A radio station aimed at combating "violent extremism" is to be launched in the G5 Sahel countries, a group of five Sahelian countries that have been working together since 2017 to combat jihadism, according to official sources in Ouagadougou on Monday.
Called "Radio Jeunesse Sahel," the station, which targets listeners aged 15 to 35, will broadcast from Ouagadougou to raise awareness among the population about "insecurity and violent extremism," according to the terms of an agreement signed Monday in the Burkinabe capital.
"This radio station will be of great importance" because "its purpose is to address issues that combat radicalism and violent extremism," said Burkina Faso's Minister of Foreign Affairs Alpha Barry, according to the public service concession agreement between the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) and the Higher Council for Communication (CSC) of Burkina Faso.
"The signing of this agreement truly marks the starting point of this important project," said Mr. Barry, without giving a start date for broadcasting, assuring that "this is something we have been waiting for for a long time."
The programs of "Radio Jeunesse Sahel" will be "aimed at young people and the general population in the fight against insecurity, youth unemployment, and ignorance," explained CSC President Mathias Tankoano.
According to the representative of the SG of La Francophonie, Oria Vande Weghe, "Radio Jeunesse Sahel aims, through its broadcasts, to 'promote living together and a constructive vision of the future by offering young people a sense of ownership of their future, a reflection of their reality, and authentic, credible, reliable, and inspiring content.'"
The station, which will broadcast a regional program common to the five G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad), with national breaks, will broadcast its content continuously in French, Arabic, Hausa, Fulani, Bambara, and Mooré, languages commonly spoken in the region.
AFP