Senator Maura Hopkins recently addressed the Women for Election Summer-school in partnership with Facebook and used the opportunity to encourage female participation in politics.
The Ballaghaderreen native was a guest speaker on a panel focused on reaching voters online and the use of social media in campaigning.
Speaking at the event Maura Hopkins highlighted the potential benefits of social media to those in attendance, “as a public representative being as accessible as possible for the public is a key priority for me, my social media accounts are incredibly beneficial as they provide another point of contact for the public.”
“The ways by which public representatives can reach the public have greatly increased over the last number of years. Along with print media and the radio, social and online media provides another forum for public representatives to share relevant information with the public.”
“Social media, when used respectfully, is also an important place to allow people to raise important issues and then allows public representatives to respond to those issues and raise them at the highest level.”
Women for Election is a non-partisan organisation whose vision is for balanced male and female participation in politics, they provide support and training for women interested in seeking election to public office.
Speaking after the event, Maura Hopkins said, “Encouraging female participation in politics is a key priority for me in the term ahead, I believe it is important that we have a balance of opinions and experiences throughout our public representation.”