Production and broadcast of 16 radio stories/tales on children’s rights

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Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC), Niger

Title: Advocacy on Children’s Rights by Radio Dramas (storytelling)

Partner

Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC) is an NGO of human rights activists, established in Niger in December 2001. The aim of this organisation is to promote human rights in the Niger society, particularly women’s and children’s rights, as well as the promotion of good governance in Niger.
In 2004 and 2006,AEC conducted campaigns on children’s rights with local and international partners. They also have experience in radio and audiovisual productions; AEC relies on relationships with radio stations and radio networks in Niger and Mali.
Furthermore, AEC has already used storytelling as an efficient means of sensibilising children and the rural population on human rights. Thanks to this previous experience, they are familiar with regional and local storyteller organisations, such as Afrifôgo and ASCONI.

Project Objective

Taking into account three main weaknesses of children’s rights in Niger, namely:

  • These rights are not known by the parents or the children themselves
  • The lack of educative programmes on these children’s rights
  • The inefficiency of previous initiatives to make them known (by newspapers, and talk shows on radio and TV)

the organisation “Alternative Espaces Citoyens” intends to produce another radio format – children’s stories – to create awareness of these rights within the population, targeting parents and children.

Beneficiaries and expected results

Direct beneficiaries:

  • Eight storytellers trained and sensibilised on human rights issues; beyond this project it is expected that they will continue to tell stories tackling these issues.
  • Eight young writers trained and sensibilised on human rights issues; beyond this project it is expected that they will continue to write stories tackling these issues.
  • Sixteen children trained as storytellers, and at least eight of them will be recorded telling stories, as examples for others.
  • Fifty-one radio stations will receive quality programmes; beyond this project it is anticipated that they will continue to give air-time to storytellers and to children, and will recommend more programmes on human rights issues.

Indirect and final beneficiaries:

  • The children and parents in both countries, who will be sensibilised on the children’s rights in day-to-day life: One million listeners are targeted by the 51 radio stations: during 48 weeks they will listen to a series of stories concerning the 10 most important children’s rights.
  • The whole society in Niger and Mali: human rights, and particularly children’s rights, will be more widely known, promoted and respected.

Actions and Schedule

Outputs: Sixteen stories will be produced in three languages: Haoussa, Zarma and French. They will be broadcasted by 51 local (mostly rural) radio stations: 41 local radio stations in Niger which are members of the Community Radio Network of Niger, and 10 stations in Mali, which are members of the Kayira Network. In addition, the stories will be distributed on CD to other radio stations all over Western Africa.

Activities:

  • Two days of training for writers/storytellers on children’s rights. Eight young writers and eight storytellers from the various regions within Niger, and possibly Mali.
  • A ten-day writing workshop for the eight writers: each will be asked to produce two stories.
  • Sixteen children gifted in storytelling, identified by the local organisations of storytellers (Afrifôgo), will be trained by the adult storytellers to “professionally” tell the stories. At least eight of them will become sufficiently competent to be recorded.
  • The sixteen stories told by the children will be recorded by Radio Alternative
  • The stories will be broadcasted by 51 local radio stations: 41 in Niger and 10 in Mali.
  • Six hundred CDs with the stories will be produced and distributed.
  • The French version of the stories will be offered to radio stations all over Western Africa (Burkina, but also the Ivory Coast, Benin, Guinea…).