Consultation workshops in Bamako and Niamey for media discussions
Related project
MediaSahelYoung people from Mali and Niger, engaged in developing their regions through media projects, met with radio station managers in a two-day workshop in Bamako and Niamey at the end of 2020. Their goal was to identify topics for programming in tune with the issues facing young people.
Each workshop opened with testimonies from young people who are involved in media activities in their region. As representatives of dynamic young people who want to make their voices heard, these women and men spoke about their experiences, the obstacles they have overcome and the need to show courage to avoid taking the easy way out. “The best way to be successful is to love what you do,” explained Araba Magassa, host of a youth programme on Radio Oxygène in Bamako. Participants who received support from MediaSahel Covid-19 also shared their experiences.
Radio directors based in Ansongo and Ménaka in Mali applauded the involvement of young people, especially women, in developing their regions. They encouraged CFI to pursue this sense of responsibility because, they commented, “in several areas in Mali, the role of women is reduced to that of the home”.
Giving Women the Microphone
“In Ansongo, we need them to be on the radio because they’re more compelling and more respected by the audience. But, unfortunately, because of the culture, they are nowhere near the microphone. The few who dare to take the plunge to work on the radio throw in the towel as soon as they get married”, laments Soumaila Abdoulaye, director of a radio station in the Gao region. “We want CFI to record the testimonies of these female activists on video and broadcast them in our country to motivate others to follow their example”, argued Mohamed Ag Issafeitane, director of a rural radio station.
Discussions continued with exchanges of ideas on programmes that radio stations could produce to be more in tune with the aspirations of young people or to give them more opportunities to express themselves. New themes for programmes were proposed to radio managers, such as sexual and reproductive health, employment, education or sport.
The youth then followed a training module on collecting reliable and verified information, before helping to prepare a radio programme to understand the different stages of production.
Both workshops met with the same success as the one held in December 2019 in Burkina Faso. “Thanks to this training, I have become very interested in information on the radio. It’s helped me to understand the importance of information”, concludes Aissata Soumaré, a 22-year-old student in Bamako.
