Brazil

For 10 years beginning in 1989, PCI worked closely with the creative teams of Rede Globo de Televisão (Rede Globo), Brazil’s largest television company, to add socially responsible story lines to its telenovelas. Our input included opening discussions on social issues and sexual and reproductive health topics. In June 1997, Time magazine ran a cover story entitled "Breaking Taboos: Latin America's Sexy New Telenovelas are Taking on Tough and Topical Social Themes." The authors noted that "the new wave telenovela offers a sounding board for social issues with an impact that far exceeds newspapers, books and conventional TV news." In addition, the impact of these programs was extended through their export to numerous countries throughout Latin America and around the world.

Caribbean

PCI in partnership with the RARE Centre for Tropical Conservation, aired the successful St. Lucian radio serial Apwé Plézi (After the Pleasure), from 1996 to 2000. Apwé Plézi was extremely popular in St. Lucia and evaluation studies showed a positive impact on listeners, focusing on such issues as family planning, women's status, environmental degradation of the island's fragile ecosystem, and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

In August 2000, a new PCI/RARE series called Coconut Bay went on the air in the four island nations of Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Building on the success of Apwé Plézi, Coconut Bay continued to promote sexual and reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention, gender equality, and environmental protection—all critical issues on the four islands. Each island broadcast two episodes a week, with back-to-back repeats the following Sunday.

Coconut Bay is part of PCI's strategy to leverage the impact of our programs through a regional soap opera, where cultural and language similarities allow. PCI and local partners developed characters and story lines that resonate across national borders, as many of the issues addressed do not differ from one island nation to another. Coconut Bay dramatically expanded the reach of the Caribbean soap opera effort that began with Apwé Plézi, bringing information on critical health and social issues to new audiences.

After completing a year of successful broadcast in October 2001, RARE carried out a final evaluation of the impact of Coconut Bay (which was completed in early 2002). The evaluation indicated that three out of the four islands developed a strong listenership, with 8 to 21 percent of the population identifying themselves as regular listeners. These listeners also indicated changes in their attitudes on key issues addressed in the program, including teen pregnancy, contraception, HIV, spousal abuse, and the environment. PCI and RARE would like to continue Coconut Bay for another year, pending funding.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is among the eight countries from which candidates are selected to participate in PCI’s Media Leadership Program. It is also the location for filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman’s second segment of her two-part film, titled From the Grassroots Up: Village Solutions to a Global Crisis. She has sought the assistance of former local fellows—from both India and Ethiopia—who participated in the Media Leadership Program for their expertise and support.

Madagascar

PCI has a long history of working in Madagascar. From 1996 until the end of 1999, PCI worked with The Dodwell Trust and local writers and producers on a radio drama called Sarivolana (Reflections of the Moon), which addressed critical social issues including drug abuse, domestic violence, women’s rights, and environmental preservation. Sarivolana’s popularity was evident as audience members expressed their desire for more, and, as a result, Sarivolana was rebroadcast from 2000 through 2001.

In January 2001, PCI traveled to Madagascar and met with colleagues from Radio Madagascar, UNFPA, UNAIDS, World Wildlife Federation, and a number of other potential partners to explore the development of a new serial that would offer strong HIV-prevention messages and integrate population and environmental concerns. World Wildlife Federation, and many other local agencies, have expressed an interest in collaborating with PCI on such a drama. Discussions continue to be held on the technical assistance PCI could offer for another serial drama.

Malawi

PCI’s work in Malawi is characterized by south-to-south technical assistance provided to The Story Workshop Educational Trust (SWET), a local outreach organization that has produced a radio soap opera called Zimachitika (These Things Happen). In 2000 PCI provided training in research for the radio program’s monitoring team, guiding them in how to gather information to improve and adjust the existing program. Also, in August 2001, PCI’s regional representative for Africa, Dr. Kimani Njogu, conducted a methodology workshop for the program team in Blantyre. The workshop helped the creative team of the radio soap improve ongoing connections among characters, research, and listener feedback. On the air since 1997, Zimachitika focuses on family health, human rights, and sustainable development. Broadcast every Saturday evening on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio 1, the half-hour show is the station’s most popular program.

Myanmar

Myanmar is among the countries from which candidates are selected to participate in PCI’s Media Leadership Program. PCI has also explored possible program developments there, and would be interested in some future collaboration.

Namibia

In April 1996, PCI trained a creative team in Namibia to develop a radio soap opera for national broadcast called Osigo Uunake? ("Until When?" from "Until when will problems facing the community go on?"). The program aimed to effect positive changes in Namibians' attitude and behaviors toward reproductive health and family planning.

Conceived within the framework of Namibia's Constitution, Osigo Uunake focused on equal opportunity for women and men, children's education, and family stability. In this context, the soap opera's themes included teen pregnancy and sexual behavior; spousal communication; hygiene and maternal/child health; dispelling myths about conception and family planning methods; and the "gender blindness" of HIV/AIDS.

In June 1996, PCI brought the Namibian team to Nairobi for a 17-day training workshop with the creative teams from Kenya and Tanzania. In the early stages of development, pCI determined that the program's scripts needed extensive revision in order to be consistent with PCI's methodology and the values grid developed in formative research. Osigo Uunake began airing in April of 1997.

PCI are grateful to the United Nations Population Fund from its support of this effort.

Nigeria

Nigeria is among the eight countries from which candidates are selected to participate in PCI’s Media Leadership Program. PCI has also explored possible program developments there, and would be interested in some future collaboration.

Pakistan

PCI’s radio serial drama in Pakistan, Dukh Sukh Apney (Our Sorrows and Happiness), began broadcasting in February 2001. In a region where poverty, illiteracy, and lack of communications infrastructure are common among the vast rural population, the need for information is particularly acute. During this time of great instability in the region, getting a program on the air is particularly challenging.

PCI works in partnership with Pakistan’s Ministry of Population Welfare (MOPW), Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), and UNFPA to produce and monitor Dukh Sukh Apney. The 15-minute drama addresses reproductive health, family planning, maternal and child health, drug abuse, education, and women’s empowerment issues. A new episode in Urdu is broadcast nationally each week and repeated later in the same week. Local versions in Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi started broadcasting at the regional level in June 2001, effectively reaching the entire country.

PCI has worked closely with officials from MOPW to train over 50 family welfare workers across the country. The family welfare workers received training in facilitating listener groups as a mechanism to gather feedback on the program quality and the educational issues learned and assist to publicize the program at a local level. Over 423 listener group meetings have been held, with preliminary feedback indicating the effectiveness of Dukh Sukh Apney in conveying positive messages and teaching key educational concepts. Listeners report adopting better hygiene as suggested by the program, particularly while feeding babies. Parents have been convinced to send their children, including girls, to school regularly after listening to the drama. Women are being informed about their social and legal rights in society and discussing it in the listener groups. And people have been sensitized to drug problems facing their communities and the realities of HIV/AIDS. These audience responses clearly indicate that Dukh Sukh Apney is having a significant educational impact on its listeners. A mid-term evaluation is scheduled for the last quarters of 2002 to further assess the structure and program prior to the serial’s conclusion in 2003.

Pakistan is also among the eight countries from which candidates are selected to participate in PCI’s Media Leadership Program.

The Philippines

PCI is working in collaboration with Conservation International (CI), a leading environmental conservation organization, on a radio soap opera that addresses population pressures and environmental threats. CI has identified the entire country of the Philippines as a “hot spot,” where critical biodiversity is threatened. In the Philippines, CI focuses on two critical areas where there are endemic species of plant and animal life that exist nowhere else on the planet. One area is the coral and marine life that surrounds the Palawan Corridor, the other is the forests and communities surrounding the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. The story line for a serial drama will probably be set in those two regions as well as the urban capital of Manila, demonstrating the common struggle for survival and life’s twists and turns.

In 2001, PCI engaged a team of local researchers to conduct the formative research as the first step to formulating the project. Their data gathering and research included visits to Palawan and areas in the Sierra Madre to assess health-related concerns and local issues from the residents there. CI simultaneously gathered data to formulate a strategy for their own work in the Philippines. After both sets of research were completed, we exchanged reports to share data and ideas for programmatic planning. Also during the year, PCI made several trips to the Philippines to further develop partnerships with local broadcasters and health and environmental groups, and we met with our partners to coordinate our implementation strategies.

Next steps in the project include determining a broadcast partner; selecting a creative team of scriptwriters, producers, and actors; and holding a script design and methodology training workshop to familiarize the partners and participants with PCI’s methodology for social content soap operas. Once those components are in place, the stage will be set for the production of a Philippines serial drama.

The Philippines is also among the eight countries from which candidates are selected to participate in PCI’s Media Leadership Program.

South Africa

Following up on a previous visit, PCI traveled to South Africa in January 2001 to assess the potential for program development and funding. In the country with the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS, we planned to help community radio stations in underserved parts of the country design their own entertainment-education initiatives. We identified potential partners in South Africa, including The National Community Radio Forum, the Women’s Health Project, and The Open Society Foundation of South Africa, planning four workshops for community radio related to PCI methodology and script design. Funding priorities necessitated that this project be postponed.

Sudan

Sudan is among the countries from which candidates are selected to participate in PCI’s Media Leadership Program. PCI has also explored possible program developments there, and would be interested in some future collaboration

Tanzania

PCI continues to consult with the writers and producers of Twende na Wakati (Let’s Go With the Times), the award-winning radio program that has been on the air since 1993 on Radio Tanzania-Dar es Salaam. The program is also now broadcast on regional stations, including Radio Tanzania-Dodoma, Sauti ya Injili-Kilimanjaro, and Sauti ya Tanzania-Zanzibar, drawing huge audiences across the country. Broadcast in the national language, Kiswahili, over 1,000 episodes have provided entertainment and life-saving information to audience members throughout the country. In March 2000, the program was named "outstanding rural communications program" by UNESCO, the U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, winning a $20,000 prize which was invested in program production. In October 2000, Twende na Wakati won the Population Institute's prestigious XXI Global Media Award for Excellence in Population Reporting in the category "Best Radio Program." The program also explores other social and cultural issues such as teen sexuality, education for girls, women's status, and domestic violence.

The effects of Twende na Wakati were studied in a unique field-experiment by a respected team of international communications experts and local researchers. The multi-year research showed that Twende na Wakati motivated thousands of Tanzanian men and women to adopt HIV-prevention behaviors and begin practicing family planning. The results and other findings from the program are documented in several peer-reviewed academic journals and support the hypothesis that such entertainment-education programs can actually influence attitudes and behavior change.

Since 1993, PCI has provided technical assistance in the form of various training workshops for scriptwriting, research, and production teams. For example, in April 2000, the creative teams of Tanzania's Twende na Wakati and neighboring Kenya's Ushikwapo Shikamana met for the first time in a PCI workshop on a range of creative issues, from common themes and story ideas to character development and drama. This workshop was a good example of PCI's fostering south-to-south exchange. Both shows are broadcast in Kiswahili, the national language of both Kenya and Tanzania, and letters from listeners indicate that the soaps are popular across national borders.

In February 2001, PCI also facilitated a workshop with the Twende na Wakati team, focusing on HIV/AIDS, adolescent reproductive health, a review of the current values grid for the program, and emerging issues for future story lines. In June 2001, a consultant worked with the PCI team and the actors and actresses in a weeklong drama skills and PCI methodology training on Zanzibar. Following the workshop, we conducted a program review in Dar es Salaam. We also shared our experience in entertainment-education and behavior change communication in a planning session with colleagues implementing the Africa Youth Alliance (AYA) program, an HIV/AIDS prevention initiative.

Other complementary activities have been undertaken to support the radio drama, further reinforce the health and social messages, and expand to new audiences. A cartoon strip, following the radio story line, appeared in the local newspaper, Sanifu, every Thursday from 1999 to 2001. A Twende na Wakati Readers Digest appeared every Friday in another local newspaper, Majira, summarizing the previous episode and giving a preview of upcoming broadcasts. And TNW New Millennium was a radio support program broadcast once a month where professionals answered and addressed audience members’ questions and comments. These activities covered issues similar to those addressed in the program and provided numerous venues and publicity for the soap opera.

Vietnam

In 1998, representatives from PCI met with potential partners (government officials, broadcasters, service providers, and members of NGOs) as it explored avenues for new programs. Local partners were particularly interested in importing and distributing PCI’s Chinese serial drama Bai Xing upon completion of its entire 60 episodes.

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