Social media brings Moldova’s women MPs closer to voters
Women politicians in Moldova improve their social media skills and presence to put them in closer touch with their constituents – and increase the impact of their gender-positive messaging.Date:
Oxana Domenti, a 43-year-old MP and Chair of the Social Protection, Health and Family Committee of Moldova’s Parliament, thought there was little value in promoting her ideas and political positions on social networks. That was until she participated in a social media workshop together with 10 other Moldovan women lawmakers.
“Now, news agencies publish more of the information I post on my Facebook page, and my virtual friends appreciate my posts more," said Ms. Domenti.
A recent workshop, supported by UN Women and UNDP, trained 11 women lawmakers from Moldova in effective social media so they could increase their online visibility and more effectively engage with their constituents, and increase the impact of their gender-positive messaging.
Participants quick to implement advice saw swift, positive results from the workshop, which taught them how to make a successful video and turn their events and work into memorable online brands.
"Before, I didn’t know that posting on certain days has a greater impact. Since I learned these and other new social media techniques, my posts have gone viral," said 28-year-old MP Alina Zotea. She said she was able to conduct social media campaigns after the workshop and multiply the impact of the information she posted about her daily Parliamentary activities.
A politician not on social media is absent from the public eye and less effective electorally, noted a workshop trainer.
“Social media networks are powerful influencers of electoral outcomes. Anything published online has an infinitely greater potential than classical media,” said Mr. Ioan Dan Niculescu, one of the workshop’s experts. “This is a step toward coherent and concise political speech, in a form the target audience understands."
Women in Moldova are under-represented as voters and in government, politics, business and civil society.
Their representation in Moldovan politics and decision-making is below international benchmarks, with women holding only 21 per cent of seats in the Parliament.
As part of its efforts to promote women’s voting rights and increase their political representation, UN Women in Moldova works with civil society and the UN country team to train women political candidates so they can successfully run for office. UN Women initiatives also provide practical support and valuable training for elected women parliamentarians.
The workshop was organised by the Government of Sweden-funded joint UN Women-UNDP programme Enhancing women’s political representation in the Republic of Moldova (WiP), which aims to increase women’s participation in politics and decision-making and provides practical electoral and parliamentary support for elected women.
The trainers of the workshop emphasized that developing a personal communications brand in politics is a complex process that requires constant maintenance. They taught attention to detail and techniques and strategies to maximise social media impact.
“Social networks and online communication can reshape the way people get involved in governance,” said Dafina Gercheva, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Moldova. "Globally, communication technologies have increased the visibility of both parliaments and politicians, and people have become more interested in what is happening in politics and in decision-making processes."