Mariam Van Dam Ouédraogo is a communication and journalism specialist, Burkinabe by origin and based in Cotonou since 2023. Certified in Gender- and Conflict-Sensitive Journalism and fact-checking-based journalism training, she has trained over 200 women journalists across five West African countries through AWiM. She heads VAN DAM CONSULTING, specializing in gender, media literacy, social cohesion, and human rights, and leads institutional communications for CNV Internationaal’s Bureau Conseiller Projets Afrique. Her work sits at the intersection of journalism, gender equality, and peacebuilding in West Africa. She is a speaker at AWiM26 in Windhoek.