USAID/Guinea: Civil Society and Media Come Together in Guinea

DECEMBER 24, 2003

Civil Society and Media Come Together in Guinea

A three-day workshop brought together leaders of civil society, the media, and communication consultants to identify ways to make a better use of radio, and to reflect upon the development of media and the use of media for development in Guinea.

participants in the USAID-sponsored workshop on Civil Society and the Media in Guinea

Participants engage in a USAID-sponsored workshop on 'Civil Society and the Media' in Guinea.

In an effort to improve collaboration between civil society leaders and professional journalists in Guinea, USAID partner International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) held a three-day workshop October 15-17 in Kindia, in Maritime Guinea. By presenting the findings of a national study on radio broadcasting in Guinea, the meetings provided a space for open discussion on the liberalization of radio, currently a highly sensitive topic, particularly around the time of presidential elections, which recently took place on December 21, 2003. Although Guinean written press has taken advantage of laws passed in 1991 allowing for free expression, Guinea is the only country in the sub-region that has not yet liberalized radio.

The national study is a follow-up activity to two nationwide civic education campaigns carried out by IFES to bring citizens into dialogue to promote citizen’s rights and responsibilities and to explain the Guinean electoral process, as well as a series of roundtables on the importance of social dialogue. The civic education campaigns were not only largely covered by the Guinean press, but national and local radio were an integral part of the organization, encouraging a more effective partnership between the press and civil society in promoting human rights in Guinea.

What divides civil society and the media? Misunderstanding on both sides; the media not taking into consideration civil society's information needs; little support of radio by civil society organizations; the high cost of radio broadcasts; and civil society's critique of the way information is presented by the media.

In small group work sessions, questions were asked such as 'What is causing friction between civil society and the media?' Answers included mutual misunderstanding, and radio not expressing civil society's preoccupations.

Says Elizabeth Côté, IFES representative in Guinea, "The study was carried out to better understand the nature of radio broadcasting in Guinea, people's perceptions and expectations of existing radio and their views on the potential liberalization of the airwaves. We saw through our civic awareness campaigns that people were becoming aware that they have the right to diverse sources of information. The next step is to help them voice the need for a more democratic culture of communication. The Guinean constitution allows for freedom of expression, which has helped us make inroads in our work.

The study, carried out by local media consultants in September-October 2003 and written by Mohamed Condé, Assistant Director of Communications in Guinea, shows the evolution of radio in Guinea being intimately linked to the country's politics. Says Condé, "Radio was used during the country's colonial period as an instrument of domination, then as a propagandist tool to promote communism [under the regime of Sekou Touré]. Today, radio media is suffering a crisis of not yet being able to adapt to a liberalized economy and multiparty politics."

Spes Manikariza, Search for Common Ground Project Guinea Director

Representatives from non-governmental organization Search for Common Ground also gave an effective presentation on "Conflict and the Media' and the role of responsible journalists in mitigating conflict during civil strife.

Both the study and the workshop show that:

There is consensus in desiring a liberalization of the media in Guinea, and civil society must play a key role in advocating for that to happen.

The Guinean press should be considered and consider itself as an active member of civil society, with a productive and essential role to play in ensuring that communication is established between the needs of citizens at the grass roots level and decision-makers in Guinea.

Current programming does not respond sufficiently to community needs for the presentation of international, national and local news and there is a desire on the part of the population for a radio that focuses more specifically on community issues that affect people's daily lives.

Radio remains the media best adapted to serving the development needs of the country since it reaches even the most rural and illiterate segments of society.

Although rural radio stations have been put in place in all regions of Guinea, the institutional framework needs to be better developed for them to better play their role.

An essential problem exists in the fact that national media journalists are employed by the State, and they feel they have to support the ruling party. While others in the private written press lean towards the opposition political parties. In order to play a watchdog role, and to gain credibility, journalists must be more willing to speak out frankly and to defend civil society interests in all forms of media. They must also work in solidarity to defend both their individual and collective interests.

The workshop included engaging presentations and debates led by well-known civil society leaders and members of the Guinean press on subjects of interest such as how information is processed and circulated in Guinea, examples of effective use of media in other countries in the African sub-region, and perspectives for the development of the media in Guinea. Representatives from non-governmental organization Search for Common Ground also gave an effective presentation on "Conflict and the Media" and the role of responsible journalists in mitigating conflict during civil strife.

Actions that civil society and the media should take together include: Organizing exchanges between civil society organizations (CSOs) and the media; plan and carry out grass roots education and training; involve CSOs in collecting and presenting information; give more air time to CSOs; and lobby radio directors together.

Recommendations for actions that civil society and the media should take together include allowing civil society to help in collecting and presenting information, and collectively lobbying radio station managers with civil society demands.

Recommendations from both the national study and the media workshop include a call for stronger collaboration between media professionals and civil society organizations. Actions such as extending dialogue on the improvement of communication to the local populace, and joint advocacy campaigns targeting government officials for better news management in Guinea were identified and will now being undertaken.

Guinea has seen progress in the liberalization of both State radio and television in recent months. Earlier this year the State created Radio Guinée Internationale (R.G.I.—91.7 FM). Since October, the State has also opened up national radio and television to include opposition voices, and has allowed limited coverage of opposition parties' political events.

Says Bakary Fofana, IFES civil society specialist, "The door is starting to open up, but we need to keep up the pressure to create more and more space for open dialogue on these issues. People are eager to get credible, diversified information. Civil society is emerging here institutionally, and good information will help people overcome many of the hurdles that still exist. The more initiatives are taken, the more courage people will have to express themselves freely."

Story and photos by Laura Lartigue. Comic by Youssouph Ben Barry, a.k.a. "Oscar," from Le Lynx newspaper