A radio station aimed at stopping youth radicalization across five countries fighting jihadists in Africa’s Sahel region is set for launch in Burkina Faso under a deal signed Monday.
Aimed at 15-35-year-olds, Radio Jeunesse Sahel (Youth Radio Sahel) will broadcast from Burkina’s capital Ouagadougou across the nation and its partners in the so-called “G5 Sahel” group: Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad.
“The aim is to offer themes fighting against radicalism and violent extremism,” Burkina’s foreign minister Alpha Barry said after signing a public-service franchise with the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), which groups French-speaking countries.
So far there is no set date for the station to begin its broadcasts in French, Arabic, Hausa, Fulani, Bambara, and Mossi, all widely spoken languages in the region.
OIF spokeswoman Oria Vande Weghe said the content would “support living in harmony and a constructive vision of the future,” adding that it would “reflect the reality” of the region’s young people.