Mission

Media Matters for Women has tested and proven an innovative mobile phone-based information network in Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo. We connect rural women and girls with information and dialogue, particularly on rights and available services, so that they know how take action to protect themselves in crisis situations, challenge injustices, and improve their lives. Our female journalists produce audio podcasts and distribute them via mobile phone. Women and girls can easily listen, learn, and engage in a dialogue that begins in their village and extends regionally. We have received international recognition from UNESCO and UN Women

What We Do

We aim to transform how Africa's most rural communities receive, use, and share information. Our original content is distributed through 4 methods: (1) through our network of Listening Centers built with considerable community support, (2) virally through peer-to-peer Bluetooth podcast sharing, (3) via traditional radio broadcasts through our established relationships with radio stations in each of our target districts; and (4) through home visits by our Youth Advocates. Our listeners learn so much from our podcasts -- about human rights, Ebola, gender- based violence, teen pregnancy, girls' education, participatory democracy, human trafficking, and income generation, among other topics -- and give us powerful examples of how this knowledge has positively shaped their choices. MMW-SL reaches those women and girls that are truly left behind by technology and provides information critical to their daily lives.