Academic and African media specialist Marie-Soleil Frère died on the night of 18 to 19 March. Research director, she taught journalism at the Free University of Brussels, as she did at the University of Ouagadougou. Author of several books, she focused in particular on the role of the media in the political development of French-speaking Africa.
Serge Théophile Balima is a professor at Joseph Ki Zerbo University in Ouagadougou. He knew Marie-Soleil Frère when she arrived in Burkina Faso in the mid-1990s. He remembers a woman who was involved in research and who was particularly interested in African media.
“She has put a lot of effort into research in this area, both in the Great Lakes region and in West Africa,” Serge Théophle Balima tells RFI. She has also greatly contributed to the training of a generation of journalists in Burkina Faso, truly a truly remarkable elite in our country. ”
For university professor Joseph Ki Zerbo, Marie-Soleil Frère was a committed woman who defended freedom of the press, who truly defended democracy and was for justice in our continent-seeking continents. She has always stood with associations, civil society organizations that fight for the defense of human rights, and that truly defend press freedom and the quality of journalism in the sub-area. “
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