Grassroots talk back on social media: an analysis of public engagement in Vanuatu’s language-in-education policy

Abstract

This paper analyses the participatory space for political debate opened up by social media in Vanuatu with reference to the implementation of a recent language-in-education policy, jointly funded by the governments of Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand. Although Vanuatu appears to have been debating the same language issues for several decades, what is new is the level of participatory engagement in political matters, with the Facebook group Yumi Toktok Stret (YTS) providing one platform through which democratic citizenship is established and negotiated. Analysis of a debate that erupted in the group in March 2016 reveals significant disquiet and confusion about a change to the medium of instruction in early primary education. I argue that social media provides an invaluable insight into the extent to which the general public understands, feels consulted about and supports policy change. The debate on YTS also shows that the Government, its international development partners and technical advisors would be well advised to pay attention to such debates, and engage with social media as a new mediated "think tank" through which new policies can be democratically debated.

COVID-19 in the South Pacific: science communication, Facebook and ‘coconut wireless’

“…The initial response to the 'infodemic' around prevention guidelines has been followed by increasing concerns about the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 [ABC International Development, 2020]. Willans describes social media as a "new mediated think tank" for democratic debate as she reflected on language-in-education policy changes in Vanuatu [Willans, 2017]. We consider Facebook to be a key medium of public debate across the region that can provide us with insights on quantitative and qualitative usage trends of scientific information and greater context around the localisation of COVID-19 discourse in the South Pacific.…”