Fondation Hirondelle held a special media event to cover the 43rd edition of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017. Taking place in Luxembourg from July 6th–12th, 2017, the event included discussions focused on linguistic, cultural and identity diversity. A temporary editorial team of 4 African journalists from media outlets created or supported by Fondation Hirondelle, led by an editor-in-chief, covered the APF’s work and discussions and spoke daily with participants. The resulting interviews and reports were broadcast by Fondation Hirondelle stations Studio Tamani in Mali and Studio Kalangou in Niger, our network of 120 partner media in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and by public radio in Burkina Faso. Our editorial team also followed the young African francophones participating in the 8th edition of the youth parliament (PFJ) taking place alongside the APF. These young people participated in verbal jousting matches simulating parliamentary debate. During debates and workshops, they had the opportunity to hone their skills on important subjects such as education, gender equality, and digital enterprise.
Our team produced daily videos about these young people, their expectations, points of view and hopes for the future. The videos were produced in partnership with project funders Vivendi and Canal + and are available on our website as well as on Culture(s) With Vivendi and Dailymotion.