Master’s degree with distinction for student Amjad Khashafa from the Faculty of Media at Sana’a University

The student/ Amjad Ahmed Khashafa obtained a master’s degree with a grade of 95 with an excellent grade in the Department of Journalism and Electronic Publishing, Faculty of Media at Sana’a University for his thesis entitled “The Role of the Virtual Public Sphere in Shaping Political Awareness among Yemeni Youth” – A Survey Study, on Saturday, 28 Muharram 1446 AH corresponding to August 3, 2024 AD. The discussion and judging committee consisted of Dr. Sabah Abdo Al-Khaishani as the main supervisor and member of the committee, Professor Dr. Hassan Dagra as the external examiner and head of the committee, and Professor Dr. Ali Al-Ammar as the internal examiner and member of the committee. The thesis aimed to know the role of the virtual public sphere in shaping political awareness among Yemeni youth.

While the thesis reached a number of results, including that (Facebook/Twitter X) constitute a virtual public sphere for Yemeni youth to attend and engage in political discussions, present opinions and follow up on information, the requirements of the ideal public sphere are still relative, according to three criteria that were tested: the possibility of free discussion, the level of communication with Cognitive references, different affiliations, and the rationality of the discourse used in discussions.

It also concluded that the virtual public sphere (Facebook/Twitter X) played a fundamental role in shaping political awareness among Yemeni youth, and partially accepting the assumptions, with a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impact on youth as a result of variables: the degree of interest, reliance, trust, communication, and cognitive value in the virtual public sphere. The higher the degree of these variables among Yemeni youth, the more positively they affect, i.e. the higher their level of awareness of political issues.

The student presented a number of recommendations in his thesis, including the following:

1- It importantly requires the presence of politicians and influencers in the virtual public sphere to contribute to the production of knowledge about political issues of common interest and exchange them with individuals and other groups.

2-It requires parties and groups to urge their members in the virtual public sphere to open up and communicate with individuals from other parties and groups to discuss political issues of common social interest in a way that contributes to narrowing the gap between them and ending the dispute, then reaching an agreement that can form a unified public opinion that influences the political authorities.

3- It requires the leaders of parties and groups with different political and cultural affiliations to reconsider the discourse used in political discussions by their members and influential supporters in the virtual public sphere, by urging them to use a rational discourse based on arguments and evidence that transcends ideology, in order to facilitate the convergence of viewpoints on political issues of common interest among members of society.

4- The necessity for the various political authorities in Yemen to adhere to the constitution regarding the legitimate freedoms of individuals and groups, by not intimidating them from political participation by expressing their demands and opinions in the virtual public sphere.

5- The necessity for Yemeni society, individuals and groups, to benefit from the virtual public sphere by attending it, to express their legitimate political demands, and to advocate for just causes in parallel with knowing other viewpoints on those issues, which contributes to developing their political awareness.

The discussion was attended by a number of academics, researchers, students, interested persons, and a number of the researcher’s colleagues and family members.