In May, the technical communications assistant for the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative attended a seminar on the use of media for development in forest landscape restoration.
An African Union Development Agency - NEPAD initiative, within the framework of implementing the AFR100 Initiative.
The aim of the seminar (which took place in Dakar, Senegal) was to give participants the means to draft convincing narratives and lead communication campaigns, in order to create a behavioural change among citizens in their respective countries, in favour of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). Participants were also equipped with tools and techniques for drafting narratives, based on identification and knowledge of the audience/target. Furthermore, they were taught a technique to draft a press release to stimulate journalists’ and their editors’ interest in environmental information.
The session brought together communication managers from South Africa, the DRC, Benin, Senegal, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire and of course, Burkina Faso.
Launched in December 2015 at the Global Landscapes Forum as part of the COP21 in Paris, by representatives from participating African countries and a broad range of financial and technical partners, the AFR100 initiative aims to restore 100 million hectares of damaged forest and lands in Africa by 2030. The Initiative therefore contributes to the achievement of international development targets established in the sustainable development goals and more specifically in the New York Declaration on forests and the Bonn Challenge concerning the protection and maintenance of forests in Africa.
For the latest news about development cooperation in Wallonia-Brussels, visit the Apefe website.