Post Status:
Main Project Location: Labe
Project country/countries: Guinea
Project dates:  –
Last updated: 23 March 2022

Brief overview of the Case Study   

Villageois 2.0 is an association which aims to raise awareness among citizens of Guinea on the advantages and risks of ICTs. The association uses the internet, namely www.lesvillageois.org, to promote good governance, citizen control, open data, citizenship and human rights. Its aim is to demonstrate to Guinean citizens how digital technology can be used as a means of freedom of expression and a weapon against underemployment.

The Founder of Les Villageois is Sally Bilaly Sow, who is a renowned blogger and human rights activist. He believes that Guinean bloggers contribute to the promotion of good governance in the country. According to him, today, Guinean bloggers are indispensable actors in the construction of a new and democratic Guinea.

The challenge or problem

The history of Guinea is filled with stories of violence against journalists, media workers, and private radio closures by the government.
Guinea faces a lot of socio-political turmoil and the Guinean authorities restrict public freedom of citizens.
The use of web and digital applications are low in Guinea because of the slow internet
Lack of digital education
Refusal of certain authorities to adapt to changes

The solution that was implemented

Les Villageois visits different schools to train students for free on the advantages and risks of information and communication technologies, in blogging and Vlogging and skills for fact-checking.
Les Villageois offers young Guineans an online platform to discuss their opinions, but also requires transparency from public authorities.
To remedy the problem of fake or false news or misinformation, the platform GuineaCheck was created. It is a citizens’ initiative to fight against disinformation in the Republic of Guinea on the Internet and on social networks. It aims to flush out all forms of false information that swarms the web and it also trains the youth in media literacy.

What results were achieved?

N/A

Lessons and recommendations

There are lots of opportunities for Civic Tech in Africa. The areas of innovation activities for civic tech are numerous and the internet penetration rate is encouraging the emergence of digital players. However, digital education must be put at the heart of CivicTech activities.
The activities organized by Les Villageois arise from observation. Today, they are able to mobilize citizens through digital technology on issues of general interest such as media literacy and digital training for the youth. Their ambition is always to innovate around serving the community. The difficulties are the lack of digital education and the refusal in places of certain authorities to adapt to the changes underway. It is important to understand the issues and needs of the surrounding environment before getting started.

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