AfricTivistes hosted a seminar on 20 February 2023 in Nouakchott, Mauritania to launch the AfricTivistes CitizenLab under the theme “Digital for citizen engagement and participation”.

The objective of this seminar was to raise awareness among the population, governments, civil society and partners on the need for a citizen innovation hub in Mauritania. The Mauritanian state authorities honoured the event with their presence.

Web activists, actors of change, members of social movements, media partners, bloggers, journalists and committed citizens of Mauritania discussed the following themes: 

• Digital democracy: the role of the media
• Access to information 
• Sharing experiences: the challenges of citizen engagement in Africa

The event was set up with the aim of strengthening the capacities of young Mauritanian civil society actors in terms of citizen participation. It provided Mauritanian civil society with media solutions as well as valuable content on augmented citizenship.

Many personalities took part in this meeting which was broadcasted in live streaming on the Africtivistes Youtube channel. Among them were: Mr. Nabil Hajjar, Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nouakchott, Mr. Ahmed Talem Ould Maloum, President of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union, Mr. Ahmed Abderrahmane, National Coordinator of the “Watanouna” national volunteer programme.

Opening remarks by AfricTivistes

During his opening remarks, AfricTivistes vice-president Cyriac Gbogou stressed that the digital revolution is not just in name and that Mauritania would not want to miss out on this ongoing revolution: “It should not have all the will and resources of its population. A lot of democratic efforts including civil society have been noted, and it is time to join the digital, to these achievements,” he argues.

“Here at AfricTivistes, we try to do our bit. We develop strategies; we lead and pilot projects for development and citizen involvement in democratic systems. We are a showcase of augmented citizenship in Africa,” said the vice-president.

This launching seminar was also an opportunity for Cyriac Gbogou to make a statement: “We are a force of proposition of innovative solutions and a force of contribution through capacitation, co-construction and collaboration for a better involvement and an effective participation of the different actors…”.

In short, Mr Gbogou is convinced that it is time to ring the alarm bell so that “this new opportunity that is the digital revolution does not pass us by.

Introduction by the Honorary Consul of the Dutch Embassy in Nouakchott

The Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nouakchott, Mr. Nabil Hajjar, made the introductory remarks, emphasizing his satisfaction with the collaboration with AfricTivistes.

He maintained that this approach of #AfricTivistes aims to propose a set of digital tools to promote the involvement of citizens in democratic life.

As such, he said, the AfricTivistes Citizenlab project comes at the right time since it echoes the government’s desire to strengthen citizen participation in Mauritania.

Highlights of the event

Presentation of AfricTivistes Citizen Lab Mauritania 

To introduce the programme to accelerate participatory engagement for democracy consolidation, members of the local CitizenLab Mauritania team, as committed actors and citizen leaders in Mauritania, discussed the main challenges and how to implement activities to achieve their goals.

Screening of the film on Citizen Participation and Digital

This film focused on the emerging awareness of the need for citizen participation in Africa and particularly in Mauritania. With the democratisation of internet access and digital tools, citizens are taking part in public debate and are increasingly engaged in their communities. Mauritanian civil society can build on this ongoing revolution that encourages innovation to create a network of actors committed to finding answers to the country’s socio-political issues.

Screening of the film on Citizen Participation and Digital

The projection of the video presentation of the project in different languages (Hassania, Pulaar, Soninke and Wolof) is the moment to show to the audience that AfricTivistes CitizenLab Mauritania is an inclusive citizen innovation hub that represents Mauritania in all its diversity and beauty.

Panel 1: “Digital democracy: which role for the media? “

The moderator was Aminata Kane, Journalist at the National Television of Mauritania and member of the local CitizenLab Mauritania team.

Panel 2: “Access to information: where does Mauritania stand?

The moderator was Mokhtar Gaye, Journalist and Presenter at the National Television of Mauritania and member of the local CitizenLab Mauritania team.

Round Table: Sharing experiences: the challenges of citizen engagement in Africa

Moderated by Awa Seydou Traoré Journalist and blogger and member of the local CitizenLab Mauritania team.

Presentation of the AfricTivistes platform CitizenLab Mauritania

One of the highlights of the ceremony was the presentation of the open and participatory citizen web platform of AfricTivistes CitizenLab Mauritania which will not only be the showcase of the project but will allow the local editorial team to publish multimedia content on citizen engagement and participatory democracy in Mauritania. 

Nouakchott Declaration 

The highlight of the AfricTivistes CitizenLab Mauritania launch seminar was the reading and signing of the Nouakchott Declaration for citizen engagement and participation in Mauritania, which aims to support, assist and equip Mauritanian civil society actors through training, tool development and support for innovation and co-creation. 

Media coverage 

The AfricTivistes CitizenLab launch seminar was widely covered by both the Mauritanian and international media on all platforms (print, online, radio and television). Below, you will find a non-exhaustive list of media productions on the Seminar:

Lancement de AfricTivistes CitizenLab Mauritanie: Une autre maniére d’investir le champ civique par le numérique

 Nouakchott : Lancement du projet AfricTivistes CitizenLab Mauritanie

The web radio “La Voix des Jeunes” covered the whole day

Démarrage du projet Africtivistes Citizen Lab Mauritanie

AfricTivistes’ vice-president was invited by Radio Mauritanie to talk about civic engagement.

Africtivistes’ Communications and Advocacy Officer on Mauritania Television to talk about the CitizenLab project.