The Digizen Circle' ; Africa Youth Speak

The Digizens’ Circle is an engagement event that will be held as the first event of the AllAfrica Media Leaders’ Summit on the 8^th May 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. It will be held at the University of Nairobi  Chandaria Auditorium 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be open to all African Youths. The event aims to engage young digital natives and find out what their thoughts are on the state of African media. 

The theme of the event will be: ‘What is the Youth’s Place in African Media’

The youth of Africa are powerful and are the promise of the continent's future. They have a lot to say but due to cultural norms and fear of rejection or judgment, many of them remain silent. Some are brave enough to speak up but alone they cannot speak for all of Africa's youth. The youth are skillfully adept at all things tech and social media, with many of them having some kind of digital or online presence. The 2024 AllAfrica Public Youth Debate, which will be named The Digizens’ Circle: Young Africa Speaks, aims to harness this and use it to gain the opinions of our youth.

How the Event Will Work:

The event will be set up in a huge circle with screens that can be viewed from all angles and a moderator seated in the middle. The event will be split into three fifty-minute sessions with a different topic discussed in each session. The event will be centered around an interactive presentation software called Mentimeter, which can be accessed using any smartphone that each participant will need to have with them at the event. At the beginning of the event, there will be a short introductory and motivational speech to get the participants fired up and in the right headspace. After the speech, three relevant ice-breaker questions will be asked using Mentimeter to get the participants familiar with using the software. The answers and results of these questions will be projected on the screens for everyone to see. At the beginning of each session, the moderator will briefly introduce the topic and ask a simple leading question with three simple answers which the participants will be able to choose from on Mentimeter. After the results are shown on the screen, the moderator will ask another question to start the debate. From here participants can raise their hands and continue to debate on the topic out loud. Throughout the debate, the moderator will guide the discussion. They will also ask key questions and hold polls on Mentimeter at various intervals. At the end of the event, we will ask the participants to submit words that we can use to make a word cloud on Mentimeter on what they think it will take for the media to help develop Africa into the powerhouse it has the potential to be.

Why Use Mentimeter?

 All the participants' answers will be anonymous on Mentimeter which will allow all of them (especially those who are shy or hesitant to speak out loud) to answer freely. This will foster greater engagement on a deeper level amongst the participants and will allow us to get real and uncensored opinions and information on how the youth view the state of African media and their place in it.

Topics:

1. Accessibility

• How accessible is African traditional media to the youth in terms of relevance and engagement?
• What are some of the things that make it inaccessible?
• How visible is African media, especially to the youth?
• How does the format of traditional media affect its accessibility to the youth?
• Could it be more appealing?
• In what ways could access be made easier?

2. Inclusion

• Are there enough stories about young people?
• Are issues, events, and achievements within their communities documented and acknowledged by the media enough?
• Does the media seek out the youth’s opinions on current affairs, and national and international issues enough?
  • If the youth are the future then why don’t reporters also interview young adults and teenagers along with adults and prominent community members to get the opinions and views of the entire population?
• How do African people view their youth? 
  • Are they taken seriously?
  • What role do traditional and cultural norms play in how Africans view their youth? Are they a hindrance to achieving the goals of the African cause?

3. A Call For Action

• The link between Africa’s goals and plans to develop the continent and the role that the youth can play is unclear and abstract at best, as many young people in Africa and the Diaspora are not completely aware of the African cause and its implications. How can the call for action to African youth be made more visible?
• There are many ways in which the youth can get involved in the African cause. What innovative ways can the media use to make these known?
  • What existing platforms can aid the media in this?
  • Are there new platforms that the media can create specifically for African development?
  • Can the media start new initiatives and organisations for the youth to engage in the African cause?

There will be two short breaks of fifteen minutes between topics where attendees can help themselves to snacks and refreshments, and where they will have the opportunity to mingle. After a ten-minute break following the last topic, the top three contestants from the Newsroom Youth Innovation Challenge will have five minutes each to present their innovations followed by a short Q&A session.