Users on digital participation in Uganda

A radio presenter engages people for more digital participation

James Propa is a radio presenter in Kampala, Uganda, working mainly with musicians, publishers and content creators. He is also an author at Global Voices.

Digital participation for me personally means going beyond chatting and communicating with friends about leisure. It means getting involved in issues that affect people. Just 10 percent of the people in Uganda have access to social media, so we have to represent the people who are not online and are voiceless. I can represent people in my own way, since I have followers on social media. I can engage them so that we can all have a voice on these issues. Service delivery, for example, is a big topic that engages a lot of people online. Same with health issues. We get better informed and can proactively protect ourselves from diseases such as yellow fever.

The #speakup barometer is a DW Akademie project that examines the connection between digital participation, freedom of expression and access to information. Learn more at www.dw.com/barometer

Date 13.11.2018
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Date 13.11.2018
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Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/389eM

DWA DW Akademie speakup barometer Uganda

Uganda: Positive developments in innovation overshadowed by digital rights limitations

Uganda features a large number of innovation centers and the quality of digital journalism in the country is improving. But restrictive media laws and low media literacy rates are limiting digital participation.

DWA DW Akademie speakup barometer Cluster Access

Access: New investments could bring down costs

High data costs are one of the main factors hindering digital participation rates in Uganda. But the country’s stated commitment to infrastructure development could bring down prices, which is cause for optimism.

Uganda Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala, witnessradio.org

Digital Rights: Civic space continues to be constrained

Rights to online expression in Uganda are under threat. They are constrained by overly broad, vaguely defined laws that can be used by politicians to criminalize speech on the Internet they do not like.

Media: Journalists under threat

A social media explosion, the dominance of radio and a government in fear of losing control. It can be hard to find your bearings in Uganda’s media landscape—the risks and potential for participation sit side by side.

Society: Between digital enthusiasm and tradition

Ugandans love the Internet and usage rates, while still relatively low, are growing quickly. But this rapid expansion has also led to problems in a society still largely organized along traditional lines.

Innovation: A country in the starting blocks

Despite serious challenges around red tape, infrastructure and poor capital flows, Uganda’s government has plans to jump start the country’s ICT sector. Observers say there’s reason for cautious optimism.