Citizen Dialogues successfully concluded in Madagascar

Launched 18 months ago, the Citizen Dialogues project has encouraged media outlets, local authorities and civil society organisations to work together in order to take better stock of the issues associated with the citizen-led control of public initiatives and promote a culture of accountability. More than 160 programmes for educating citizens and promoting dialogue amongst them have been produced, as well as various micro-programmes for raising public awareness.

In the region of Majunga, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lent its expertise in order to launch debates amongst citizens, in light of the presidential elections scheduled for 2018. The impact of those debates was so positive that INEC has made it clear that it wants to continue actively working alongside journalists, in order to supplement the awareness-raising efforts and prepare citizens for the upcoming elections.

At the end of the closing seminar, the Cooperation Attaché for the French Embassy, Stéphane Gallet, announced the winner of the Citizen Dialogues competition: Judith Rakotovao, a journalist at the radio station RTA Majunga, who was awarded two prizes for her programmes on citizen responsibility and on the protection of public property.
The group of journalists trained in 'cross media' was awarded first prize in the investigative journalism category. The four-strong team, made up of Fah Andriamanarivo (Ma TV), Ary Misa Rakotobe, Juanita Rakotoarivao (Radio Quartz) and Vonona Rakotondratsimba (Radio Oasis), brilliantly conducted an investigation on lemur hunting in Madagascar. This investigation has certainly borne fruit, as the country's Agriculture Minister has at long last banned the use of a dangerous pesticide that is used in this illegal activity.

View the investigation in TV format: