The omnipresence of the internet and social media in our daily lives has contributed to the creation of virtual communities. Initiated by institutions, companies, opinion leaders, and even citizens, these 2.0 communities exchange, interact, and collaborate online on common or socially engaged topics. Mobilized around a powerful hashtag, these communities use social media as a sounding board for small initiatives and feed off digital technology to grow. The strength of the digital community thus becomes a real tool for promotion and enhancement.
#BelieveInAbobo
In Abidjan, it is not easy for the municipality of Abobo and its inhabitants to promote the initiatives and attractiveness of the area. For decades, Abobo has suffered from a poor image. To restore the municipality's reputation, journalists, communicators, and residents have chosen to launch the "Believe in Abobo" project.
This is a participatory platform aimed at communicating positively about Abobo by presenting a different image of Abidjan's most populous municipality. Through various online content, the collective uses social media as a showcase for the "real" Abobo, far from clichés and prejudices.
Through this content, the collective chooses positive communication to portray the other side of the municipality through portraits of Abobo residents, news, texts, photos, and videos. The goal is to use social media to raise awareness among the population about issues related to the municipality, such as education, health, safety, and employment.
To take this approach further, the collective also intends to raise awareness among the population about the use of social media. To this end, digital communication professionals will be mobilized to lead training workshops on "the proper use of social media to serve one's community." This is a way for the collective to involve the residents of Abobo in the project and to bring together a larger community to change attitudes.