Through a capacity-building session, the facilitators of the Targeting and Orientation Operators (OCO) sharpen their tools to better convey the project message to rural youth.
Organized in Fana from 24 to 28 August 2026, the session brought together FIER II staff, the REFOR NGOs of Ségou and GRAADECOM/AFRICOD of Sikasso and members of AOPP of Ségou. The aim was to set out the methodological guide developed by FIER II on the method of informing, raising awareness and guiding rural youth towards training and integration into economic activities. The NGOs and the AOPP will be responsible for presenting the FIER II project to the village communities as well as its training, vocational integration and approach. They are called Targeting and Orientation Operators – OCO – who through their advisors/facilitators will be deployed in the field.
Enhanced skills for sustainable impact
The training covered several areas such as:
- Participatory animation techniques: learn to mobilize targets without imposing, by promoting active listening and co-construction of solutions.
- Project management and monitoring: use simple but rigorous tools to plan, implement and evaluate local initiatives.
- Advocacy and Communication: enable OCOs to better structure their requests to local authorities and financial partners.
- Conflict Resolution: equip actors to maintain social cohesion within communities.
Animators ready to intervene
At the end of the workshop, enthusiasm was palpable among the actors. Many participants stressed the importance of this upgrade allowing them to move from intuitive animation to a methodological and structured framework of communities.
« This training gives us new legitimacy. From now on, we are only passing on messages, we know how to lead a real citizen dialogue and build solid projects with the population. », testifies a participant.
Thanks to these skills, Project FIERII and its partners now have a network of more experienced facilitators ready to boost the community and drive concrete changes in line with the needs of rural youth.
This second training session on the methodological guide of animation and targeting concerned the intervention areas of Ségou and Sikasso.
