Being a Penta Young Reporter has given me a space to explore something I really enjoy, which is content creation and storytelling. I have learned that content is not only about making a nice video or posting online. You can also use it to talk about things people may not always pay attention to, especially issues affecting young people
Recently, I got to experience this through the UNESCO O3 Change Makers Uganda national video competition. O3 stands for Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future, and it gave young people a chance to use creativity to speak about issues that matter to us
I created a short video (available on the Penta Young Reporter’s Instagram and TikTok accounts) about sexual harassment using an empty chair. The idea came from the realities facing children and young people in Kayunga. A 2024 district report recorded 2,332 domestic violence cases, including 15 cases of defilement.
I was like, “What if I just use an empty chair?”
In the video, the chair was where this young girl used to sit. She had dreams, plans and a future, but now she was not there. But for me, the chair also made me think about the spaces she could have occupied one day, whether in a classroom, Parliament, the Penta ID Network Meeting or somewhere else where her voice could be heard.
The video became one of the winning entries, and on 29 September, I was awarded by UNESCO at the Inter-University Debate Finale at Makerere University for outstanding creativity, advocacy and youth engagement in addressing ASRHR, mental health awareness, HIV prevention and advocacy
Honestly, seeing the video recognized was very special for me. It reminded me why I enjoy creating content and telling stories.
Being a Penta Young Reporter has made me more confident to use content to speak about things that matter. I am still learning, but I have realized that sometimes we already have the platform. We just have to use it
Shanurah