Challenges of achieving effective online engagement in PNG
Challenges of achieving an effective online engagement in my opinion varies and depends on which country you come. The end goal is the same regardless of here it is being initiated and that is to have an effective online engagement participation, but the challenges and issues are site specific. I went home to Papua New Guinea (PNG) during the Christmas/New Year break to see my family but also went to the village for a brideprice ceremony (traditional wedding). When I say village, I mean rural setting where water is fetched from the springs and rivers, no electricity and no internet. Well, internet is considered a thing for the city folks. Challenges of achieving an effective online engagement are real in countries like PNG and the three main problems in my experience are listed and discussed below;
1. Infrastructure
Internet infrastructure is important as it enables the engagement process to take place and the lack of or non-existence of this important infrastructure inhibits the successful implementation of an online engagement. Without telecommunication infrastructures that enable accessibility to the internet, there is no or limited access to the internet. The objective of the online engagement process to get as much public participation but the lack of these communication infrastructures hinders representative participation, therefore views and results from the process may not representative.
A point that should be noted is that in countries like PNG telecommunication infrastructures are built, operated and managed by private telecommunications companies therefore they have monopoly and that is one of the reasons why there is lack of accessibility to the internet and the expensive cost of internet. Telecommunications infrastructure should be built and controlled by the government, this will allow the government to have greater control and regulation over accessibility and cost of the internet. The mass of the population should be able to have access to the internet and to The government should aim to have the population should have access and be is very expensive because these companies have control over and dictate the pricing of data and accessibility. Telecommunication infrastructure should be controlled by the government
2. Cost of Internet
The telecommunication and its associated infrastructures are monopolised by private companies who dictate the pricing. It is very expensive to purchase data in PNG and it is something that only those who have access to a stable income and can afford it have access. For example, it will cost approximately $15 to buy 1MB of data for 7 day in PNG but in New Zealand you can get the same for 30 day depending on your network provider and their plans. One thing for sure is that the cost of internet is PNG is ridiculously expensive and only the working class and those who have access to some form of income can afford to buy data but mainly to access social media platforms such as Facebook not for interactive online discussion and engagement. The high cost of internet is a deterrent and is a cost that is considered as not a necessity.
To make the cost of internet affordable, the government must develop specific legislations’ and regulations to regulate the use of internet which should include accessibility, cost and content. To address the cost of internet to make is affordable, there must be regulations that allow for control over the cost.
3. Digital Divide
Digital divide is real and more realistic in developing countries like PNG where the mass of the population lives in the rural villages and do not have access to the internet or even the digital technologies and are either poorly educated or illiterate. How can an online engagement process be achieved if the mass of the population is digitally illiterate? This only reinforces the notion that the information rich become richer. How can the public become fully involved in an online engagement when they are not digitally educated nor have access to digital technologies? These are people who have no clue what is google and think that Facebook is where young people meet up.
Closing the digital divide gap in PNG will take longer but traditional engagement techniques can coexist or function parallel to the online engagement process to ensure that discussion are more inclusive. This will require a public engagement and participation framework and should map out a public engagement process. The framework should draw on from international established frameworks such as that developed by the International Association of Public Participation
These challenges are major impediments to the successful implementation of any online engagement initiatives. Online engagements utilises digital technology to interact and engage with the public but if the public does not fully have access to the internet and participate because of these challenges than the process and feedback from the process is incomplete and not representative of the population, it represents the views of the digitally privilege. The government needs to establish the necessary infrastructure and enable its citizens, it should try to control the telecommunications industry through the formulation and development of legislation and regulations. The objective of public engagement to ensure that everybody participates but an online engagement is not inclusive if only the digitally privilege have access and only enriches the digitally rich. So, although I was digitally knowledgeable and had the technology, it was useless when I went home because there no internet accessibility.
