On October 28, 2026, in the bustling eastern Senegalese city of Tambacounda, a meeting took place that carried with it the quiet promise of change. The Timbuktu Institute – African Center for Peace Studies and the MEDIA/PCIEV Network signed a memorandum of understanding, a formal but deeply human agreement between two organisations determined to confront some of the most urgent challenges of their time: the spread of disinformation, the danger of intercommunal conflict, and the persistent threat of violent extremism. This was not an abstract policy exercise or a ceremony staged for cameras. It was a commitment grounded in the everyday realities of a region where peace is not a given, but something that must be actively protected. The agreement, set for an initial period of three years and renewable, is built around a simple and powerful idea: that the people closest to a problem are often the best placed to solve it, especially when they are given the tools, training, and trust they need. Both institutions came to the table with different strengths. The Timbuktu Institute brings years of research, analysis, and deep knowledge of African peace and security dynamics. The MEDIA/PCIEV Network brings something equally essential: a presence in local communities, relationships built over time, and a genuine understanding of the pressures and aspirations of ordinary people. Together, they intend to pool their energy and expertise to promote reliable information, support journalists, empower community actors, and above all, contribute to a future in which Tambacounda remains a place where different communities can live side by side in dignity and mutual respect. For the people of the region, this agreement is not just a piece of paper; it is a sign that institutions are paying attention, not only to the threats, but to their strengths.
Why Tambacounda? The question deserves more than a geographical answer. The region sits on the historic Dakar-Bamako corridor, a vital artery of trade and travel linking Senegal to Mali, and its territory touches the borders of Mali, Guinea, and The Gambia. This position brings economic and cultural vitality, but it also brings exposure to the instability that has shaken the wider Sahel. The aftershocks of conflict in neighbouring countries are felt in towns and villages across the region, often through illicit cross-border activities, the movement of armed groups, and the growing circulation of weapons. At the same time, tensions over resources—land, water, pasture—have strained relationships between farming and herding communities, creating grievances that can be exploited by those who benefit from chaos. In such a fragile environment, information can become a weapon. Rumours, half-truths, and deliberately fabricated content, especially voice messages broadcast through social media in national languages, have the power to turn a small misunderstanding into a violent confrontation. These messages are dangerously effective because they sound authentic, because they speak in languages people know and trust, and because they arrive from familiar contacts, making them feel true. Local media outlets, often understaffed and under pressure, can easily become vehicles for falsehoods if they lack the training and guidelines to check what they broadcast. It is precisely for this reason that the new partnership is so necessary. By tackling disinformation at its roots, the Timbuktu Institute and the MEDIA/PCIEV Network are trying to protect the social fabric of a region where communities have coexisted for generations, but where that coexistence is now being tested by pressures that are both local and global in origin. The fight for peace in Tambacounda, the agreement acknowledges, is also a fight for truthful conversation, for the ability of neighbours to talk to one another without fear or suspicion, and for the courage to question what we hear and what we share.
Underneath its formal clauses, the memorandum is filled with concrete plans aimed at turning vision into action. Its central focus is a programme of training and awareness-raising for media professionals and community actors across the region. The subjects covered will include fact-checking, conflict-sensitive journalism, digital security, and media literacy. But the purpose goes beyond technical skill. It is to cultivate a culture of responsibility among the individuals who shape information flows in their communities. A local radio presenter who knows how to verify a suspicious audio clip before playing it on air is not merely doing her job better; she is preventing panic, anger, and perhaps even bloodshed. A youth volunteer who understands how to identify a manipulated image or a message designed to incite hatred can act as an early barrier against the spread of violence. The agreement also calls for the creation of a regional fact-checking network, gathering radio stations, press correspondents, and young community relays from the departments of Goudiry, Tambacounda, and Koumpentoum. This network would be more than a mechanism for verifying facts; it would be a symbol of collective resilience, showing that truth can be defended by many hands. Young people, often the most active users of social media, are not considered a problem to be managed, but as partners and leaders in this effort. They understand the technologies, the languages, and the patterns of communication that older generations may miss. With the right support, they can challenge false narratives, model responsible digital behaviour, and help their peers navigate an increasingly confusing information landscape. In addition, the two partners intend to draft a local charter for media coverage of security incidents and sensitive issues. Such a charter would give journalists practical ethical guidance, helping them decide what to report, how to frame it, and when to hold back, so that the press can inform the public without unintentionally intensifying tensions or endangering lives.
Yet this partnership does not stop at training sessions and fact-checking protocols. It understands that lasting peace is built not only by preventing errors, but by nurturing relationships of trust and solidarity among people who share the same land. For this reason, the agreement includes the development of awareness-raising programmes in national languages—Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Soninké, and others—with the goal of promoting peaceful coexistence, conflict prevention, and community mediation mechanisms. Language is a powerful and often overlooked dimension of peacebuilding. Many residents of Tambacounda are far more comfortable expressing themselves in their mother tongues than in French, and communication that respects this reality is communication that actually reaches people. A message of peace delivered by a trusted voice in the language of the heart can open doors that no official statement can open. These programmes are not intended to be one-way broadcasts; they are meant to create spaces for dialogue, where people can voice their fears, challenge their own assumptions, and discover that their neighbours are not the enemies they were told to fear. Mediation mechanisms, rooted in community customs and facilitated by respected elders and local leaders, will be strengthened as alternatives to violence and retribution. The partnership also seeks to strengthen early warning systems, improving the ways in which information about rising tensions is gathered, shared, and acted upon. This is not about surveillance in the coercive sense; it is about community care, the kind of attentive watchfulness that has always existed in African societies, updated and organised so that a small spark cannot become an unquenchable fire. Members of the MEDIA/PCIEV Network will also participate in field research conducted by the Timbuktu Institute, sharing their local knowledge and their access to communities, while the Institute’s Social Media Observatory will provide analysis of disinformation trends, helping local actors understand where false narratives come from, how they evolve, and what makes them persuasive. This ongoing exchange between research and practice is among the most promising features of the agreement, because it treats knowledge not as something locked in reports, but as a living resource for protecting communities.
For all its practical ambition, the partnership is careful to protect the independence and dignity of the media and the people it serves. The memorandum explicitly preserves the editorial independence of MEDIA/PCIEV members and promotes media pluralism. This is a crucial reassurance, especially in an age when support for media can sometimes come with strings attached, and when press freedom is under pressure in many parts of the world. The agreement recognizes that journalism can only contribute to peace if it is trusted, and it can only be trusted if it is free to investigate, to question, and to criticise without fear. In the same spirit, both parties commit to preventing any stigmatisation based on ethnic, religious, or community affiliation. This is essential, because disinformation campaigns often exploit identity cleavages, framing entire groups as enemies and deepening the wounds of longstanding grievances. The antidote to this poison is not simply more fact-checking; it is a principled commitment to human dignity, to the idea that every person deserves to be seen as an individual, not as a label. Respect for freedom of criticism is also built into the agreement, acknowledging that legitimate dissent and honest disagreements must not be confused with disinformation. A society that wants to resist extremism must be able to discuss its problems openly, without automatically turning every difference of opinion into a security threat. By embedding these values into the partnership, the Timbuktu Institute and the MEDIA/PCIEV Network are setting a moral example. They are saying that the fight for truth cannot be separated from the fight for justice, and that the way we treat one another, especially in moments of uncertainty, matters as much as the messages we transmit. Journalists, community leaders, teachers, and ordinary citizens all have a shared responsibility to choose their words with care, to refuse to label entire communities as guilty for the crimes of a few, and to hold on to the belief that every person, regardless of their origin, has a place in the community and a right to safety and respect.
Finally, the agreement establishes a structure for follow-up and accountability. A steering committee, composed of representatives of both organisations and including members from the three departments of Goudiry, Tambacounda, and Koumpentoum, will oversee the implementation of activities and prepare an annual action plan. This is a wise and deeply human arrangement, because it keeps decision-making close to the ground. It ensures that programmes reflect the changing realities of the region, that commitments are kept, and that lessons learned along the way are incorporated into future work. The renewable three-year term signals a long-term commitment, acknowledging that peacebuilding cannot be done overnight and that trust, once broken, takes time to rebuild. It is more like tending a garden than like building a machine: it requires patience, regular attention, the weeding out of harmful narratives, and the nurturing of all the conditions that allow communities to flourish. Tambacounda may be only one region, but what happens there will resonate far beyond its borders. If this partnership succeeds, it can serve as a model for other parts of Senegal and the wider Sahel, demonstrating that research institutions and media networks, with their different cultures and methods, can unite around a shared purpose and make a real difference in people’s lives. But in the end, what matters most is not the language of the memorandum, however elegant it may be. What matters is whether a young herder and a young farmer, from different backgrounds and with different concerns, can find a way to resolve their quarrel without violence. Whether a mother in Tambacounda, hearing an alarming voice message, chooses to question it before sharing it with her family. Whether a local journalist, facing pressure and fear, still finds the courage to report honestly and fairly. On that October day, with the signing of this agreement, a promise was made to those people. The road ahead will not be easy, and there will be moments when division seems to have the upper hand. But this partnership is a sign of hope, a reminder that change is possible when people choose to work together, to listen to one another, and to refuse to abandon the belief that peace is worth the effort. That is a promise worth keeping, and a hope worth sharing.