
Néné Mainzana
Néné is an environmental journalist who also works for the national radio and television network of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RTNC). Her work focuses on rural community development programs and the protection of the rights of Congo’s disadvantaged indigenous peoples, such as Pygmies, Kitawalists, women and youth. Born on December 25, 1975 in Waka, Equateur Province, she attended primary school at Bondeko High School and then at Lontsing’esengo High School, where she obtained a state diploma, and later at the University of Louvain, where she graduated with a degree in Communication Sciences. She is passionate about the protection of the environment and its ecosystems, and has completed several training courses in this field.
Her numerous trips abroad and within the country to raise awareness about local communities and indigenous peoples in the DRC allowed her to gain extensive experience in the field of researching for better governmental frameworks for natural resources.
During her work at RTNC, she worked in the field on development projects aimed at raising awareness, accompanying local Congolese communities to learn about their rights and helping them voice their concerns about the proper use of resources that affect their livelihoods.
Néné Mainzana grew up listening to forest stories of her parents and grandparents. She vividly remembers trips to the forest with her father, her grandmother discovering its incredible sights and sounds for the first time and seeing the indigenous villages with their huts built from materials extracted from the surrounding forest. In her career as a journalist, land rights and the impact of unsustainable development on rural communities and biodiversity have been recurring themes. Frustrated by the lack of transparency and information from government sources, Néné became involved with civil society groups advocating for the land rights of rural and indigenous people.
In response to various environmental issues, Néné participated in the creation of several civil society environmental structures such as GTCRR, CFLEDD, CTIDD, RCEN, RENO, RECEAC, CALF and many others. Today, he continues to fight for land management reform, agrarian reform and forestry reform in the new laws.