About Uganda: 

Uganda was purposefully selected as the first site of our Bridging Continents youth program because it presents a critical landscape for examining digital (il)literacy and the spread of health misinformation among young people. With the internet rapidly growing but uneven access to digital education, youth in Uganda often face significant challenges in distinguishing reliable health information from misleading information online, an issue also faced by Dutch youth.

This issue is especially acute in communities experiencing displacement and precocity, including the nearly 2 million refugees Uganda hosts, one of the largest such populations in the world. These overlapping dynamics make Uganda a highly relevant and deeply meaningful starting point for our three-part global initiative, as we work to empower youth with the skills to navigate digital spaces critically and responsibly.

What Will We Do in Uganda?

The first school, co-hosted with Kampala International University (KIU), focuses on digital media literacy and the urgent challenge of health misinformation among diverse youth, including youth in refugee camps.

Working together in small, mixed groups of Ugandan, Dutch and other nationality students, as well as internally displaced persons, participants will co-create a community-driven digital literacy curriculum. This will include hands-on training, interactive workshops, and collaborative research aimed at equipping youth with tools to critically evaluate health-related content in digital media.

The school will take the approach of centring community voices and lived experiences in both teaching and learning. The school will result in the co-production of a podcast, created by participating students, sharing personal insights and strategies to counter misinformation in their communities.