In Burkina Faso, EducommuniK, in partnership with the Central Brigade for Cybercrime Control (BCLCC), has launched the African Media and Information Education Forum (FA-EMI). The event, which took place on October 28, 2026, aims to bring together civil society actors, researchers, journalists, and institutional actors from various countries to discuss the need to sanitize the digital public space. The forum will run from October 28 to 30, 2026.
The project "Educated Youth in Media and Information: A Bulwark Against Disinformation, Hate Speech, and Information Manipulation in West Africa and the Sahel" is behind this initiative. EducommuniK and its partners seek to make a diagnosis of the challenges and propose concrete actions to combat disinformation, hate speech, and information manipulation. This will be achieved through strengthening the knowledge of youth and communities.
Damien Z. Seglonou, representing the Secretary-General of EducommuniK, explained that the ambition is to build a regional watch network and advocate for the institutionalization of media and information education in national policies. The goal is to empower young people and communities to discern and critically evaluate information.
Nina Kadi Diallo, Program Officer at EducommuniK, emphasized the need for collective action from all stakeholders, including governments and information actors. She noted that national responses to the challenges of disinformation and hate speech have limitations, and a regional cooperation of actors in media and information education is necessary for a more durable and effective resilience.
The President of the ceremony, Louis Modeste Ouédraogo, President of ARCOD, proposed solutions to sanitize the digital public space. He suggested that media and information education can empower citizens to exercise discernment and advocated for a roundtable discussion involving public institutions, media, platforms, and civil society to clarify their responsibilities in regulation and self-regulation.
The first edition of FA-EMI was placed under the patronage of the Minister of Communication, Gilbert Ouédraogo, and co-patronized by Mahamadou Sana, Minister of Security. The representative of the patron, Moctar Sanfo, expressed the Minister's commitment to conveying the recommendations from the forum to government instances and hoped that the event would mark the beginning of a regional synergy in favor of an engaged media ecosystem.
The forum is part of the project "Educated Youth in Media and Information (EMI), a Bulwark Against Disinformation, Hate Speech, and Information Manipulation in West Africa and the Sahel," funded by the Federal Republic of Germany. The event brought together 302 participants, who will discuss and propose solutions to the pressing issues of disinformation, hate speech, and information manipulation in the region.
Key points
- The African Media and Information Education Forum aims to combat disinformation and hate speech in West Africa and the Sahel through media education.
- The forum seeks to build a regional watch network and advocate for the institutionalization of media and information education in national policies.
- The project is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and involves 302 participants from various countries.
