Think Creative Fall 2023

Left: Rasmata Barry is an ethnic Fulbe, a minority group in Ghana that is often discriminated against. She was hired through the USAID Littorals Regional Initiative to help research and better understand local tensions.

Below: Juana Tax incorporates Maya wisdom into her work to help women heal and to strengthen social cohesion.

Mali: Championing social cohesion by fighting disinformation Fake stories are nothing new for Michel Yao. The 32-year-old is a journalist and passionate blogger in SouthernMali who is championing social cohesion by fighting disinformation, which has exploded in his country. Misin formation and disinformation have eroded citizens’ trust in government and democratic ideals, as well as led to violence. Yao’s aptitude for identifying disinformation earned him an opportunity for additional instruction and to become a trainer of trainers. He now teaches youth and civil society organi zations to identify and counter disinformation. He also maintains his personal commitment to tracking down disinformation and publicizing it on his website and social networks. “My vision of social cohesion is clear,” he says. “For me, an imperative part of social cohesion is opening up and maintaining discussions at all levels,” the journalist says. Yao’s efforts have been boosted through train ing by the USAIDMali Peacebuilding, Stabili zation and Reconciliation (Mali PSR) program, a five-year program that focused on building trust and communication between commu nities and government, supporting citizens to detect and respond to the warning signs of con flict, such as the spread of disinformation, and bringing residents and local leaders together to build peace. “I have used this training to increase my ability to identify and discredit false information shared on social networks and in the media in Keyes,” he says. One discussion that Yao is pushing is the legacy of enslaved people inMali—a legacy that could be altered by disinformation. Though outlawed in 1905, some elite families inMali still seek to enslave the descendants of formerly enslaved people in a practice known as “descent-based slavery.” As a result of this practice, more than 3,000 people have fled their villages to avoid persecution, Yao says. Yao launched amajor initiative called “Mali Without Slavery” to counter disinformation about formerly enslaved people and believes it will enable communities to better resolve their differences and treat each other with respect. By shedding light on a painful topic, Yao is working against disinformation by elevating the truth. “A few years ago, talking about descent-based

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Cohesion means that we are united and coordinated and that together, we propose solutions to our problems.”

- Juana Tax, Departmental Delegate for the Office for the Protection of Indigenous Women, Guatemala

a circle of flowers as an offering to that day’s “Nahual.” For the Maya, “Nahual” is the energy, spirit or strength that guides a person each day. Tax is a Departmental Delegate for the Office for the Protection of Indigenous Women (DEMI is the Spanish acronym) in Totoni capán, Guatemala. Tax and DEMI have been organizing healing sessions like these in part nership with Tejiendo Paz, a USAID-funded project to reduce conflict and violence while strengthening social cohesion within commu nity members and among nearby villages. Tax became involved with DEMI eight years ago to support women survivors of gen der-based violence. Seeing that there were few healing programs for survivors that integrated

slavery was considered a sin or even sabotage in some circles,” Yao says. “Today, this question is increasingly being addressed, proof of a small step forward in the fight against this practice which violates human rights.” Yao acknowledges that his work is far from done and that the community must come to gether to promote peace and social cohesion. “We can avoid chaos by favoring dialogue,” he says. Guatemala: Culturally informed heal ing for victims of gender-based violence Before she begins a group healing session with survivors of gender-based violence, Juana Tax first lights colorful candles and places them in

Photo by Karen Chang rlos García

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