‘Youth must continue to engage government’

The Nation

8 July 2011

‘Youth must continue to engage government’

The United States of America Consular General in Nigeria, Joseph Standford, has appealed to Nigerian youth to continue to use various social media tools to engage government at all levels as that would help foster a strong democracy and true government.

Standford said this recently at the consulate’s New Tools, New Government town hall meeting with young leaders and icons organised by The Future Project held at the US Consulate’s Public Affairs Section office in Lagos.

The programme entitled: New Tools, New Government, brought together youth drawn from the media, civil societies, community associations, entertainment and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), had discussions on the use of new technology during the 2011 elections and how to monitor governance and accountability after the election.

According to him, government at all levels can only deliver on their campaign promises when young people use all available medium, most especially new digital technology　 to engage them effectively.