Information integrity in West Africa: UNESCO and Polaris Asso bring together content creators

Contributing to the emergence, in West Africa, of a community of creators better equipped to face the challenges of the digital information environment, this is what UNESCO and Polaris Asso are aiming for by bringing together around twenty Senegalese and West African content creators for a workshop scheduled for September 14 in Dakar.

UNESCO and Polaris Asso are organizing, on September 14, 2026, in Dakar, a workshop dedicated to the appropriation of the Praia Action Plan for information integrity in West Africa and the Sahel. This first meeting will bring together around twenty Senegalese and West African content creators around the issues of disinformation, freedom of expression and responsibility in the digital space.

“The workshop takes place in a context where content creators occupy a growing place in the production and circulation of information. According to the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2025, 44% of 18-24 year olds surveyed in 48 markets now consider social media their primary source of news. In Africa, 73% of those surveyed say they are concerned about misinformation,” indicates a joint press release from these two organizations which reached us.

In reality, underlines the text, the UNESCO global survey “Behind the Screens”, conducted among 500 influencers in 45 countries, also highlights the challenges faced by this new category of actors: two thirds of the creators questioned say they do not systematically check their sources before publishing and 59% say they are not aware, or only to a limited extent, of international standards and regulatory frameworks related to digital communications. At the same time, 73% express a request for training.

Create a space to make the Praia Plan understood

Thus, for UNESCO and Polaris Asso, these data underline the need to no longer consider content creators as simple relays of institutional messages, but as full-fledged actors in the integrity of information. The objective of the workshop is thus to create a space where they can understand the Praia Plan, compare their experiences and identify the contributions they can make to its implementation.

The work will focus in particular on platform governance, media and information education, access to information of public interest and partnerships. Participants will also be invited to reflect on the conditions necessary to enable creators to sustainably play their role in promoting a more reliable and inclusive information space.

The workshop should result in a participatory roadmap for the next twelve months, defining priority actions, their leaders and their deadlines. It must also lay the foundations for a periodic dialogue mechanism between UNESCO, Polaris Asso and content creators.

This meeting will thus inaugurate a cycle of quarterly dialogues devoted to information integrity, with the possibility of organizing thematic sessions ahead of sensitive periods, in particular elections or information crisis situations.

Mr. DIEME