KHALID: Youth, artivism good catalysts for social change

Society is changing every day. Life is such that it never remains static.

From interactions and coexistence, people learn new ways of doing things and in the process change their status.

With the introduction of technology, the world has become a village.

What happens in one corner of the world is known within minutes if not immediately to the rest of the world.

Live coverage has now become a common event and transmissions are now real-time.

Social media platforms have brought people together to share their personal life experiences. Private space has in a few years become public space and so social change is now an everyday occurrence in all corners of the globe.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on mankind with the disease ravaging communities in many parts of the world, it has also had its positive impacts. One of them is the improved knowledge and use of technology.

While virtual meetings, religious sermons and live events were uncommon before the pandemic, they are now the order of the day.

Society has changed so drastically in a matter of months that officially, almost all activities are now done without direct human interactions.

People now relate virtually without in-person exchanges. Both hardware and software interfaces have been improved to capture this new interest by individuals and communities across the world.

However, the social change to embrace technology has not only been realised in law-abiding citizens.

Criminals, too, have taken advantage and are now using modern forms of crime. One of these includes violent extremists.

With most religious institutions such as mosques and churches being shut due to the pandemic, it has left a void in communities that extremist groups have unfortunately taken advantage of.

The recruiters are now using social media and other forms of art such as music to hoodwink youth into joining their ranks. In the last few months, this trend has increase and civil society are now faced with this new challenge of countering violent extremism using art.

Artivism is a new form of embracing art to change society. It is a combination of art and activism to inform, educate and advocate better livelihoods for our people.

For many years in Kenya, Africa and across the world, art was used purely for entertainment.

In the last two decades, civil society in Kenya has been using art, particularly theatre, to educate the masses.

This came to be known as edutainment, where theatre was used for mass education on topical issues such as elections.

This phenomenon metamorphosised further recently to embrace artivism, where it was not just about educating the masses but also mobilising them to take action to change society.

In recognition of the challenges of violent extremism at the Coast of Kenya and the need to involve youth in dealing with the issue, ForumCiv this week organised an artivism youth festival in Mombasa whose theme was “Artivism as a Tool for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism”.

The festival was hosted in partnership with HAKI Africa, Human Rights Agenda, Manyatta Youth CBO and Kwacha Africa.

The objective was to introduce creative and innovative artistic ideas on countering violent extremism.

Various forms of art such as music, spoken word, fine arts and drama were on show with messages on countering violent extremism.

It is through such innovations will social change be transformed into positive revolutions.

Governments, as well as civil society, have a duty to ensure they occupy new spaces that come up, to reach out to the youth and other sections of society for positive impact.

Social media must be targeted with attractive material to counter criminal and violent extremist narratives.

If left unattended, social media can be misused to spread hate, which then leads to serious crimes.

It is, therefore, prudent to ensure youth are supported to make use of available social media spaces to spread positive messages that will generate positive discussions among them for peace and security to prevail.

As we approach the general election, the country will do well to target youth through artivism to counter criminal and violent extremism elements within society.

As the world changes, Kenya must adapt to these changes and the new world social order.