By Fiona Anciano
Fiona is a professor in Political Studies and the University of the Western Cape’s Head of the Politics and Urban Governance Research Group.
Her research is focused on urban governance, democratisation, and civil society.
A National Research Foundation C2-rated scholar, she specialises in Participatory Action Research in informal settlements and leads a multi-million-rand project on ‘Governing the Just Urban Transition’ with global partners.
She serves in several international roles, including as cluster Co-chair of the Participedia network and advisory board member for the UNESCO Chair at the University of York.
Fiona says: “Young people have a very important role to play in linking residents with city officials – through technology. Our research has shown that older residents, particularly in informal settlements, want to talk to a person when they report a service fault. However municipal systems are increasingly going online, which means residents have to use technology.
“The youth are skilled in this area and can support others to log complaints via WhatsApp, email or even, for example, the City of Cape Town’s reporting app. In this way the youth can support democratic governance – they can use technical channels provided by city officials to get their voice heard and ensure marginalised communities are not left behind when it comes to improved service delivery.”
