In order to contribute to the fight against misinformation and fake news in Côte d'Ivoire, the Education Center for a Sustainable Society (ESD Center) organized, in partnership with the Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW Akademie), a conference to present its Media and Information Guide called ”Emi Guide”. It was held on October 1, 2022, in Abidjan-Cocody, on the theme: “Media and Information Literacy (Emi) in Côte d'Ivoire: what are the challenges?
This activity is part of the project ”EMIvoire” which is a project of awareness and training in the responsible use of social media. “This conference aims to create a framework for exchange on the importance and challenges of media education and information in the Ivorian context,” said Aquilas Yao, vice president, representing the president of the ESD Center.
According to him, the death by immolation of the young Tunisian salesman, Mohamed Bouazizi, in 2010, which marks the beginning of the Arab Spring, and the desecration in Côte d'Ivoire of the tomb of the artist Dj Arafat in 2019, are tangible evidence that social media bring more freedom. But they can also be a source of alienation, division and dehumanization, due to the obscurantism and illiteracy of populations.
It's not enough to complain, you have to act…
For him, it's not enough to complain, you have to act. This is what the ESD Center is trying to do with partners to reverse the curve of values by sowing the seeds of media literacy.
The Ambassador of Germany in Côte d'Ivoire, Ingo Herbert, welcomed the initiative of the ESD Center. Before recalling that Hitler's Germany was a victim of media propaganda. Similarly, the war in Ukraine gives rise today to information manipulation and propaganda of all kinds. All these situations require media education.
For Jonas-Cyrille Djondé, coordinator of the new media program, representing the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, media literacy is a hot topic because a poorly informed citizen is a channel at risk. That is why he was keen to commend the ESD Center for this citizen commitment which is one of the priorities of the Ivorian government.
distinguishing the true from the false in a society with a high rate of illiteracy…
“This project aims to train quality citizens with a great capacity for analysis, distinguishing the true from the false in a society with a high rate of illiteracy. This is why we welcome the institutional support of the Ministry of Digital Economy to this activity,” said Koffi Kouakou, representing the Minister of Youth Promotion, Professional Integration and Civic Service, Toure Mamadou.
Note that this ceremony was also marked by the presentation of certificates to the alert multipliers of the 2022 cohort.
