On the occasion of the Women’s Euro 2025, seven sports journalists from the Sahel spent a week discovering Swiss institutions, French-speaking Swiss media, and key players in sports and human rights. This unique immersion, organized by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and Fondation Hirondelle, aimed to strengthen journalistic coverage of sport as a driver of inclusion, social cohesion, and dialogue for peace.
During the week of July 20–26, 2025, the journalists met with many key stakeholders: from the Court of Arbitration for Sport to the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, as well as the sports editorial teams of RTS and Tamedia, and investigative journalist Patrick Oberli.
“These exchanges provided journalists with many ideas for stories and points of attention to bring back to their newsrooms,” explained Caroline Vuillemin, General Director of Fondation Hirondelle, adding: “They were impressed by how essential Swiss institutions and values are in implementing inclusion and equality issues. The strength of the institutions, citizens’ trust in their political system and media, and the presence of international organizations are all sources of inspiration.”
The Sahelian journalists returned home with a richer perspective on their profession. For Nesta Yamgoto, a sports journalist from Chad: “What I discovered about Swiss politics, based on neutrality and empowering citizens, impressed me greatly. It was an intense week, full of learning and openness.”
Similarly, Salamatou Kadri, a sports journalist at Studio Kalangou (Niger), emphasized:
“In Niger, sport in general and football in particular play a very important social role. It is a factor of social cohesion, helping reduce growing inequalities and strengthening the empowerment of women and youth.”
The same observation was shared by Martin Kaba, a sports journalist at Studio Yafa (Burkina Faso): “In Burkina Faso, football plays a key role in social cohesion. It also contributes to gender equality by fostering empowerment and breaking stereotypes. This visit was a great opportunity to discover other realities and everything being done for the development of football, especially women’s football.”
By providing these journalists with direct access to sports and media institutions, this immersion illustrates how sport and its journalistic coverage can become powerful levers for peace, inclusion, and social harmony. As Cédrine Beney, Switzerland’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, recalled: “Beyond sport itself, it is also the media coverage surrounding it that has a major impact on society: sports journalists actively contribute to social change.”