In Niger, young people work alongside journalists during radio interactivity training
Related project
MediaSahelAfter Burkina Faso and Mali, it is now Niger’s turn to launch its cycle of training courses on hosting and promoting interactive programmes. The young “flag-bearers” of MediaSahel living in different parts of the country are invited to participate in these training sessions.
Since the beginning of the cycle of training courses on 22 March 2021, two sessions have already been held. These two-week training sessions bring together radio presenters and technicians. The aim of this training is to provide radio stations with sufficient knowledge to prepare and host programmes for young listeners on air, in the studio or via phone. During the practical part reserved for the recording of interactive programmes, the young MediaSahel “flag-bearers” were invited to participate.
During the first session, for example, nine young people were involved in the preparation and production of the programmes in partnership with the presenters and their technicians. Using the same codes as a real interactive radio programme, the young people took part both in the studio and via phone or WhatsApp. They were able to express their ideas on subjects that were close to their heart, such as employment or violence among young people, illegal migration among women or divorce among young couples, and to give their opinions in either French or Hausa.
The objectives of these exercises were twofold: to enable young people to understand and participate in the process of making youth programmes, and to give the trainees the opportunity to put into practice what they had learned during the training, alongside young people, the priority target group of the MediaSahel project.
On the whole, the young people were satisfied with their participation in these workshops and thanked the journalists who listened to them during the recording sessions. “Participating in this training as guests allowed us to express ourselves and to better give our points of view on social issues,” said R. Brah, a communications student. A. Oumarou, a member of the Association de Jeunesse Unie pour le Développement au Niger [United Youth Association for Development in Niger], added, “this training was a place for giving and receiving.”
At the end of the interactive cycle in Niger, scheduled for 26 June 2021, 60 professionals from the 24 partner radio stations (presenters, journalists and technicians) will have benefited from the training, with the involvement of around 30 young MediaSahel flag-bearers.
