Koudougou: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a training session on deconstructing stereotypes about Burkina Faso for journalists and communicators on Tuesday in Koudougou. Scheduled from June 2 to 4, 2026, this initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of media professionals to deal with disinformation and to promote a better understanding of the realities of the country. The opening ceremony was presided over by the ambassador, chief of staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dieudonn© D©sir© Sougouri, representing Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traor©.

According to Burkina Information Agency, Ambassador Sougouri indicated that this session is part of the popularization of the memorandum entitled "Burkina Faso: beyond stereotypes, a dynamic towards security and development." This document was prepared by the department in charge of Foreign Affairs with the contribution of several ministries and institutions. It was designed to respond to biased narratives and negative stereotypes about Burkina Faso, while highlighting the efforts undertaken by the authorities in the areas of security, governance, and development.

The chief of staff emphasized that media professionals play a strategic role in disseminating information and helping the public understand contemporary issues. This is why the ministry wanted to involve them in this awareness-raising and communication tool-sharing initiative. Speaking on behalf of the Bureau of Strategic Analysis (BAS), expert San Simon Coulibaly explained that the memorandum arose following geopolitical monitoring which revealed the existence of numerous erroneous reports about Burkina Faso in certain media and digital spaces.

"It is important that this document be disseminated. That is why we wanted to organize this training session with journalists, who have a strong voice, in order to be able to get the message across about the tools for deconstructing stereotypes and fighting disinformation concerning our country," he said. Mr. Coulibaly specified that six modules will be developed over the three days of work. They will focus in particular on the deconstruction of stereotypes at the socio-political, legal, and economic levels, as well as on understanding the geopolitical dynamics between Burkina Faso, West Africa, and the rest of the world.

At the end of the training, the organizers hope that participants will have better analytical skills regarding disinformation phenomena and will contribute to relaying information that is more based on realities on the ground.