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Youth in Africa's Great Lakes Region: The Making of a New Generation
an article by Search for Common Ground
How did it all begin? It was a bold idea to broadcast live on-air conversations between youth in one of the world's most polarized regions. Technically, we needed to connect radio stations from across the region through the Internet, raise capacities of the journalists and technicians, and take on the challenge and stress of a live regional program. The human hurdles were even more daunting. We wanted to change the way youth perceived themselves and their peers in neighboring countries. The walls of prejudice were high, and the degree of trauma experienced by the youth was profound. . .
A live production of the radio programme Generation Grands Lacs in Gisenye, western Rwanda. This production brought youth together from the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi.
click on photo to enlarge
How does the program work? A team of journalists from radio stations in Burundi, Rwanda, and DR Congo was assembled and the location of the live broadcast rotated each week between Bujumbura, Kigali, Bukavu and eventually Kinshasa. Each radio program is hosted by two journalists, always of different nationalities. The program is webstreamed, enabling the other stations to pick it up over the Internet and broadcast it over the FM airwaves. For the ?rst time, listeners across the three countries could phone in to the live radio program. Although the program is in French, the diversity of the journalists means that they can speak with callers in Swahili, Lingala, Kirundi, and Kinyarwanda. The program includes prerecorded segments, interviews with studio guests, and interaction with callers and listeners participating by sms.
What was the change we intended to make? What the youth needed was a program that would make them feel differently about themselves and their neighbors, instilling a sense of pride in being from the Great Lakes region. It was important to set the right tone, so that in addition to addressing serious issues, the program needed to be fun and captivating to youth. A funky theme song was composed and catchy jingles were produced. An outreach program included partnering with youth organizations and universities across the region.
Regular meetings between the journalists helped to strengthen the bonds between them, as friends and as professionals committed to the GGL vision. When they returned to their own newsrooms, they brought a new confidence and perspective. "After my first visit to Rwanda, my newsroom colleagues didn't believe what I was telling them," recalled a Congolese journalist. "One colleague told me he could never imagine sitting in the same room with a Rwandan, but now we were working together on GGL. I could see attitudes changing."
By engaging with people - from ex-presidents and parliamentarians to youth leaders - GGL gives voice to youth representing a diversity of perspectives: displaced youth, politically-mobilized youth, youth in refugee camps, and youth who had taken up arms as child soldiers. Although even the most sensitive of issues were eventually tackled, the program has never been censured or denounced by the government or media regulatory body in the three countries. . .
Seven years running, the GGL team is proud of having surmounted the obstacles of polarization, trauma and fear in the region, amplifying a positive young voice of confidence, tolerance, and initiative.
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
How can you participate in media reform?,
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Latest reader comment:
Readers' comments are invited on this topic and report. This topic relates to two reports: Media That Matters; and Youth Television Creates Peace.
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