Social Media Influencers Trained on FGM Advocacy to End Vice

To accelerating advocacy efforts against Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, YouthHubAfrica in collaboration with African Youth Commission has conducted a training for 15 selected social media Influencers.

The three day event trained influencers on strategic content creation aimed at bringing on board young people as they are vivid social media users.

The event that was held at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, ending last Friday, brought together influencers, anti-FGM advocates and other right stakeholders from Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana.

The workshop aimed to develop the skills of social media influencers around issues of eliminating FGM and creating awareness.

The objective of the training was to build and strengthen the capacity of young influencers to advocate for the elimination of FGM across Africa.

In addition it aims at using influencers’ existing social media platform to continue challenging harmful social and discriminatory practices that perpetuate FGM in Africa.

Speaking during the event, YouthHubAfrica co-founder Rotimi Olawale noted that social media is a fundamental mobilization tool, which can be used to accelerate actions aimed at eliminating FGM in Africa by 2030.

He added there is a need to vigilant of people from diaspora who bring their children to Africa for the cut noting that some come as far from UK and Canada.

“We tend to forget that FGM does not only happen in villages but also in Canada and UK where some communities who exist online, bring their children to Africa to get the cut and take them back,” he said

He added that this programme is particularly useful for this community as it specifically targets them.

The training was part of a project in seven African countries, which has been running since 2021 to strengthen youth advocacies to eliminate FGM through virtual training, intergenerational dialogue with policy makers and social media activities.

The selected influencers, drawn from different fields had no prior involvement with FGM and the training offered an opportunity for them to raise awareness to their followers, online and offline communities.

The influencers will receive a grant of 1000USD each, and over the next few months, will be collaborating to produce content and raise awareness of the harmful effects of FGM.