Media Literacy and Leadership Institute with Mali: Project Recap (Part 2)
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. Check out Part 1 of the Mali Project Recaps here: https://www.fiuts.org/blog/2022/12/8/media-literacy-and-leadership-institute-with-mali-project-recap
Keep reading to learn more about some of the participants and the projects that they implemented!
Our first participant is Mahamadou Bagayoko. Mahamadou is a training manager, blogger and producer. He cares a lot about how the average Malian consumes social media data and understands how decontextualized information or false information circulate heavily in his region. As a journalist, he searches for ways to combat misinformation and give media viewers a reliable source to check the accuracy of consumed content.
Mahamadou wanted his project to reach as vast of an audience as possible. He decided to create a short video defining what fake news and misinformation are and how to identify them. He went through an intensive training about the different types of misinformation spread before deciding to share his findings with the world. His media play, "Kuna foni gnuma don tôgô (how to identify good information)" is presented in Bamanakan, which is the national language of Mali. It includes French subtitles so that his message could reach a wider range of people. The purpose of his project was to empower Internet users to frequently verify information. Mahamadou mentions, “since technology does not offer a way for everyone to filter out fake news, it is up to us to sensitize Internet users who are victims of such situations”. He realized that the best way to address this issue is by connecting with people through the same platforms they receive all their misinformation from.
After sending out a survey to find the most common news sources, Mahamadou found that WhatsApp and Meta are the most prominent platforms for spreading information. He decided to split his video into two parts. The first part explained what is defined as fake news or misinformation. The second part included a specialist in the field who explained the dangers of sharing incorrect information and how and where the average citizen can verify the information presented. Mahamadou’s objective and vision was to broadcast his message to as many people as possible and teach non media literate folks how to responsibly consume information. He shared his video on his Meta account, Vlog, and WhatsApp.
You can watch his video HERE: https://www.facebook.com/mbbtonistar/videos/384096073651058/
The next project we want to highlight is called Founou-Founou, or Tourbillon in English. This project included four memrs; Mohamed Camara, Ibrahim Traoré, Juliette Coulibaly, and Banou Gandega.
Mohamed is a reporter with the newspaper, Reflet d'Afrique. He has a professional degree in modern literature and three years of experience in the world of journalism. Outside the professional world, he is a member of the Junior Chamber International Mali and several other youth organizations working towards a more inclusive and interactive world.
Ibrahim is a journalist at a local radio and TV station and a primary school teacher by training and profession. His experience in both fields allowed him to make an inference abouy the way that information consumption is handled by a major part of the Malian youth, particularly the pupils and students. “A phenomenon, once neglected, can ignite in the future and affect the survival of the nation.”
Juliette is a radio journalist. She has a master's degree in journalism with an emphasis on radio journalism. Outside of the professional world, she is a member of the scout and guide movement of Mali, the Association of Catholic Journalists of Mali and several other youth organizations. “My greatest concern is to inform and sensitize the population to the mechanisms of the media and to fight against misinformation.”
Banou is a specialist in Marketing-Communication. She obtained her MA in Marketing-Communication and a DUT in Journalism-Communication from Ecole Supérieur des Métiers du Commerce et de la Gestion. She interned with several different media companies in Mali, mainly at the national television (ORTM) in its marketing department.
The team’s target demographic was college students. They wanted to learn how deep the spread of misinformation ran among the youth and then find a way to spread awareness about the issue at hand. They noticed that many of the students retrieve their information from local radio stations, private television stations, and social networks (Meta and Whatsapp). A week later, the team took two in-person days to spread awareness: One in Koulikoro, with the sand and gravel operators on the banks of the Niger River (approximately 65 people; pictured), and one at the Faculty of Technical Sciences of Bamako, with the residents of the campus, and members of the UNESCO club of the said public faculty (approximately 120 people). The project also served as the beginning of a new association, "Union of Journalists for the Promotion of Citizenship", UJPC, which will serve to educate journalists about media literacy.
One of the team’s main concerns was how political information is spread through misinformation. Since today’s world is very affected by day-to-day occurrences, they wanted to make sure that students are not holding on to false information which could lead to the fall of the community. They believe the information coming from each political event creates a social panic within the student world, which is used during the crises as shields through the hands of misinformation manipulators and the craftsmen of the accomplice. The team aimed to create “a means that brought the student world closer to sources of information”.
Throughout the work of this project, the team had several objectives they wanted to meet regarding the spread of misinformation. Firstly, they wanted to provide a list of reliable and verifiable sources to students across three major universities in Bamako. After gathering that data, the team assembled an interactive exchange for spreading awareness about misinformation with the help of the same students they surveyed. The exchange also included lessons about media literacy and the importance of identifying false information when it comes your way. The team wanted to spread awareness on the consequences of spreading misinformation. They understood that false news has a great impact on the social and academic levels of the community and wanted to be part of the new generation who combat that kind of negative spread. “This project of sensitization and survey came to me on one hand following an observation of the media ecosystem in my country, overflowing with false information and on the other hand, my desire to share my knowledge on media education.” says one of the team members in their report. They went on to spread their message on different social media platforms, which was found to be the most effective strategy to get their message across.
We hope you enjoyed reading more about the projects conducted by the students who participated in the Media Literacy and Leadership Institute Exchange Program.