The Confederation of Sahel States (AES), bringing together Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has taken a new step in building its shared media tools with the launch of “Tafouk TV,” a television channel presented by the authorities as an instrument of information sovereignty and regional integration.
Based in Bamako, the channel began broadcasting its programs in mid-September. It is available by satellite, notably via the Canal package, as well as online.
Through its programming, Tafouk TV notably aims to showcase the cultures and languages of the three AES member countries, while giving significant coverage to news and the activities of the Confederation.
Mali’s Ministry of Communication thus presents the new channel as a media outlet “serving information sovereignty, our cultures and regional integration.”
At the launch, Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, also highlighted the authorities’ desire to develop media tools capable, according to him, of “conveying our own narrative.”
Programming Focused on News and Local Languages
Named “Tafouk,” a term meaning “sun” in Tamasheq, the channel notably offers three daily television news bulletins, as well as programs devoted to current affairs, geopolitics, fact-checking and security issues.
Programs are broadcast in French and English, as well as in several languages spoken in the region, including Bambara, Mooré, Fulfulde and Hausa.
The launch of Tafouk TV is part of a broader strategy aimed at establishing a network of shared media outlets for the three AES states.
A confederal radio station, “Daandé Liptako,” meaning “the Voice of Liptako” in Fulfulde, is already broadcasting from Ouagadougou. A joint news agency, whose headquarters is expected to be established in Niamey, has also been announced.
A New Media Tool for the AES
The creation of these media outlets comes in the context of strengthening cooperation between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which formed the Alliance of Sahel States before withdrawing from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The three countries notably justified their withdrawal by denouncing the sanctions imposed by the regional organization following the changes of power in the three states and arguing that these measures were contrary to the interests of their populations.
With Tafouk TV, the AES now intends to have a new shared media platform to provide information about its activities, promote its cultures and strengthen ties between the populations of the three countries.
