In a bid to promote access to information among young people, Real Agenda For Youth Transformation Trust (RAFYT) which is a youth led organization based in Masvingo has then developed a National Youth Policy Mobile Application that is now available on the PlayStore for free.
The application offers the policy itself as well as the platform for discussions and debating through social networks thus Twiiter and Facebook. In a period of 4 days only,the application has 50 downloads 60 likes on Facebook and 42 tweeter followers. It is under this light that RAFYT took advantage of technological advancement.
The application contains:
a) Contents
‘Zimbabwe National Youth Policy- Mobile Apps’ have the Zimbabwe National Youth Policy contents giving users’ direct access to the policy from any part of the world. The access is without internet access once downloaded.
c) Search function
The application has a search functionality that will ease users from going through the whole contents. This will lead them directly to the contents the need at a particular time.
d) Discussion forum
The application has a discussion forum link that will see youths discussing directly issues of the youth policy. Issues noted will be documented by RAFYT shared for advocacy and lobby initiatives for better policy implementation. To join the discussion forum will require internet access.
e) Social media
A social media link function will be part of the ‘Zimbabwe National Youth Policy- Mobile Apps’ package. This considers the youthfulness and behaviour of youths who are on social media. This will give youths access to constant updates relating to youths and the implementation of the youth policy.
f) About Function
This function informs users what Zimbabwe National Youth Policy- Mobile Apps’ is about and its purpose. It will inform the distributer, software developers and sponsors of the project.
g) Share Function
The application have a share option that links selected information to be shared on other social media platforms such as twitter, facebook and google +.
H) Exit
The application has an exit command that will be used by users after they finish using the application.
J) Credits
The applicationshow developers, funders and the team behind the application in a manner the mentioned desires for example using a website link or name
Young people are therefore encouraged to download and access the Zimbabwe National Youth Policy through the application for their benefit as well as share their views through the available social media platforms.
A research conducted by RAFYT consisted of 49 respondents, witnessed that only 12 (27.27%) individuals indicated that they have accessed the youth policy while 32 (72.73%) noted they don’t have. Only 4 respondents skipped the question. This informs us that the policy in itself is difficult to access among youths. A baseline study done by MS/ActionAid- Zimbabwe showed that 30 % of youth in high density areas knew that Zimbabwe had a youth policy stating the rights of young people and even less knew that Zimbabwe was in the process of creating a new constitution.
Inserted by:
Research and Information Department
Real Agenda For Youth Transformation Trust
Email: in*******@gm***.com
