The production of video-documentary and theatrical performance, two of the main awareness-raising tools of the AwArtMali project, is in full swing
Video-documentary and theatrical performance to raise awareness and information on irregular migration
The working basis, both for the video and for the show, is the collection of interviews. From 9th to 16th June 2019, 40 interviews and 4 interventions were carried out in 4 schools in Mali in the municipalities of Dio-Gare, Diago, Kambila, Yelekebougou by Maurizio Schmidt, Luca Fusi, Ildevert Meda with the mediation of the LeTonous team and of the three animators of Le Tonous Aminata Traore, Satigui Cissoko, Tiemoko Dembele. The interviewees are potential migrants, returning migrants (from other African countries or from Spain and Italy), griots, village leaders, school directors, teachers and pupils of secondary schools in the four municipalities.
From July 28th to August 4th Farneto Teatro moved to Spain, in particular to Albacete, Madrid, Recas, Valencia, Mataro and, starting from the collaboration with the High Consejo of the Malian Diaspora, conducted 28 interviews with resident or seasonal migrants. During the summer of 2019, interviews were also carried out in Italy and they will go on until March 2020.
Thanks to the High Malian Council in Italy, 20 young people in Italy since 1 or 2 years were interviewed in Sardinia and the same thing will also be done in Bologna. Five Malian Fincantieri workers in Trieste, guests and operators of the Sant Egidio Community in Milan and operators of the Patronato San Vincenzo in Bergamo were interviewed. Also in Milan Pierfrancesco Majorino, MEP, was interviewed and Pietro Bartolo, a former doctor from Lampedusa and also a Member of the European Parliament, will be interviewed soon. Another round of interviews was made to the staff of the Mare Jonio rescue boat, in particular to the volunteers, the legal team, the rescue team and the first officer.
In March, in anticipation of a major resumption of landings, interviews will take place in Lampedusa, place of landing, and on ships of NGOs and Navy.
Last October, the theatrical work team in Burkina Faso gave a first overview of the interviews collected.
From November 24th to December 20th 2019 the first period of rehearsals will be organized at the Spazio Gambidi in Ouagadougou. Pan-African actors and musicians will be selected, there will be improvisations and discussions on the subject by the director of the cultural space Gambidi Claude Kira Guingane, the playwright Ildevert Meda, the director Luca Fusi and the actors and musicians chosen also with the collaboration of the theater group Maaya of Bamako directed by Gaoussou Yah Toure.
From December 20th 2019 to January 5th 2020, the playwriting phase of the play by the playwright Ildevert Meda will take place, while from January 5th to January 18th 2020 the second stage of the performance will take place at Spazio Gambidi in Ouagadougou as the editing of the show.
January 20th/25th 2020 the theater show will be presented in Ouagadougou and from January 25th to February 28th there will be a tour in Mali. The goal is to produce 3 replicas in theaters in Bamako, 2 replicas in the Bamako suburbs, 1 replica in Kati and 14 replicas in the villages around Kati.
Finally, between March and May 2020, the editing of the video documentary will be concluded, and it will then be presented between May and June 2020 at the conclusion of the AwArtMali project.
This content is avalilable in 
What is AwArtMali
AwArtMali aims to contribute to the change of perceptions and behaviour of Malian people looking to irregular migration towards the EU as the only solution to their socio-economic problems.
The action is intended to reach and involve Malian people in order to make them aware and inform them on the risks of irregular migration, on legal alternatives and on economic opportunities available in their country with a multistakeholder approach consisting in awareness campaign and information activities.