Mali

Internews’ work in Mali has focused on building the capacity of radio presenters and talk show hosts who broadcast in local languages. These radio hosts are extremely popular with local audiences, but often lack basic formal journalism training. In collaboration with URTEL, the Union of Free Radio and Television in Mali, Internews has hosted a series of capacity building workshops that cover basic journalism techniques and ethics and had a specific focus on constitutional and electoral issues.

Internews also worked with select journalists to equip them with the tools to conduct training sessions with local radio presenters from around the country. While the project was designed to strengthen the media’s role in informing and educating the public in preparation for the presidential and general elections, due to the coup d’etat and ensuing political crisis, Internews’ is currently assessing alternative methods for meeting the information needs of the population.

Internews’ project was run in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and funded by USAID.