“Keeping Up With The Elections”
Owned by: Fatou Ndiaye ‘27
Project Summary
Since its conception, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) has based itself on a mutual economic interest among its 8 member states to foster a forum for the exercise of democracy and regional cooperation. However, the interconnectivity of the region created a suitable environment for a cascade effect in which democratic instability in a country becomes a blueprint for the adjacent nations. This project aims to dissect the main events surrounding electoral policy and power transitions (including elections, uprisings coups d’etat, and conflicts) in the last 12 years in the 8 member countries of the WAEMU: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. Through the use of digital tools, mainly maps, and timelines, this project will display the intricacies of the processes while raising questions and discussions about voter suppression, economics, neocolonialism, and the future of West African democracy.
Deliverables
Fellowship Requirements:
- M-WEEK 2: REFLECTION #1: WHAT IS “MY” DH? (JUNE 10TH)
- F-WEEK 2: PROJECT CHARTER AND PERSONA (JUNE 14TH)
- F-WEEK 3: WIREFRAMES (JUNE 21ST)
- M-WEEK 4: REFLECTION #2: DIGITAL PROJECT REVIEW (JULY 1ST)
- M-WEEK 5 VISUALIZATION (JULY 8TH)
- M-WEEK 6: FIRST PROJECT DRAFT (JULY 15TH)
- F-WEEK 7: SECOND PROJECT DRAFT (JULY 19TH)
- TH-WEEK 8: FINAL PRESENTATION (JULY 25TH)
- F-WEEK 8: REFLECTION #3: COHORT DH MANIFESTO (JULY 26TH)
Internal Deadlines:
- MAJOR EVENTS OUTLINE
- COUNTRY PROFILE + CONTEXT
- WIREFRAMES
- MEDIA CURATION
- TIMELINES
- MAP
- ABOUT TEXT
Timeline
Week 01:
- MAP THE YEARS OF THE 3 LAST ELECTIONS IN EACH COUNTRY
- MAP THE MAJOR EVENTS IN EACH COUNTRY
- DEFINE THE TIMEFRAME
Week 02:
- CONTEXTUALIZE THE DEMOCRATIC TRADITIONS (LITERATURE REVIEW)
- UNDERSTANDING THE POLICY PROCESSES
- WIREFRAMES
Week 03:
- BENIN: NEWS ARTICLES
- BENIN: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- BENIN: IMAGES
- BENIN: VIDEOS
- BURKINA FASO: NEWS ARTICLES
- BURKINA FASO: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- BURKINA FASO: IMAGES
- BURKINA FASO: VIDEOS
- IVORY COAST: NEWS ARTICLES
- IVORY COAST: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- IVORY COAST: IMAGES
- IVORY COAST: VIDEOS
- GUINEA-BISSAU: NEWS ARTICLES
- GUINEA-BISSAU: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- GUINEA-BISSAU: IMAGES
- GUINEA-BISSAU: VIDEOS
Week 04:
- MALI: NEWS ARTICLES
- MALI: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- MALI: IMAGES
- MALI: VIDEOS
- NIGER: NEWS ARTICLES
- NIGER: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- NIGER: IMAGES
- NIGER: VIDEOS
- SENEGAL: NEWS ARTICLES
- SENEGAL: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- SENEGAL: IMAGES
- SENEGAL: VIDEOS
- TOGO: NEWS ARTICLES
- TOGO: DOCUMENTS & FILES
- TOGO: IMAGES
- TOGO: VIDEOS
Week 05:
- MAP
- BENIN: TIMELIME
- BURKINA FASO: TIMELINE
- CÔTE D’IVOIRE: TIMELINE
- GUINEA-BISSAU: TIMELINE
Week 06:
- MALI: TIMELINE
- NIGER: TIMELINE
- SENEGAL: TIMELINE
- TOGO: TIMELINE
- SUMMARY TIMELINE
Week 07:
- WEBSITE THEME
- ABOUT SECTION
Week 08:
- FINAL DETAILS
- CORRECTIONS
- PRESENTATION PREP
End of Life/Future Plans
Although the project has West Africa as its main focus, the goal is to expand its reach to Africa and more ambitiously the world. Through the collaboration of other politics and policy enthusiasts, the goal is to not only expand the project geographically but also temporarily, addressing the events post-2024.
