Mali

Internews is working in Mali in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES),

Internews has designed a capacity- building training program for presenters or animateurs  -  fluent hosts of  talk shows in local  languages who have high  credibility amongst  their audiences but  little or no formal training or knowledge of  the basic principles of journalism. In association with URTEL (Union des Radios et Télévisions Libres du Mali), the umbrella organization which brings together most private radios in Mali, initial workshops with Internews  trainers  and a senior Malian expert on constitutional  and electoral issues have  provided selected trainees with the tools to carry out further training sessions  with local radio presenters from across the country.  A combination of thematic presentations, practical exercises and live radio program  simulations  has  covered a range of skills and  topics: knowledge of the Malian electoral system  from voter registration to the announcement of results,  journalist  ethics and principles for fair and balanced coverage of political campaigns, techniques for making the best use of interactive programming to accompany  civic education messages  and  methodological assistance in devising training programs.

These Malian trainers will then be deployed across the country in the first quarter of 2012 to conduct regional workshops which will train 200 radio presenters. A second Internews intervention before and during   the referendum and the first round of presidential elections which take place at  the end of April 2012 will provide hands-on real time follow- up in selected radio stations to strengthen capacity for the coverage of subsequent  legislative elections in July.