Young people


Sandra Federici






PLIIETE JEUnES



information and entertainment


T he cover of Plante Jeunes looks
 like that of any other European
 magazine for young people, featur-
 ing pictures of stars of sport and
pop and the titles of the articles inside. But this
magazine's aim is defined by a project to pro-
mote reading and citizenship to allow young
Africans (aged 15 to 25) "to access the outside
world, to obtain information in order to suc-
ceed, to develop, express themselves and com-
municate." Plante Jeunes aims to attract the
interest of young Africans by using language
that is humorous and current. Articles are short,
straightforward, well laid out and accompanied
by various explanatory boxes and photographs.
The magazine is produced by a team of African
staff based in Paris and numerous African
countries. There is also Plante Enfants for
smaller children. Distributed in more than 25
French-speaking countries in Africa, the Indian
Ocean and the Caribbean, these titles reach
more than a million readers. Let's hear from
the editor-in-chief, Eyoum Ngangu.

Plante Jeunes features readers' letters and
runs an Internet forum. Tell us about the
desires, wishes and dreams of young Africans?

It's difficult to give a direct answer to that
question because young people have so many
and such varied dreams, desires and wishes.
A recurrent theme in the mail we receive are
calls by the young to build a strong Africa
which refuses to accept a fate of poverty.
Other letters express the almost existential -
in the broader sense fears of young people
about guidance on education, friendship, love,
sexuality, self-confidence and fears about the
future etc. And we also receive lots of pieces
of literature love letters, poems and songs.
Like young people in other parts of the world,
they worry about their immediate prospects


SPECIAL ISSUE 2 N.E. DECEMBER 2008


(school, work) and an often uncertain future
(peace, the environment etc.). One thing we
have noticed is that methods of communica-
tion have changed. We used to receive lots of
our mail by post. Today, most of the letters
come in by e-mail. You also see the impact
of technological changes on young people
who tend to express themselves more through
the language of texting, which unfortunately
filters through into their letters.

And how is Plante Enfants the little brother of
Plante Jeunes launched in 1998 performing?

Plante Enfant has caught up with Plante
Jeunes in terms of circulation. And the number
of subscribers is growing. It is used as a teach-
ing aid by teachers in schools and it has entered
into partnership with organizations such as
Unicef, Plan International, the World Health
Organisation and the International Labour
Organisation to run campaigns on issues like
road safety, child labour and the recording of
births etc. The main difference between the two
titles is that parents buy Plante Enfants, while
young people buy Plante Jeunes themselves.

What types of young people are you aiming
at? Is it young people who love western cul-
ture, like football and music?

Thanks to digital technology, young African
people receive exactly the same images as
young people in the rest of the world. They
are connected directly to cable and satellite
stations that show clips of American hip-
hop throughout the day. They watch football
matches from all the big stadiums in Europe
and Latin America. However, while they have
access to the world, they also keep their feet
on the ground. They love the American stars
as well as actors in small-budget sitcoms who


deal with social issues. They adore coup-
dcal, a type of music performed by young
Ivorians based on Congolese rhythms. Plante
Jeunes has to cover this great range of global
and local trends. This is why our magazine
may seem like a patchwork of information on
American stars, big African names in football
and music, social issues, which for example
deal with addiction to video games, and cur-
rent affairs, such as the Chinese presence
in Africa or the American elections. Not to
mention careers, science, fashion, health, in
particular AIDS, humour through sketches and
comic strips, and travel. M


 Keywords
 Plante Jeunes; Plante Enfants; young
 Africans; Africa; Eyoum Ngangu.