KAS Social Media Conference to Tackle “Gig Economy”, Former Makerereans Jacob Eyeru, Ann Adeke to Feature

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Uganda and South Sudan, as earlier reported, will host their sixth (6th) edition of the Uganda Social Media Conference online from 25th to 26th, August 2021 under the theme “Digital democracy in a Post Pandemic World”.

The Conference whose panelists be interacting from the Sheraton Kampala Hotel and broadcast across for all other viewers, will gather key stakeholders from the government, civil society, academia, researchers, policy-makers, and the media for a constructive exchange on the impact of social media on the state and society —highlighting both, opportunities and challenges it brings.

The topics that have been lined up include; Social Media & Elections in Africa, Citizen Journalism vs Digital Newsrooms, Digital Diplomacy, Impact of Social Media on Mental Health, Tackling Emerging Digital Threats (including extremism, trafficking, radicalization), The Rise of Global Social Movements & Social Media, and Re-Framing the Climate Change Agenda on Social Media.

The other topics to discuss at the conference include; the Crisis of State Surveillance, Digital Privacy, Data Protection, and the Gig Economy —which is currently a major source of income for a majority of youths in urban centers.

Among the speakers confirmed for the conference include; Dr. William Tayeebwa; Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow of American Council of Learned Societies, Adonia Ayebare; Uganda’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Paul Kasenene; a Wellness & Nutrition Specialist, Ms. Anna Reismann; Country Director of KAS Uganda, Raymond Mujuni; an Investigative Journalist, Awel Uwihanganye; Founder of LéO Africa Institute among others.

According to KAS, 34 speakers have already been confirmed to attend the two-day engagement on Uganda’s Social Media.

Registration and attendance of the conference is free of charge. Here’s how to register;

1. Open the URL https://socialmedia.ug/ on your browser.
2. From the menu provided, select ‘Register’ to continue.
3. From the registration portal, enter the required details and click ‘Register’.
4. An email will be sent to your registered email and it will contain the ‘Webinar ID’ and ‘Password’ for the event.
5. You can add the event to your calendar so that you are reminded when the event is about to kick off.

The event kicks off on August 25th where Dr. William Tayeebwa will deliver his keynote speech on “The Rebirth of Social Media and Digital Politics in Africa” while on the second day of the conference, Aug 26th, Ms. Agnes Igoye will deliver her keynote speech on “Tackling emerging digital threats”.

Day 1: Aug 25th, 2021

Topics that will be covered;

1. Keynote speech from Dr. William Tayeebwa.
2. Digital Diplomacy: The rise of algorithms and implications for big tech in African Institutions,
3. Governments, and Individuals.
4. Impact of social media on mental health: Hitting the pause button.
5. Re-framing the climate change agenda on social media.
6. Citizen journalism vs digital newsrooms: Building a consensus for new media.
7. Social media and Elections in Africa.

Day 2: Aug 26th, 2021

Topics that will be covered;

1. Keynote speech from Ms. Agnes Igoye.
2. Tackling emerging digital threats: Extremism, trafficking, and Radicalization.
3. The rise of Global Social movements and social media.

The 6th edition of the Uganda Social Media Conference will promote the exchange of ideas, networking, and collaboration on the above topics for citizen engagement, political campaigning, misinformation, political polarization, populism, e-Government, smart cities, to mention a few.