Governance & communications Program:
The purpose of USAID’s new Governance and Communications program is to empower Malians to play an important role in a decentralized system of democratic governance at the local level.
The program works with all key actors—the state, civil society and the private sector— in a partnership to find solutions to local development issues. The program promotes the participation of various groups in the democratic process, and creates viable links among them. It also provides local communities with the skills to administer their own financial systems; develops policies that support the success of decentralized government; and increase women’s role in decision making.
The Team also includes activities to make it easier for Malians to get access to information that will enable them to improve the quality of their lives. This is done by supporting Mali’s thriving community FM radio sector and community telecenters. These technologies are used to disseminate development-related messages, and programming to prevent and mitigate conflict.
The program produces multi-media content that will directly benefit students, teachers, entrepreneurs, farmers, families, health workers and government employees (especially those outside of the capital city). The program also provides community selected radio stations with Internet access, thereby making information from the worldwide web available to the vast listening audience in Mali.
activities:
Conflict Management through Community Radios
Activity geographic coverage: Gao, Kidal, Timbuktu
Activity objective: To manage destabilizing trends by strengthening the capacity of the private sector to contribute to peace building through increasing access to and community control over information pertinent to the overall education and development of the most isolated populations of Mali.
NietaKunafoni (Communications for Development)/HKI
Activity geographic coverage: National
Activity objective:To enhance social capital as the key element of national development by promoting positive change in social, cultural, political, and economic behavior, leading to an improved standard of living for the people of Mali.
More...
CLIC –Community Learning and Information Centers
Activity objective:Provide reliable public access to a wide range of development related information through ICT. The community Learning and Information Centers are designed to meet community needs and actively support development objectives of the Government of Mali and USAID/Mali.
Activity key activities: Under the CLIC project, thirteen telecenters have been established across Mali, from Kidal in the north to Kangaba in the south. The CLICs are public fee-for-use access centers where people can use e-mail, Internet, telephone, do word processing, receive computer training, listen to radio via World Space receivers etc. The CLICs are also offering digital, paper-based and audio content in the main strategic objective areas of USAID - namely health, education (teacher training), agribusiness, and civil society/governance.
More...
Success Story: Bridging the Communications Gap in Northern Mali
More Articles on our Governance and Communications Program
Last updated: Monday, October 20, 2008