Elected officials and civil society engaged in promoting citizen harmony in Bobo and Fada

The workshops were held as part of the "Citizen Harmonies" component of the Faso Média project. The CSOs received training in advocacy skills and project design. The first workshop was held from 26 to 30 March in Fada, while the second took place between 9 and 14 April 2018 in Bobo.

"In a democracy, there needs to be constant dialogue, and the use of violence is a collective failure that is likely to undermine the rule of law", declared Professor Albert Ouedraogo in speaking about the role of elected officials and CSOs at a local level. "The presence of media and civil society organisations is a safeguard against abuses and dangers of all kinds. While fear of the police serves to build citizenship, the existence of a free media and of civil society organisations provides local elected officials with certainty that their actions will be scrutinised and checked".

Practice and commitments in every local area

Thanks to practical modules such as "How to communicate better with your voters" and "Communicating in times of crisis", the elected officials involved in the scheme learned new tools and gained a better understanding of their role: to communicate successfully with citizens.

The workshops devoted to "Using social media for CSO communication" and "Advocacy skills for associations" provided a base from which to design communication, advocacy and resource mobilisation techniques relevant to the different projects of the CSOs. A programme on "The role of elected officials in citizen access to health care" was produced in Fada and the topic was widely discussed.

Encouraged by the success of the initiative, the vice-president of the regional council, Harouna Barro, has committed to providing the same training to the 33 mayors of the Hauts Bassins region. A petition signed by the elected officials in attendance aims to encourage the Mayor of Bobo to offer the same workshops to local councillors in the commune.