Burkina Faso’s young people include MediaSahel in their action plan

The workshop began with discussions about #MdiaSahel's actions in Burkina Faso in 2020, a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and by activities initiated to respond to the information needs of the population: CoronaVérif, CoroVidéos and support for radio programme productions with UNALFA. The results of other activities, such as the videos devoted to civic issues during the election campaign or support for youth initiatives, were also presented.

Young people shared their feelings and made recommendations on project management in particular. “People really loved the ‘Facebook journalist’, so it would be interesting to work with people from other regions on initiatives similar to what is being proposed”, commented one participant.

Two formative journalists from MediaSahel then spoke about the issues surrounding empowerment, emancipation and gender. The latter have consequently been supported in developing their individual and regional action plans for 2021, identifying their competences and how to make these available to their respective localities. To help convince their peers of the need to try something without any experience, a “slammer” in the Central region repeated the well-known saying: “Whatever you dream of doing, start doing it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”.

Meanwhile, discussions around the notion of gender sensitivity have led young people to make new resolutions. One of them, Ali, was very touched by the trainer’s words and encouraged others to be more understanding, especially towards women: “We need to learn to become sensitive men”, he argued.

The workshop culminated in an opportunity to participate in the first edition of “Jeune Wakat, live and in public”, whose theme was “Young people’s contribution to promoting peace and security in Burkina Faso”.
Similar workshops are planned to take place in Mali and Niger in 2021.