UNICEF engages 1m reporters on social media

The United Nation Children Education Fund, UNICEF, and partners yesterday said they
are targeting no fewer than one million reporters on its social media platform this year even as it formally launched in Lagos the U-Report, an innovative SMS-based platform that empowers Nigerians by enabling them to participate and engage in policy-making, governance and access real time information on key social issues.
The U-Report enables those who voluntarily register, known as U-reporters, to speak out on what is happening in their communities, provides a forum to amplify their voices through local and national media, sends alerts to key stakeholders about the issues their constituents are facing, and feeds back useful information to the U-Reporters, so they are empowered to work for positive change and improvements in their localities.
The platform provides decision makers a forum to listen to millions of voices through simple messaging.
At the launch of the programme in Lagos, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Jean Gough explained that in the last one year with support from Airtel, MTN, GLO and Etisalat the number of U-reporters has rapidly grown to about 200,000 with thousands joining every month from all parts of the country and expected to top a million by the end of 2015.