Debates and interactivity on Benin radio stations
Related project
Benin Citizens’ DialoguesBuilding on the experience gained from the previous session, a workshop devoted to hosting adversarial and interactive debates was held in Parakou in July 2017 to consolidate the fundamentals of preparing and hosting a radio debate in public.
The participants in the workshop – an event run by the same duo of journalists/trainers, Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy and Gaston Yamaro – learned new ways of working and developing shared contacts and productions, with a view, through the medium of local radio stations, of providing spaces for citizen consultation and dialogue among civil society actors, listeners and local authorities.
They produced four public and interactive citizen consultation debates lasting between 1h30 and 2h and held in different locations, with each debate involving three guests and an audience of around 30:
- "Do joking relationships maintain social peace?", held at the Institut Français in Parakou and hosted by Léa Sèna Glago (Topa FM, Cotonou) and Zakari Takou Bare Yacoubou (Nonsina FM, Bembéréké);
- “Exploring common citizenship initiatives among civil and customary authorities", held in Komy and hosted by Belhassen Boukari (Soleil FM, Cotonou), Wahabou Tourare (Su Tii Dera FM, Nikki) and Dominique SabiI Dingui (Banigansé FM, Banikoara);
- “Traditional taboos and prohibitions: aids or obstacles to citizenship and accountability?", held at the CSID (Centre Solidarité et Initiatives pour le Développement, or Solidarity and Initiatives for Development Centre) in Parakou and hosted by René Soglo (Fraternité FM, Parakou) and Issaya Timothe (Bio Guerra FM, Ségbana);
- “Exploring ancestral and current accountability tools in civil and customary authorities", held at Radio Deeman and hosted by Taïrou Sare (Deeman FM, Parakou) and Ayouba Adamou (Kandi FM, Kandi).
After editing, the debates will be broadcast as 50-minute programmes by each of the beneficiary stations.
