Community Education and General Elections: Strategies to Enhance Political Awareness Based on Technology & Community Participation Levels in Gorontalo Province

Abstract

Community participation serves as a measure of success in conducting general elections, thus political participation must be optimized through building and developing political awareness among the populace through various efforts, including education and political advocacy based on information technology. This study aims to design a strategy to enhance technology-based political awareness and community participation levels in Gorontalo Province. The method employed in this study is qualitative, with data analysis utilizing the Miles and Huberman model. The study findings reveal that community political participation in local elections in Gorontalo Province has reached a satisfactory level, although there is still room for improvement. Community education on politics with a technology-based approach is also crucial, especially in addressing digital divides. By involving technology, political education can become more accessible to the populace. It is hoped that political participation will increase, voters will be better educated, and local democracy will become stronger. Communities engaged in politics have greater potential to influence policies, monitor the government, and uphold accountability. Technology-based political education is a progressive step towards achieving the goal of community awareness and participation in general elections. Keywords: Community Education, Elections, Awareness, Participation.