313,642

social media followers
in 2019

RNWmedia_WebsiteImages_1030x644_HabariRDC

Extending influence offline

It’s rare in DRC for young people to be able to voice their concerns and needs directly to those responsible for the policies that affect their lives. So Habari is scaling up its impact by connecting its online audience with formal and informal decisionmakers in a series of face-to-face discussions called Faces aux Jeune.

The reach of these offline events is amplified by online activities, generating interets by inviting Habari visitors to send in their questions and comments for the invited community leaders and political representatives. Each Face event has its own hashtag and live tweeting means people across the country van participate in the discussion.

Habari RDC

alternative perspectives

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Habari RDC has become a respected source of reliable and balanced information and a forum for non-polarising discussions. It has established itself as DRC’s only national blogging movement, succeeding in bringing together young people from different backgrounds.

Free and responsible discussion

Young people in DRC are constantly confronted with ethnic and social prejudices and stereotyping. Launched in June 2016, Habari has developed a strong presence offering alternative perspectives to its young audience. Through articles, videos, infographics and photographs produced by over 100 bloggers and change-makers from across the country, Habari encourages free and responsible discussions by its online community on the country’s various political and social issues.

1.49 million

total of web page and video views
in 2019

Café Blog

Habari also regularly reaches out to the country’s young bloggers with a monthly ‘Cafe Blog’. These workshops bring a diverse range of bloggers together to talk about issues relevant to their work such as social media strategies and security. The Cafes are a chance for peer-to-peer learning as the participants share their successes – and their failures.

The Cafes are held in Kinshasa and other provinces, with bloggers outside the core Habari team sometimes delegated to take on organising them – a strategy that strengthens the capacity-building nature of the events. Special effort is made to reach out to young women bloggers to take part, enabling Habari to strengthen the gender inclusiveness of its network.

1.15 million

Social media interactions
in 2019

Award winners

In 2018, Habari RDC won the Index on Censorship’s 2018 Freedom of Expression Award for Digital Activism ‘for innovative uses of technology to circumvent censorship and enable free and independent exchange of information ’. The project also won the Francophone Award for Innovation in Media, with DRC’s Information minister Lambert Mende personally congratulating the young Habari team.

2018-Freedom_of_Expression_Award_HabariRDC

An introduction to Habari RDC

‘The one voice you never hear is the voice of our country’s young people – what their experience is. Until now…’

– Guy Muyembe, co-founder and National Coordinator of Habari RDC.