The two decades’ war in northern Uganda perpetuated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at its peak displaced two million people and severely devastated the region. With social infrastructure badly damaged, and in many areas as much as 90 per cent of the population displaced, the region was largely isolated and is today struggling with post-conflict recovery. Whereas large amounts of resources are going into post-conflict recovery and development, service standards are dismally low, and citizens hardly participate in monitoring service delivery, or in other arenas of governance.

This project will leverage on Information Communication Technology (ICT), as well as interactive community radio, to turn the sidelined and detached communities of Northern Uganda into active citizens that connect and engage with fellow citizens as well as their leaders in the recovery of their communities and in monitoring service delivery. The project aims to empower the discursive power of the communities in northern Uganda; connect leaders and citizens and enhance debates among citizens; and empower journalists in the region to be vigilante monitors of service delivery and catalysts of civic participation. A multimedia platform (including both ‘old’ and ‘new’ media) through which members of the community can monitor, document, report, and discuss matters relating to the themes covered in the project will be the first time ordinary citizens who are resettling after a 20-years war will have a chance to be heard in such a way. A mix of ICTs, such as interactive mapping, SMS and voice based reporting, social media, and interactive radio will be employed.