The
U-Report Barbados team worked tirelessly in 2022 on the frontlines and behind
the scenes to maximize the impact of the platform. We have expanded user-base,
presented real opinions to
policymakers, and launched a new tool to teach young people valuable life
skills. At the core of U-Report’s activities is the mandate to empower and
connect young people around the world to engage with, and speak out on issues
that matter to us. Barbados is one of 86 countries with an active U-Report Platform,
and we work with local NGOs, government, and young people to guide impactful
and meaningful policy change.
In
the last year, we’ve capitalized on relaxed Covid-19 restrictions to increase
our physical presence in schools — an activity that had been halted for over a
year. By showing up in schools we are able to directly engage with the youth to
drive U-Reporter sign-ups and hear about issues that school children are
passionate about. On October 19th, members of the U-Report Steering Committee
visited Ellerslie Secondary School, where we gained 66 new U-Reporters. On
October 26th, we visited the Barbados Community College where we gained close
to 300 new U-Reporters. These school visits are transformative for the
programme, as expanding the platform’s user-base allows us to report more
opinions to policy-makers, and thus give young people a louder voice at the
table.
As
a U-Reporter, individuals are given the opportunity to share their opinions on
different topics by responding to the polls that we release. A recent poll
developed in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Accelerator Lab for Barbados investigated the potential impacts of climate
change on mental health. The results of that poll are available here.
In
addition to community outreaches, we launched a new tool — ‘FunDoo’ — which
teaches young people real-world life skills to help them excel across the
board, including in work and school. The FunDoo tool leverages the chat
platform used by U-Report to share monthly educational tasks with U-Reporters,
and takes a ‘learn by doing’ approach. Since September, FunDoo has offered
‘life skills’ lessons on public speaking, calling a helpline, teamwork, stress
management, and budgeting. The programme has seen considerable success in
India, and we hope to see similar positive impacts on Barbadian youths. To take
part in a FunDoo life skills lesson, simply message ‘FUNDOO’ to +1 (246)
832-6775 on WhatsApp.
We will continue to provide updates and plans about our work for 2023 on this page, and more frequent behind the scenes peaks on our social media (@ureportbarbados). Give us a follow to stay informed!
Writer: Hannah Gill
Hannah is a member of the U-Report Barbados Steering Committee with responsibility for Reporting and Data Analysis.
