Goals
A project
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Presentation
The participation of women and young people in the media in sub-Saharan Africa has increased notably, but remains marked by major challenges. While more and more women are speaking out on digital and traditional platforms, they often remain under-represented, particularly in management and decision-making roles.
Young people, meanwhile, are the driving force behind media innovation, contributing massively to the growth of citizen journalism and the sharing of information via social networks. However, both groups face barriers such as gender stereotypes, censorship and difficulties in accessing specialist training.
Despite these barriers, the dynamics of the media are gradually changing, with a growing awareness of inequalities and a desire to include these voices in order to reflect a more diverse and inclusive society.
Project beneficiaries
The final beneficiaries of the project will be young people living in the countries involved, and more directly those living in areas (rural and urban) affected by the crisis. These young people will be consulted more often to tell their stories, express the diversity in their points of view, and participate more actively in public debate and dialogue with the authorities (administrative and traditional).
With regard to the media use of young people from different backgrounds (rural and urban in particular), the project is pursuing an approach aimed at strengthening the capacities of
(i) local radio stations, particularly those operating in regions far from major urban centres, and
(ii) digital media, whether they be pureplayers or traditional media engaged in the digital transition. Beyond that, the multi-stakeholder approach will take into account other key players in the media ecosystem who can be agents of change.
Actions
Strengthening the capacities of the media ecosystem in order to improve the quality, diversity and attractiveness of the content produced by the media, particularly for young people and women
- The priority of this component is to build the capacity of 5 to 8 local radio stations and 5 to 8 digital media per country, to enable them to better meet the needs of young people to participate in local public debate, by broadcasting attractive genera or topic-based news content in French and local languages, and providing forums for citizen expression. The activities will be aimed at all media staff (managers, journalists, presenters, technical and administrative staff) and will be for editorial, technical and managerial levels, and in a gender-sensitive manner.
- The personalised training approach will be coupled with the creation of an equipment support fund to meet the needs identified by the beneficiary media.
- Partnerships will be proposed with journalism teaching institutions, and the project will also seek to involve the regulatory bodies in the three partner countries.
Supporting and stimulating the production and sharing of content in national and local languages, in line with the concerns and aspirations of young people
Through the repayment of the grant, the project will support the production of information and edutainment (education through entertainment) content focusing on wide ranging youth issues and including spaces encouraging the expression, initiatives and participation of young people and women.
More broadly, this support for production and broadcasting will also aim to bring the media and their audiences closer together through initiatives run jointly by young people, the media, women's CSOs or CSOs operating in other sectors. Interactive formats that encourage dialogue will be promoted, as will the use of languages, digital platforms and social networks.
Supporting regional exchanges and collaboration between players in the media sector
This initiative is based on the observation that the region's media are often faced with similar issues, and that sharing expertise can effectively strengthen them. This peer-to-peer approach, which encourages the appropriation of knowledge through experience, will take the form of support for international or sub-regional events and project capitalisation workshops bringing together beneficiaries from the three partner countries.
Together with the project's stakeholders, the aim will also be to develop a framework to ensure that peer-to-peer exchanges produce tangible results that can be capitalised on by a wider circle of people and organisations.
