Pulitzer Center Update July 10, 2024
Goma, DRC: A Radio Competition Draws New Audiences for Pulitzer Center-Supported Stories
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The EcoCulture inter-school competition was organized by the As de la Semaine radio show in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. The initiative brought together 16 secondary schools from the city of Goma, providing a platform for young people to demonstrate their knowledge of environmental protection and general culture. The main objective of the competition was to stimulate students' interest in reading, research, and culture, while showcasing articles published by Pulitzer Center Fellows and grantees.
The competition took place over a two-month period and saw the participation of some 96 students and 19 teachers. The matches followed one another with increasing intensity, highlighting the talent and knowledge of the young participants. An estimated 3 million listeners in North and South Kivu were connected every Monday and Wednesday to the As de la Semaine radio show.
Established in 1996 in Goma, As de la Semaine airs every Monday on Congolese national radio. For nearly three decades, the show has stayed faithful to its original vision and goals of promoting culture and academic excellence.
This year, our collaboration with the DRC's national radio station and the radio program As de la Semaine has provided us with a platform to creatively disseminate the underreported issues of rainforest protection, climate change, oceans, and artificial intelligence to over 3 million listeners.
Each week, the As de la Semaine team shared links with students to access Pulitzer Center-supported articles. More than 40% of the questions asked during the 15 broadcasts of the radio competition were taken from articles published by the Pulitzer Center and environmental websites. During the competition, several students had problems accessing the internet, while others didn't have smartphones. To adapt to the difficulties associated with internet connection and smartphone access, the organizing team prepared printed pdfs that they distributed to schools weekly.
The final match that featured Collège Mwanga against Institut Maranatha was recorded live during the Mabadiliko Festival—regional finals, another prominent event that united over 3,000 students from Goma and Bukavu schools. A partnership between As de la Semaine and the nonprofit organization Dygenec enabled the organizers of the EcoCulture competition to record the final games during the Mabadiliko Festival.
At the end of the competition, Institut Maranatha was declared the winner of the first edition of the EcoCulture games.
See the Maranatha students’ testimonials here.
