Faced with a destabilizing media campaign targeting member countries of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES)the latter decided to strengthen their communication. Gathered in Mali, the ministers of Communication and New Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) from Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali validated the implementation of several tools intended to promote the image of the AES and disseminate reliable information to the population. For the Malian minister Alhamdou Ag Ilyèneit is a question of putting in place “ anything that will allow us to position ourselves to expose untruths and reassure national and international opinion of the merits of this loving approach by the sovereign people of our Confederation« .
Among these tools are a common visual identity, media dedicated to the Sahel region and population awareness plans. The AES intends to create new communication tools such as television, radio and an online platform dedicated to the Sahel region. These media will make it possible to disseminate information in real time, counter false information and present the actions carried out by the AES to improve the situation in the region. The ministers also underlined the importance of collaboration between the public media of the three countries to strengthen the impact of this new strategy. The implementation of these new media will require significant human and financial resources. The ministers called for a strong commitment from all stakeholders to guarantee the success of this project. They also underlined the importance of the participation of civil society and private media in this process. This new communication strategy marks an important step in strengthening unity and solidarity between the countries of the Sahel.
On Sunday January 28, 2024, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger formalized their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and created the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). The three AES countries accuse the sub-regional institution of being remotely controlled by Western powers. Last Sunday, December 15 in Abuja, Nigeria, the ECOWAS took note of the decision of the three countries which will take effect on Wednesday January 29, 2025. However, they have a six-month moratorium to reverse their decision.
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