Media Literacy and Leadership Institute with Mali: Project Recap (Part 1)

From February-May 2022, FIUTS hosted a completely virtual program titled Media Literacy and Leadership Institute (MLLI) with the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, Mali. It was a 16-week virtual exchange program for 20 aspiring young journalists and media-makers residing in Mali. Participants had the opportunity to build their journalism knowledge through trainings and exchange with U.S. professionals and peers, develop strategies for promoting media literacy and fighting disinformation in their country, and be a part of a network of journalists in Mali who were prepared to support each other and advocate for a vibrant, professional, and independent media. During the first eight weeks of their program, the participants participated in webinars, virtual workshops, and assignments on journalism skills and media literacy led by U.S.-based journalists and university faculty working in both new and traditional media. The second eight-week period allowed participants to plan and implement their Media Literacy Action Projects to promote media literacy and counter disinformation and misinformation, and/or train other aspiring journalists in professional skills and concepts. Keep reading to learn more about some of the participants and the projects that they implemented!

Our first highlighted participant is Ousmane Sagara. Ousmane is a journalist at Renouveau TV/FM. His tasks consist of collecting, processing and distributing information. He is also a member of many associations like IfeMali (Initiative for Food and Education in Mali) and WAHT (War Against Human Trafficking). He created a project titled, ‘Media Piece Reporting on Gender-Based Violence’. Ousmane is a very passionate activist for human rights, tackling social issues such as inequality and promoting more social equity in this world. His project is centered around GVB (gender-based violence) and its consequences on the victims. Ousmane wants to shed light on the consequences of gender-based violence and to invite victims of GBV to always fight for their rights as victims of abuse. “My vision is to one day see a more just and equitable world.” says Ousmane in his report. “The victims of these actions should not give up. They must fight to rebuild their lives.” During the making of this project, Ousmane interviewed some of the victims and social activists of GBV abuse and shared his findings on different media platforms including a broadcasted rerun on Renouveau TV news.
Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzeiEded3Fo

Our second highlighted participant is Djenaba Sacko. Djenaba is a passionate humanitarian and an avid collaborator in community causes. She works with the Leo Club associated with her region on assisting underprivileged families using the minimal resources they could acquire. Djenaba is an expatriate who returned to Mali as a child. She had difficulty integrating into the society after being away for so long and now wants to help others in a similar situation find a way to transition without the challenges she had to face. Her project is titled, ‘Reintegration of Malian Expatriates: Advocacy and Awareness Campaign’. Djenaba’s objective was to find a way to help returning expatriates with their transition back into the country. She wanted to create a support system to provide academic, social and professional assistance to expatriates upon their return to the country. With that, she wanted to provide a safe space where they could express their concerns and work on solving the problems they were facing. “This problem affects many people who have no support or means to be listened to and helped, and for the future I hope to see less difficulty for all people coming from outside to integrate and succeed in making a new life with lots of opportunities.” says Djenaba in her report. “An accompaniment for them at the psychological level will also make them stronger and able to reintegrate.” She realized that some of them are not able to continue their studies because of the different school system or teachers not adhering to their specific needs. Others were not able to thrive on a professional level due to lack of support in the private sector. She also found that a lot of these prejudices are also embedded within individual families and family members who are supposed to contribute to the person’s well-being, are unwilling or unable to support the expatriates.

Djenaba went on to interview returning expats dealing with these challenges. In doing so, she was
able to spread awareness about her work among expatriates and locals. She tackled the importance of providing psychological, educational, and vocational support to all expatriates upon their arrival and throughout their reintegration after 3 months. In order to accomplish her goals, Djenaba understood that she had to work on removing the prejudices that had been created about expatriates over the years and create a support system. Djenaba ended her report by saying, “As far as equity is concerned, we will do everything to ensure
that everyone feels valued. Equality and equity are subjects that are close to my heart so I will do my best to take these parameters into account and learn from this experience.”

We hope you enjoyed learning about the Media Literacy and Leadership Institute with Mali and two of our amazing participants! Stay tuned for another Mali project recap coming soon!

The FIUTS Media Literacy & Leadership Institute is funded through a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Mali. We are grateful to ISPRIC in Mali for their partnership on this program.