Soaps for Social Change
From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
* RADIO DRAMAS for reproductive health and disaster risk reduction
* TELEVISION SOAPS for health and ethnic tolerance
* Vote in the Soul Beat Africa EDUTAINMENT POLL
* IMPACT OF TV AND RADIO DRAMAS on development
* STRATEGIC THINKING on serial dramas for social change
* TRAINING GUIDE on Edutainment Dramas for the Media
===
This issue of The Soul Beat looks at edutainment radio and television serial dramas or soaps which have been produced in Africa to raise awareness and encourage behaviour change related to a diverse range of development issues. The newsletter includes programme experiences, evaluations and impact data, and strategic thinking documents that highlight how radio and television dramas are being used to promote health, women's empowerment, economic development, and good governance.
If you would like your organisation's communication work or research and resource documents to be featured on the Soul Beat Africa website and in The Soul Beat newsletters, please contact soulbeat@comminit.com
To subscribe to The Soul Beat, click here or send an email to soulbeat@comminit.com with a subject of "subscribe".
===
EDUTAINMENT THEMESITE AND E-NEWSLETTER
For more information related to edutainment, please visit the Edutainment theme site
On this site you will find programme experiences, strategic thinking documents, evaluations, and materials that look at the use of radio, television, theatre, puppetry, comics, visual arts, sport etc. to both entertain and educate.
Every second month, Soul Beat Africa sends out a Soul Beat Extra: Edutainment newsletter which features all the latest edutainment-related summaries posted on the Soul Beat Africa website.
If you would like to receive this free e-publication, register here and indicate an interest in edutainment or write to soulbeat@comminit.com indicating that you would like to receive the Edutainment Extra.
===
1. Wahapahapa - Tanzania
Launched in 2008, Wahapahapa (they originate here' in Swahili) is a media campaign which centres around a 30-minute radio serial drama that uses entertainment education to explore key social issues around HIV/AIDS such as stigma, cross generational sex, multiple concurrent partners, HIV testing, and treatment and care. The series is managed by STRADCOM, a project of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Centre for Communication Programmes (CCP), and produced by Media for Development International. Wahapahapa is broadcast on radio stations across Tanzania and is complemented by a music album, music videos, and concerts.
Contact Robert Karam robert.karam@jhuccptz.org
2. Jigi ma Tignè (Hope is Allowed) Radio Drama - Mali
Launched in April 2009, Jigi ma Tignè is a 74-episode serial radio drama produced and broadcast for Malian audiences by Population Media Centre (PMC). The drama deals with a variety of issues including family planning, HIV/AIDS, women's empowerment, and female genital mutilation/cutting. A disability storyline was also included to help create a culture of support and acceptance for those living with disabilities. The drama airs on the national broadcaster on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and is also broadcast on 50 community radio stations across the country.
Contact El Moucktar Haidara program@populationmedia.org OR info@populationmedia.org
3. Bravos do Zambeze - Mozambique
Launched in November 2009, Bravos do Zambeze (Zameze Braves) is a media project implemented by CMFD (Community Media for Development) Productions for the International Organisation for Migration’s Disaster Risk Reduction Project (part of the UN Joint Programme - Delivering as One in Mozambique), to communicate information about disaster risk reduction in Mozambique. The media project includes a 26-part radio drama with an accompanying presenters guide, and a media training workshop.
Contact Deborah Walter deb@cmfd.org OR Arao Valoi avaloi@iom.int
4. Neighbors - Uganda
This radio mini-drama series was part of the Uganda National Family Planning Revitalisation Campaign implemented by the Uganda Ministry of Health with technical assistance from the Health Communication Partnership (HCP) project between December 2007 and December 2009. The Neighbors radio drama focused on population and family planning in Uganda and formed the centrepiece of a multi-channel communication campaign. The objectives of the drama were to convince married men to have smaller families, to discuss family planning with their wives, and ultimately to increase contraceptive use. The drama was produced in six languages and was broadcast on 12 radio stations during December 2008 and again, over a 6-month period from February 2009. It was reinforced by radio spots, billboards, booklets, interactive community dramas, and men-only seminars. The drama, as well as all other supporting campaign activities, featured two characters: Fred, a man with a large unplanned family and Bernard, a man with a small planned family.
Contact Cheryl Lettenmaier cheryll@hcpuganda.org OR Judy Heck jheck@jhsph.edu
5. Timasukirane ("Let's Talk Openly") - Malawi
In 2007, with support from the National Aids Commission of Malawi, Story Workshop embarked on a radio-based HIV/AIDS communication initiative called Timasukirane, which means "let's talk openly". The radio initiative, intended for young people aged 15-24, consisted of two radio shows - one edutainment drama series and a weekly talk show. The objective of Timasukirane was to encourage open discussion about HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and risky behaviour amongst young people in order to create a sense of self determination, control, and ownership that would help facilitate positive behaviour change.
Contact Joke van Kampen joke@africa-online.net
EDUTAINMENT DRAMA FOR TELEVISION
6. The Station Television Series - Egypt
This 30-episode edutainment television series was produced in 2007 by Common Ground Productions and Video Cairo Sat. The series is designed to focus audience attention on societal problems and to shed light on the important role of the media both in exposing negative societal elements and in contributing to solutions in Egypt. The series is told from the perspective of journalists and producers who work in a fictional Cairo television news station. Based on the premise that television is a powerful instrument for social change, the journalists report on current problems through the perspectives of their own diverse economic, social, religious, and gender identities, while struggling to create impartial and trustworthy news programmes that serve the whole of Egypt.
Contact cgpinfo@sfcg.org
7. Wetin Dey - Nigeria
Created by the BBC World Service Trust (WST), Wetin Dey ('What's Up?') is an HIV/AIDS television drama exploring social realities facing young people aged 15-24 in Nigeria. A total of 52 episodes of the 30-minute weekly drama were broadcast by the Nigerian Television Authority's network of television stations starting in April 2007. The purpose of the initiative was to raise HIV and AIDS awareness across regional, ethnic, and class divides in the country. Set in peri-urban Nigeria, the drama is designed to focus on lower socio-economic groups with an emphasis on the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians.
Contact Emily Leroux-Rutledge emily.leroux-rutledge@bbc.co.uk
8. Tikuferanji - Malawi
First launched as a serial radio drama in 1996, Tikuferanji, which means "why are we dying?" in Chichewa, was expanded in 2006 to include television broadcasts. Produced by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the television and radio programmes address HIV/AIDS and human rights related issues in Malawi. According to ADRA, the series initially dealt with basic HIV information such as how HIV is transmitted and how to prevent it, highlighting responsible and safer sexual behaviour such as the importance of testing, condom use, marital and family relations, and faithfulness. The programme then expanded its mandate to include other topics that affect human rights such as child labour, gender, and democracy.
Contact John Torres John.Torres@adra.org OR Media.Inquiries@adra.org
9. The Team Television and Radio Series - Kenya
Launched in May 2009, "The Team" is an edutainment television and radio series produced by the Media Focus on Africa Foundation (MFAF) and Search for Common Ground (SFCG), supported by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DfID). Initiated in response to post-election violence in 2008, the series is designed to promote understanding and dialogue amongst different communities and/or members of different ethnic groups. The storyline of The Team centres on a new Kenyan soccer club whose members must learn to deal with their tribal, ethnic, social, and economic divisions. The series tells the stories of 7 young Kenyan footballers from different tribes who must overcome their mutual distrust so that their team, Imani (or "Faith" Football Club - F.C.), has a chance at winning a worldwide tournament.
Contact Deborah Jones cgpinfo@sfcg.org OR Susan Koscis skoscis@sfcg.org OR Mburugu Gikunda mburugu@mediafocusonafrica.org OR Marten Schoonman info@mediafocusonafrica.org
===
How useful do you find the Edutainment theme site and e-newsletter? (you may choose more than one option)
Options:
* I find the information on the Edutainment theme site very useful to my work.
* I find the Edutainment Extra newsletter very informative.
* I often forward the Edutainment newsletter to my colleagues.
* I have developed good contacts through the Edutainment theme site and newsletter.
* I would like to see more information on specific areas related to edutainment (please explain below)
* I do not find the information useful to my work.
Click here and see the top right side of the page to vote and send comments.
===
EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF RADIO AND TELEVISION DRAMAS
10. Effect of Listening to Entertainment Education Radio Serial Dramas on Reported Beliefs Surrounding Spousal Abuse in the Amhara and Oromiya Districts of Ethiopia
By Nicholas Scott Burton
This master's thesis, published in 2008, examines the effect of two radio serial dramas, produced by Population Media Center, on reported beliefs surrounding spousal abuse in two districts of Ethiopia. The dramas, Dhimbiba and Yeken Kignit, both addressed reproductive health and spousal abuse and were broadcast between 2002 and 2004. The paper offers a secondary analysis of quantitative data collected by Population Media Centre (PMC) around the two serial radio dramas and attempts to quantify the effects of the two dramas in a more statistically rigorous manner than in PMC's original evaluation. It proposes that the drama had a positive impact on behaviours. For example, the research found that the proportion of women and men who believed that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she argues with him decreased by nearly half among women, and by nearly one-third among men.
11. An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Radio Theatre in Promoting Good Healthy Living among Rural Communities in Osun State
By Olaniyi Alaba Sofowora
This report, published in the Research Journal of Social Sciences in 2007, looks at the results of a study to assess the effectiveness of the "Abule Oloke Meje" radio theatre programme in promoting healthy living among rural communities in Osun State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to find out the perception of rural communities about the radio theatre programme; investigate the extent to which the programme has achieved it's objectives; and examine whether or not it is an effective method of promoting healthy living among rural communities. According to the study, 76% of respondents rated the programmes as an effective method for promoting healthy living and 78% felt that the series changed their disposition toward healthy living.
12. Impact Data - Makutano Junction
Makutano Junction is a television drama series broadcast in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, which is produced by the Mediae Trust, a Kenya-based British producer of educational and entertainment television and radio programmes. The soap opera, based in a fictitious Kenyan village, is designed to reach rural and peri-urban audiences and covers information on education, sustainable rural livelihoods, and health. According to research, the show has an audience of 6.5 million people, made up of 68% rural viewers compared to 32% urban viewers. After one of the leading, positive, female characters was successfully elected to the Makutano Primary School committee, pre- and post-test research showed widespread changes of attitude among viewers concerning school governance. Before watching the show only 36% of viewers agreed with the statement "all parents have the right to become school committee members". This grew to 96% after the show.
13. Impact Data - Umurage Urukwiye
To address rapid population growth and HIV/AIDS in Rwanda, Population Media Center (PMC) developed a radio programme called Umurage Urukwiye (Rwanda’s Brighter Future). To monitor the effects of the programme, PMC hired an independent research firm to conduct interviews at six health clinics in the broadcast area to find out what motivated clients to seek a health service. The research found that when respondents were asked about their most important source of information about the subjects of family planning, treating STIs, HIV testing, counselling, or condoms, 14% of men and 30% of women said "radio". When asked what lessons they learned about family planning from the drama, close to half (45%) said they made the decision to use a family planning method.
===
PLEASE SEND US YOUR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Click here to let us know what you think of Soul Beat Africa or email soulbeat@comminit.com
Click here to read what other people have said about Soul Beat Africa.
===
STRATEGIC THINKING ON SOAPS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
14. TV Soap Operas in HIV Education: Reaching Out with Popular Entertainment
By Stuart Adams
This peer-reviewed report, published by the German HIV Peer Review Group (PRG) in 2009, discusses soap operas as vehicles for HIV/AIDS education, offering case studies of three examples and lessons learned from their production and broadcast. The cases reviewed are: 1) "Love as a Test" in Kyrgyzstan; 2) "Amor de Batey" in Dominican Republic; and 3) "SIDA dans la Cité" in Côte d’Ivoire. Among the lessons learned from the entertainment-education projects are the following: now your epidemic; make it professional; and make it local and realistic.
15. Pop culture with a Purpose! Using Edutainment Media for Social Change
By Arvind Singhal and Virginia Lacayo
This Oxfam Novib document, published in 2008, discusses basic concepts and strategies in education-entertainment including: using edutainment to build and strengthen social movements; the common challenges of planning and evaluating edutainment; and the main theories supporting its practices and strategies. The authors use several examples of projects which include Breakthrough in India, Soul City and Soul Buddyz in South Africa, and Sexto Sentido from Puntos de Encuentro in Nicaragua.
EDUTAINMENT RESOURCE
16. Soap Operas for Social Change to Prevent HIV/AIDS: A Training Guide for Journalists and Media Personnel
This guide, published in 2005, is designed to be used by journalists and media personnel to plan and execute the production and broadcast of entertainment-education serial dramas for HIV prevention. The guide provides a detailed explanation of a methodology, created by Miguel Sabido, to reach and change the behaviour of large numbers of people. It takes a step-by-step approach covering everything from research through to monitoring and evaluation.
===
For other Edutainment-related previous issues of The Soul Beat see:
The Soul Beat 131 - Music for Change
The Soul Beat 80 - Theatre for Development
The Soul Beat 70 - Comics and Cartoons for Development in Africa
Click here to view all archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter.
- Log in to post comments