Events - Past

The Sahel Untold shares life stories and personal experiences of people from the Sahel—a region often described as fragile and facing a diverse set of challenges, including climate change, poverty and the presence of extremist groups. By bringing voices from conflict-affected borderlands in the Greater Sahel directly into international policy conversations, we seek to bridge the gap between global policy and local reality.  

This podcast was developed within the framework of a joint project by the African Union (AU), the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and bicc - Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies. This project is generously funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. 

Created with the support of OnePodWonder.

Zoom Details

Date: 26 November 2025 
Time: 14:00h-16:00h CET (Central European Time)

Event Structure

1. Welcome & Opening

• Remarks by Dr. Saskia Schmidt, German Federal Foreign Office
• Remarks by the Project Partners, DPO/AU

2. Introducing the Podcast/One podcast protagonist

• Brief presentation of the podcast concept and short teaser audio excerpt
• Introduction of one podcast protagonist: Said Medella (NGO founder ‘Water for Chad’)

3. Panel Discussion: “Amplifying Local Voices in DDR processes”

The panel discussion will highlight the following perspectives:

• DDR practitioner/policy maker perspective, Mohamed Ag Housseini, Peace and Development Advisor (PDA), UN Country Team Chad
• National-level perspective, Ambassador Mairo, Director PCVE, NCTC-ONSA, Nigeria 
• Civil society perspective, Said Medella, Co-founder Water for Chad
• Research perspective, Mustapha Alhassan, lead researcher: Nigeria component

Discussion points:

• How can local voices, also including women and marginalised groups, reshape DDR approaches?
• What blind spots exist in current DDR debates, and how can local voices contribute to filling them? How can women’s voices be amplified and considered more thoroughly in policy design?
• What role can audio-visual media (like podcasts, but also social media) play in making DDR more inclusive?
• What perspectives would you like to hear in future episodes?

4. Audience Interaction – Q&A

5. Closing

Partners

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