The Soul Beat 225 - Television Supporting Social Change in Africa
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
- TELEVISION DRAMAS about HIV, gender equality, and domestic violence...
- REALITY SHOWS on farming, youth entrepreneurship, and community development....
- PSAs, MAGAZINES, AND TALK SHOWS for children, mothers, and voters...
This edition of The Soul Beat focuses on the use of television as a medium for social change in Africa. It includes a selection of programme experiences and evaluation reports which look at how television dramas, reality shows, and magazine shows and public service announcements (PSAs) are addressing issues such as health, gender, governance, and economic development.
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TELEVISION DRAMAS
1. Love Games Television Drama - Zambia
Love Games is a Zambian television drama series that follows the lives and relationships of five women related either through blood or friendship. Part of Communication Support for Health's Safe Love programme, the drama is intended to encourage viewers to think more about HIV and personal risks, talk more openly about the disease and why it continues to spread, and act to change behaviours to protect themselves and others from HIV. The show started broadcasting in January 2013 and is a collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council.
2. Siri ya Mtungi Television Drama - Tanzania
Launched in December 2012, Siri ya Mtungi (Secrets of the Gourd) is a 13-part television drama series that examines love and sexual relationships among a community of family and friends living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The drama follows the characters as they grapple with issues such as family planning and multiple concurrent sexual partnerships. The series was created by Media for Development International (MFDI) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs as part of the Tanzania Capacity and Communication Project.
3. Dawaran Shoubra (Shoubra Roundabout) - Egypt
Broadcast in Egypt in 2011, the Dawaran Shoubra (Shoubra Roundabout) television drama portrayed the lives of people living in Cairo's inner-city neighbourhood of Shoubra, exploring issues such as poverty and lack of opportunity, corruption and social injustice, as well as radicalisation and youth alienation. Produced by Egypt's Misr International Films, with support from BBC Media Action, the television series is part of a wider project, Socially Responsible Media Platforms for the Arab World, which was launched in 2009. Shoubra is a neighbourhood of both rich and poor, Muslims and Coptic Christians, providing a rich source of issues to explore through the drama's storylines.
4. The Team Tanzania - Television and Radio Series - Tanzania
Launched in February 2013, The Team in Tanzania is a television and radio drama, which uses the fictionalised stories of young male and female footballers to reflect on gender equality in Tanzania. Led by Search for Common Ground with support from KPMG Advisory Limited Tanzania, the goal of the project is to contribute to strengthening the implementation and enforcement of gender-sensitive legislation in Tanzania. The series is a local adaptation of a multi-national television drama initiative being undertaken by SFCG which is designed to use sport as a unifier to transform social attitudes and diminish violent behaviour in countries dealing with deeply rooted conflict in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The drama is complemented by community outreach.
5. The Team Kenya: Final Evaluation Report [March, 2012]
By Amr Abdalla
This evaluation report shares findings of an assessment conducted to evaluate The Team Kenya, a television and radio serial drama designed to promote cooperative solutions and engagement across ethnic and political divides to build democracy in Kenya. Produced by Search for Common Ground, the Kenyan series focused on ethnic tolerance and retribution, land disputes, mob violence and police impunity, gender violence, corruption and bribery, economic and social inequalities, and youth unemployment. The evaluation found that not only did the series prompt attitude changes, but also inspired positive actions on the ground.
6. Police Case Television Drama - Sierra Leone
Launched in July 2012 in Sierra Leone, Police Case is a legal-themed television series which follows the story of Adama, a woman who is subject to regular domestic violence from her husband until one day she reacts after a particularly violent fight. The drama series follows Adama through the criminal justice system, educating viewers about key legal issues, such as rights when you are arrested, bail, rights at court, domestic violence, and the role of paralegals. A project of AdvocAid, produced by Concept Multimedia and supported by a number of different partners, the television series is supported by post-broadcast discussions and interactions through Facebook.
7. Intersexions Television Drama - South Africa
Launched in October 2010, with a second season broadcasting since February 2013, Intersexions is a South African televised drama with 25 independent but interrelated stand-alone episodes that dramatise the effects of a sexual network, tracing the movement of HIV/AIDS from partner to partner across age, class, sexual orientation, and race. The second series maintains the same format of interlinked episodes but differs from series one as it shows how that which remains unsaid in our personal and sexual relationships places us at risk of HIV infection. Intersexions is a collaboration between SABC 1, SABC Education, and Johns Hopkins Health and Education in SA (JHHESA).
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REALITY TELEVISION SHOWS
8. Shamba Shape Up - Kenya and Tanzania
Launched by Mediae in 2012, Shamba Shape Up is a make-over style television series for East Africa's rapidly growing rural and peri-urban television audience designed to deliver agricultural and rural livelihoods information to benefit both farmers and international research organisations. Using an "edutainment" approach, the series features the Shamba Shape Up presenters and guest experts who address the needs of small, diverse farms ("Shambas") around Kenya and Tanzania, investigating specific local challenges and problems, and using the latest and appropriate ideas and technologies to transform the shambas and the livelihoods of their owners.
9. Reality Television for Community Development: The Kwanda Initiative in South Africa [September, 2012]
By Lebo Ramafoko, Renay Weiner and Gavin Andersson
This article, published in the Glocal Times, shares the evaluation findings of Kwanda, a community development initiative of the Soul City Institute and partners in which five communities were challenged to make their areas "look better, feel better, and work better" by addressing health and development issues. Responses to this challenge were documented in a 13-episode reality TV series that culminated in a viewer vote for the most successful community. According to the article, the evaluation of the initiative concluded that Kwanda offers possibilities for using the reality TV format to foster community development and the scaling-up of development messaging.
See also the full evaluation report for the Kwanda Initiative.
10. Ruka Juu na Fema TV Show - Tanzania
Broadcast between March and May 2011, Ruka Juu na Fema TV show was a reality television show to encourage young people in Tanzania to develop entrepreneurial skills. The debut season of Ruka Juu ran for 11 weeks, following six young Tanzanian micro-entrepreneurs as their skills were put to the test with a series of challenges. The show was part of Femina HIP's Ruka Juu (Jump up) initiative, revolving around economic empowerment through entrepreneurship, business skills, and financial literacy.
11. Impact Evaluation of Ruka Juu: An Entertainment Education Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Financial Education in Tanzania [December, 2011]
By Linda Helgesson Sekei
This report shares finding of an evaluation of Ruka Juu (Jump Up). The evaluation found that Ruka Juu is a powerful medium to inspire and contribute to mindset change. The contestants are seen as role models who have, by the power of example, educated and inspired the audience to do business, save, improve customer care, mobilise capital, and to be trustworthy. The findings also showed that the audience obtained a general understanding of key components of business and finance rather than detailed facts.
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PSAs, MAGAZINES, AND TALK SHOWS
12. Sesame Square - Nigeria
With the goal of supporting Nigeria's basic education needs, Sesame Workshop developed the children's television series Sesame Square for broadcast on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Launched in May 2011, the series consists of 26 thirty-minute episodes designed to promote fundamental literacy, numeracy, and health and good hygiene habits in settings that foster children's self-esteem, cultural pride, and respect for differences and diversity. A second season was broadcast in May 2012 and there are plans for a third season in 2013.
13. Timveni Child and Youth Media Organisation Media Programme - Malawi
The Timveni Child and Youth Media Organisation uses radio and television to give a voice to Malawi's young people, especially girls, on children's rights. The goal of the project is to help young Malawians make a difference in their own lives, create awareness about children’s rights, and build the capacity of children/youth to increase their meaningful participation in advocating for the realisation of their own rights. Initiated in 2006 by Plan Malawi, the project explores such issues as rape, abuse, and forced marriages and is committed to holding the government accountable for responding to crimes, and ensuring the rights of its citizens are taken into consideration.
14. Maternal Health Channel - Ghana
Launched in February 2013, the Maternal Health Channel is a television and radio series that is part drama, part documentary, and part discussion, designed to improve maternal health in Ghana. Produced by Creative Storm Networks, the project comprises of documentaries about real life stories, studio discussions, bulletins, and special reports. The series is airing once a week on two Ghanaian channels and brings together economists, health professionals and policy makers to discuss the broader implications of the high maternal mortality rates and poor reproductive health care for Ghana's development.
15. Wazi Campaign for Peaceful Elections - Kenya
The Wazi Campaign was a nationwide public awareness initiative launched ahead of Kenya's March 2013 elections that used Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to educate citizens on issues such as corruption, leadership and integrity, peaceful elections, national cohesion, and devolution. The animated cartoon PSAs were being aired on television stations in Kenya, as well as shared via the internet through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The PSAs are designed to promote ethnic tolerance and national cohesion, raise awareness on certain rights that Kenyans have under the new Constitution, and communicate mechanisms that are available to Kenyans to enforce their rights and to hold their duty bearers accountable.
16. Bino and Fino Cartoon Series - Nigeria
Launched in October 2010, Bino and Fino is a Nigerian-produced cartoon, designed for three to five year olds, about a brother and sister who live with their grandparents in an unnamed African city. Animator Adamu Waziri created the cartoon to be an entertaining, high-quality educational programme, which also shows positive aspects of Nigerian and African culture. While created by Nigerians, Bino and Fino is designed for children of toddler and preschool age from around the world, hoping to provide positive images to viewers from Africa and the diaspora.
17. The Pikabom Puppet Show - Tanzania
The Pikabom puppet show is designed to capture the imagination of the public by using satire to highlight socio-political issues in Tanzania. The 20-minute show was launched on Star TV in July 2012, and is also available for download via You Tube. The goal is to entertain and make people laugh, while informing them about issues that directly affect them. It is also designed to give different artists an opportunity to expose their talents.
THE SOUL BEAT ARCHIVES
For previous Television related Soul Beat e-newsletters, see:
The Soul Beat 179 - Radio and Television Dramas
To view all past editions of The Soul Beat e-newsletter, click here.
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