Info Toupatou

Promoting democracy and civic engagement

Goals

To improve local news coverage in order to enhance treatment of the main issues of concern to Haiti’s provincial population.

To consolidate the role of Haiti’s media in the citizen-led control of public initiatives.

373 K

43months

20Participating organizations

A project

Supported by

In partnership with

Project timeline

November 2017 May 2021

100%

This project is finished

Presentation

Little more than one year after the election of Jovenel Moïse as President of the Republic of Haiti, social tension in the country is still very keenly felt. In September 2017, high-profile movements within society marked the advent of the new finance law by calling the President's management approach into question.

In this problematic situation, media platforms, of which there are many across Haiti, are hard put to produce credible, high-quality news output. Radio stations, the primary media in Haiti, do not always have the resources to address local news, thereby resulting in a lack of credibility amongst listeners. The population at large, however, is keen to have the opportunity to support the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) in passing on their concerns and putting pressure on the authorities and decision-makers.

Info Toupatou aims to reach out to the provinces where news and information are concerned, to consolidate the role of the media in citizen-led control of public initiatives, to make local radio stations more viable and to enhance local continuous-learning capacities. It is just one of the CFI-led projects in Africa in the field of citizen-led control of public initiatives.
In 2018, CFI will be launching the first phase of this project, subject to receiving funding for the other three.

‘‘Our coach gave us the techniques we need to prepare a programme, target advertisers and attract listeners. Now, I can go to organisations and sell them a concept or a production of programmes in a more professional manner.’’

Jacques Jean Pierre, Head of Radio Télé Express in Haiti

Project beneficiaries

Local radio stations (16 in the provinces and Port-au-Prince)
Four print or online media outlets
Twelve CSO and NGO representatives working to ensure better accountability in target regions
Representatives from organisations for women and young people

Project manager

Émilie LAOT-YAHOU

Files to download

Info Toupatou

Actions

To improve the way in which the media in the regions and in the capital address the main issues of concern to Haiti’s people as a whole

Training for a small group of media platforms keen to commit to this approach (radio stations and print media, online outlets or TV): improver sessions on the basics of journalism and treatment of local news, improvement of journalists' French-language skills, and help with the production of broadcasts in synergy.

To consolidate the role of the media in the citizen-led control of public initiatives

Sessions of reflection, cooperation and consolidation of knowledge about the citizen-led control of public initiatives.
Improver workshops in the production of educational content for citizens and on citizen-led control of public initiatives, improvement of journalists' investigatory skills, and an introduction to data journalism.
"Best enquiry" competition.

To strengthen media governance and viability

Improver sessions in management and marketing, community mobilisation and team management for local radio stations.
In situ diagnostics and coaching cycle for each radio station involved in the project.
Remote mentoring of coaching and development plans.