Are SA government communicators actively engaging citizens on social media?
- Dr Maxwell Maseko
There’s no doubt that through the years, social media has redefined how people interact, communicate, and share information with friends and family.
World Social Media Day was celebrated on 30 June to recognise the impact of social media on global communication. A quick google search shows that the first social media day was celebrated in 2010 by ‘Mashable’, a news website, to focus on the impact of social media and its role in global communication.
In South Africa, the event was marked with the launch of the first-ever Social Media Summit for Government under the theme ‘Reimagining the Future of Civic Engagement’. Hosted jointly by Decode Communications and the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the summit had three main objectives, firstly, to bring together communication leaders in the public sector to reflect on the impact of social media on citizen engagement, secondly, bringing together experts who will offer actionable insights and know-how of emerging tools, trends, and best practices, thirdly, creating a dialogue and networking platform between various stakeholders and value chain partners that are willing to help improve service delivery challenges in South Africa. The event was well attended and included speakers from various government departments, state-owned agencies, academics, and other stakeholders.
Read the full article as it appears on Civic Tech Innovation Network website.