Amorce in Dakar: audio storytelling in the service of cultural dialogue
The Amorce project brings together the Master’s in Cultural and Social Communication (MaCCS), ISAC and CESTI (UCAD) around a common goal: to develop cultural mediation initiatives based on audio storytelling to increase access to museums for all.
As part of this initiative, Mélanie Lalieu and Guillaume Abgrall travelled to Dakar last January to set up a practical workshop as part of ISAC’s Master’s degree in Cultural Administration.
This exchange follows the visit, during the first term, of Mounirou Diallo (ISAC) and Alioune Badara Guèye (CESTI). Their visit was devoted to mentoring and observing the teaching practices developed within the MaCCS Master’s 1 programme, particularly within the framework of the Media Intervention Production Laboratory – the ‘Stou’ radio workshop.
Seminar and training in audio storytelling
The aim of this mission to Dakar was to put this initiative into practice by setting up a sound workshop within the ISAC Master’s in Cultural Administration, co-developed by the Senegalese teams and IHECS.
The week began with an introductory seminar entitled “Culture and dialogue: an introductory seminar on the design of audio-based cultural mediation tools”. This key event laid the theoretical and methodological foundations necessary for designing mediation tools, by exploring the role of sound as a vehicle for storytelling, transmission and dialogue with audiences.
This was followed by practical training in audio storytelling for 20 students selected by ISAC and CESTI. Participants were introduced to audio writing, sound recording, the use of recording equipment, studio work and editing. Field exercises were then carried out at the IFAN-Théodore Monod Museum, the Gorée Historical Museum and Notre-Dame des Victoires Cathedral. These practical sessions enabled the students to gain hands-on experience in designing sound-based educational tools, supported by the teaching teams from the partner institutions.
Institutional promotion and media coverage
Beyond the educational aspect, the mission also provided an opportunity to present the project to various Senegalese institutional stakeholders. Mélanie Lalieu met with Bacary Sarr, Minister of State for Culture, Creative Industries and Historical Heritage, to explain the objectives and prospects of the Amorce project. She was accompanied by Ina Makosi, a former recipient of a capacity-building grant at IHECS.
The project also received media coverage thanks to a report by Ana Rocha, a cultural journalist at RFM and herself a former recipient of a capacity-building grant. Broadcast on the cultural programme Xalam on Radio Futurs Médias, this report highlighted the ambition of the Amorce project.
At the same time, Mélanie Lalieu took part in a panel discussion on the theme “Telling the museum’s story through radio: mediation, narratives and audiences”, alongside Aboubacar Demba Cissokho (APS), with Ana Rocha as moderator, as part of an “Open Studio” event organised by CESTI. A further opportunity to collectively explore the links between journalism, culture and civic engagement.
New partnerships on the horizon
Following on from these discussions, several meetings were organised to consolidate and expand partnerships linked to IHECS’s capacity-building grants. Discussions with ISEP in Thiès and Africulture Urbaine are paving the way for future collaborations and new applications from next year onwards.
Mélanie Lalieu and Guillaume Abgrall extend their warmest thanks to Alisson Pechon for her attentive and essential support, as well as to Guillaume Staquet and Chloé Guillaumin for their technical advice, the relevance of which has been confirmed in the field.
The Amorce project thus continues its roll-out, strengthening the links between training, cultural mediation and audio storytelling.
