Community Re-Engagement of Youth: eParticipation Realities in Uganda and Norway

Abstract

—by empowering local communities with communicative platforms and sources of information with which they can face mainstream discourses that overlook minority concerns on the one hand and revitalize the collapsing levels of interest in political and civic engagement on the other hand. This paper is based on two interventionist case studies, a grassroots initiative in rural Uganda and the other, a governmental initiative in a local municipality in Norway. The aim is to examine how these two initiatives have approached the common vision of access, utilization, participation and engagement of youths in their respective communities. By juxtaposing both visions of access to ICT promotion for civic engagement among youths, we unravel a common rhetoric and differences mainly reflective of the socioeconomic and political context of the cases. We draw interesting lessons that each case presents to the other and implications to the notion of democratic participation.