Twenty-four community radio journalists from the western transhumance corridor of West African countries will be trained from 25 to 29 October 2021 in Banjul, the capital of the Gambia. The training will enable them to exchange ideas for a better understanding of the agro- pastoral sector and to be equipped for an improved treatment of information on pastoralism, in particular on the prevention and management of pastoral conflicts.

This workshop is held within the framework of the activities of the project "Integrated and Secure Livestock and Pastoralism in West Africa" (PEPISAO) coordinated by ECOWAS, which has delegated to CILSS the implementation of components 1 and 2. The French Development Agency (AFD) is the main donor for this project.

This training session is the second this year that CILSS and ECOWAS are organizing after the one in April 2021 held in Natitingou, Benin.

For five days, journalists from Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal will, through presentations followed by exchanges, debates and practical work, familiarize themselves, among others, with the techniques and approaches of processing and disseminating information from the agro-pastoral sector and conflict-sensitive journalism. Under the coordination of various experts from CILSS and ECOWAS, community media actors invited to the workshop will produce more than twenty radio productions with actors in the field.

With this training, CILSS and ECOWAS will contribute to increasing the critical mass of community radio journalists trained on the issues of pastoralism and the tools for prevention and management of agro-pastoral conflicts. This will contribute to reducing conflicts between farmers and herders in their various localities.

More information on the PEPISAO project : https://bit.ly/2Wo7Fz2