Raising media awareness among Burkina Faso's young people through the press cartoon

The MédiaSahel project plans to involve young people in the development process of the various localities in the project's target regions. This cannot be done effectively without prior education on media issues.

“The need for media literacy is obvious in our localities where under-information remains prevalent on issues of nation building, accountability and citizen participation in the local development process." Prof. Serge Théophile Balima, sociologist.

With this in mind, a media literacy module was organised for young beneficiaries of the project, in order to get them to react to different themes, such as freedom of expression, verification of information and gender. It also aimed to make them think about the role of the media in their country.

Learning how to interpret press cartoons

For the session, Gregory Dabilgou, known as Elmarto, urban artist of Cartooning for Peace, presented numerous drawings to the young people, making them reflect and debate on the meaning and purpose of these drawings. The issues of freedom of expression and press illustration in Burkina Faso were discussed. The cartoonist explained the various uses of press cartoons and the legislative framework in which they are used.

Young people interpreting a press cartoon

The young people learned that the interpretation of a press cartoon depends on the culture and traditions of the person observing it. In this way, all the subjects of everyday life (family, schooling, inequalities, insecurity, information, etc.) can be represented and discussed through the image.

“A press cartoon can have several interpretations depending on the experience, habits and environment of the observer." Lance Elmarto, workshop participant

Drawing workshop with the cartoonist El Marto

"In Ouagadougou, I finally erased a character from a drawing I had done on a wall; the character in that drawing was a turbaned man. A neighbour, fearing that her yard would be associated with that of a terrorist, wanted the drawing of the turbaned man to be removed", the graffiti artist explained, pointing out that the context of the countries must be taken into account in the creative process.

At the end of the module, several young people explained the impact that these discussions had on their vision of social cohesion and local development. A social media education session (information verification, technical tools, etc.) and the recording of an outdoor radio show completed the day.

New training courses, including public and media speaking, will be organised in the course of 2020 for these young people. The idea is for them to act as relays for other young people in their localities and to bring their concerns and aspirations into the public debate.