In Burkina Faso, radio managers and young people discuss MédiaSahel

"Nowadays, young people's voices are spreading on social networks, they are expressing opinions and they want them to be taken into account in the country's decisions from now on", said Prof. Serge Théophile Balima during the introduction of this workshop, also recalling that MédiaSahel's objectives respond to this crucial need.

In order to bring together the main actors of the project and to present its different axes, CFI, in partnership with UNALFA, organised a four-day consultation workshop with the directors of the 24 partner radios.

Coming from 7 regions of the country, the radio station managers benefited from several discussions on central themes such as the role of radio in times of crisis, gender and conflict sensitive journalism, news verification in a crisis context, and the gender dimension of MédiaSahel. They were informed about the need to produce interactive programmes for young people and to learn about the promotion of content via social networks.

Improving the collaborations between young people and media

This meeting was also an opportunity to present the results of the field study conducted in Burkina Faso on the dynamics between young people and the media and to discuss the challenges of youth participation in public debate.

A practical session on improving collaboration was also initiated. In each locality, young people and media managers formed groups to discuss their mutual expectations and ways of working together.

At the end of the discussions, the radio directors said they were open to welcoming and training young people from their localities. The young people have committed themselves to go more to local radio stations for training and thus to participate in the programmes.

This type of meeting will be replicated in Mali and Niger, with radio managers and young people involved in the project.