participation in sociopolitical engagements.
"They are currently actively participating in online social media discussions, sensitising other adolescents on the importance of participating in politics and holding their governments/leaders accountable," he said.
(Source: independent.ng)
