From Digital Engagement To Offline Participation: Exploring The Factors Driving Young People In CôTe D’Ivoire To Participate In Community Actions Through U-Report

Abstract: Youth participation and communication for social change have been at the heart of debates in academic and development circles over the last thirty years. In response to criticisms that young people were merely seen as “beneficiaries” by local and international organizations, the latter have tried to readapt the way they frame, engage and strategize with the former in order to align with a new discourse in international development driven by the motto “nothing about us without us”. In 2011, UNICEF launched U-Report, a social platform available through SMS and social media, to understand the concerns of young people, amplify their voices and foster dialogue between youth and decision-makers. In Côte d’Ivoire, the initiative has been particularly successful. Since its launch in 2018, more than three million youth used the platform. Using the example of Côte d’Ivoire, considered a UNICEF “success story”, this study will analyse U-Report as a Communication for Development (C4D) tool that seeks to empower young people as agents of change in their communities. The research focuses on a specific modality of engagement available to young people through U-Report, that is, the possibility to mobilize and launch U-Actions: youth-led community actions for social change. Through surveys, interviews conducted with U- Reporters and UNICEF staff, and a case study analysis, this study will use the ecological system theory to uncover the multiple layers and influences that shape an individual’s decision to take action and question how youth engagement and participation online translate into social change offline. Findings from this research will underline that social media, the creation of personal and professional opportunities and a renewed sense of accountability are all factors influencing youth civic engagement through U-Actions. But while U-Report has been effective in developing a hybrid engagement model for young people by combining online and offline processes of participation, there are limitations as to the inclusive and representative aspect of the platform and its sustainability over time. The study will argue that these limitations present a unique opportunity for UNICEF to strengthen its C4D model and the way it engages with young people as agents of change.