CWP 2 - WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Left: Dato’ Noraini Ahmad, MP, Malaysia; Right: Senator Kerryann Ifill , Barbados, participating in the discussion.
media is used institutionally and individually by Members.
Social media is widely used by young people globally and therefore crucial for Parliaments to recognize its importance. In Uganda, the initiative U-Speak, was launched by Speaker Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, MP, to help enable constituents in to communicate directly for free with their elected representatives by SMS or by leaving a voicemail on a dedicated line.
She reported it has been an extremely effective way for constituents to message their MP of what they want delivered in Parliament. Other social media platforms include a Uganda, parliamentary Facebook account, a Parliament Twitter account, live streaming of parliamentary debates, and a YouTube channel. Ms Seninde also spoke of the iPad project in her country where every member would be given a tablet, in the effort to raise social media literacy.
The Ureport programme enables young people to engage with MPs and the government. They also
have the Uganda communications commission programme. Social media gives greater contact with the public and also increases accountability. It has cost effective mobilization and a useful dissemination tool. She also spoke of the shortfalls of social media, where misuse or malicious use could harm a member.
The risk of misunderstanding could lead to messages being misconstrued. Ms Seninde stressed that Parliamentarians had been more accustomed to using traditional but costly methods of reaching constituents.
Social media however offered an instant and cost effective method of reaching people. She argued that Parliamentarians needed to identify social media options as well as be better assisted in making better choices.
Empowerment of women Dr Meagan Woods, MP, New Zealand, stated that social media had transformed the ways in which Parliamentarians communicated with the people they represented. Social
292 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Four
media platforms such as Tumblr, blogs, etc. offer Parliamentarians a soapbox that no other generation has had before and politicians could use it as a serious weapon in their arsenal. Dr Woods asked what implications this had for women MPs, and could social media be utilized to getting more women into politics? She felt that social media was not merely about information, it also enabled the empowerment of women. Social media offers politicians the opportunity to have a conversation and not a presentation.
Dr Woods spoke of social media as a gendered space. Men and women used it in different ways, but these gendered spaces offer huge opportunities for women. Although the gender gap in technology is changing with women outnumbering men on social media sites, the gap in electoral politics is still alive and well. Reflecting on her own experience, Dr Woods, elected 20 months ago, reported how Facebook allowed her to connect with her constituency. The group of women she speaks to may be politically disengaged but are very engaged on social media.
They “like” and share articles about bits of politics they’re interested in; in short, these women are fast becoming opinion leaders in online communities.
Facebook and Twitter have become the 21st coffee mornings in New Zealand. Social media cannot however solely achieve this; it is about politicians engaging in a political conversation.
During the Christchurch earthquake of 2011, social media was used to disseminate information about how to get help, the location of shelters, where to get fresh water and how to assist others.
Dr Woods warned however that even in a developed country like New Zealand there was a digital divide. She conceded that women Parliamentarians need to be at the fore of this political movement, and should ensure Parliaments are equipping women with the appropriate tools and technology.
She concluded by stating that “it needs to be a women to truly own the space as John F. Kennedy did 50 years ago with the television”.
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