The fight against child labor : The First Lady talks to Mr Dogad Dogui, award winner for the fight against child labor.

The First Lady, Madame Dominique Ouattara, received  Mr. Dogad Dogui, Head of the Regional Office of the Ivorian Press Agency (AIP) for the Gôh Region, on Tuesday October 10, 2023. The meeting witnessed the presence of Mr Jean-Claude Coulibaly, President of the National Union of Journalists of Côte d'Ivoire (UNJCI).

Mr. Dogad Dogui wrote a report on the phenomenon of illegal gold-panning students in the locality of Oume entitled ‘ the illegal gold-panning mines in the locality of Oume compromises the future of children’. This report made him received  the CNS-RAMEDE CI award for the fight against child labor at the 24th edition of the Ebony night held in Yamoussoukro last February.

This is why, the First Lady, Ms Dominique Ouattara, President of the National Oversight Committee for Actions against Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Child labour (CNS), granted him an audience not only to congratulate him on his initiative, but also to offer him advice.

After the meeting, Mr. Dogad Dogui shared his impressions

‘(...) We talked as if we'd known each other for several years. It was a very friendly meeting. (...) The First Lady wanted to know whether these illegal gold-panning sites employing child labor were still active. I really felt that she was concerned about the welfare of the children. She even proposed bringing a Gendarmerie brigade to the sites. This means that the situation of children is particularly close to her heart’, declared Mr. Dogad Dogui as he left the audience.

Mr. Jean-Coulibaly Coulibaly, President of UNJCI, also thanked the First Lady, who despite her busy schedule was keen to meet the 2022 winner of the CNS-RAMEDE CI Prize for Combating Child Labor. "These are feelings of pride and joy. As you know, it's not every day that we're received by the First Lady. It's true that I'm the President of the National Union of Journalists of Côte d'Ivoire (UNJCI), but we all know the First Lady's very busy schedule. In any case, she decided to take time out of her busy schedule to receive us. We really want to thank the First Lady for this honor and we would like to reiterate our thanks for her generosity and her concern for journalists. (...)", said the President of UNJCI. He also expressed words of congratulations for the award winner and encouraged him to keep up the momentum by writing quality press releases.