#speakup barometer | Uganda

How to assess digital participation

What is our goal?

Discussions on digital inclusion in Africa often highlight the lack of Internet access as the main barrier to participation. But access alone is not the answer. People need more than an Internet connection to fully take advantage of the opportunities provided by the web. Digital literacy, digital rights and press freedom, as well as the capacity to use technology in innovative ways are other influencing factors. The #speakup barometer assesses the drivers and barriers for digital participation worldwide on a country basis.

What is our approach?

We developed a digital participation model and defined more than 100 attributes in five clusters which form the basis of our research.
The five clusters are: Access, Digital Rights, Media and Journalism, Innovation and Society. Scroll through our method overview to have a look at our model, research questions and attributes.

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What is the #speakup barometer?

Why are we assessing digital participation? What are our methods and approach? You’ll find the standout aspects of our #speakup barometer in this overview. (04.10.2018)

Date 04.10.2018
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Date 04.10.2018
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Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2xSCJ

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.