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DR Congo

Support to the local media

Fondation Hirondelle has partnered with Internews in a project to support the media sector in the DRC

Fondation Hirondelle is the main partner of Internews, a US-based international media development organization, in this programme. Also participating are Albany Associates, a UKbased international media consultancy; and Journaliste en Danger (JED), a Congolese NGO that defends press freedom and human rights.
Each partner will work on different aspects of media development in the DRC. This project is financed for the next three years by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID.

The project will concentrate on four provinces of the DRC where tensions are still high or where the socio-economic stakes are high: Bandundu, Maniema, South Kivu and Katanga. This is a wide-ranging media support project that includes partner radio stations. It aims to develop the legal framework in which Congolese media operate; their economic viability; and the training of journalists.

Fondation Hirondelle is already supporting a network of over 30 community radio stations throughout the DRC. We will bring to this project our training expertise in the field of management and marketing, acquired through our previous work with community radios. In addition, the expertise of Radio Okapi, which celebrated its ninth anniversary this year, will be used in two ways: to develop the broadcast of its programmes by partner radios; and to provide a pool of trainers. Professionals from Radio Okapi will thus focus particularly on training partner radio stations in the four provinces covered by the project.