In Mali, starting in June 2011, Internews implemented a project designed to strengthen the media’s role in informing and educating the public in preparation for the presidential and general elections that were meant to take place in April 2012.
Following a military coup in March 2012 which halted the electoral process (and the Internews project), Internews adjusted its activities in the country in order to assess the impact of the conflict and humanitarian crisis on the Malian media landscape.
Radio is massively the primary means of mass communication in the country, but with mobile penetration in Mali above 80% and web access at less than 5%, cell phones emerged as an ideal option for increasing the interactivity of radio programming and reaching affected communities at large scale and low cost.
Internews entered into a partnership with mobile solutions venture Souktel – an organization which had previously worked in Mali to deliver public opinion polls via cell phone, together with international media outlets. From October 2013 to February 2014, Souktel designed and deployed a mobile software platform to support Internews’ program activities.
This report looks at the successes and challenges of this project, which enabled Malian citizens to contribute more actively to a national discourse on key topics.
