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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bangladesh TV Soap Operas Featured at International Film FestivalSeries Success Highlights Effectiveness of Entertainment EducationBALTIMORE—At the International Social Communication Cinema Festival held this month in India, Festival organizers dubbed an entire day, February 18, “Bangladesh Day” and screened all three television serial dramas produced by the Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP). With the theme of social communication through audiovisuals, the film festival showcased all 13 episodes of Shabuj Shathi (Evergreen Companion) and Shabuj Chhaya (Evergreen Shadows), and also several episodes of the new drama Eyi Megh, Eyi Roudra. (Now Cloud, Now Sunshine). 
The Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) provided technical assistance to BCCP for all three dramas with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Marking yet another achievement in the field of entertainment education, BCCP's day-long showcase demonstrates how the subtle blend of public health messages with mass media entertainment can generate highly effective communication vehicles. While differing in storyline, characters and setting, each of the three soap operas weave a series of health topics into each episode, such as Vitamin A, diarrhea, family planning, and HIV/AIDS. Each episode ends by asking the audience members a series of questions based on the drama. These quiz questions reinforce messages and spark further reflection by viewers on select health topics. As a result of the 13-episode Shabuj Chhaya, BCCP received an unprecedented 600,000 fan mail letters. The success of these dramas also led to paid sponsorship from private companies. 
According to formal evaluation research, Shabuj Shathi and Shabuj Chhaya were both extremely successful in influencing audience attitudes and behaviors related to health. While both Shabuj Chhaya and Shabu Shathi revealed compelling audience impact data, one episode in particular, that of HIV/AIDS, had an especially strong audience impact. Of those surveyed, 74% who had watched Shabuj Chhaya were aware of HIV/AIDS as opposed to 25% who did not watch the drama. The new 26-episode serial, Eyi Megh, Eyi Roudra encourages people to go to either Green Umbrella or Smiling Sun clinics for all family health services. The Green Umbrella, a logo developed by BCCP in collaboration with JHU/CCP, is now used by all Bangladeshi clinics, government, non-government and private to symbolize integrated services. The more recent Smiling Sun logo, developed in partnership with BCCP and JHU/CCP, designates non-government organization (NGO) clinics that are in the process of upgrading their quality of services. JHU/CCP is a pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based communication for behavior change and health promotion that has helped advance the theory and practice of public health communication. As a leader in the field and independent successor to JHU/CCP, BCCP provides expertise in all aspects of Behavior Change Communication (BCC). Through BCC program conceptualization, development, management implementation and evaluation, the BCCP continues to successfully meet the many varied health challenges of Bangladeshis in the 21st Century. BCCP programs, coordinated in collaboration with national policy, design program strategies that promote results-oriented multi-sectoral collaboration, cost-effective communication and sustainable health behavior change. BCCP has expertise in developing national BCC strategies, national media campaigns, conducting training workshops, building public-private partnerships, leveraging resources, conducting evaluation research, formulating advocacy campaigns, overall program management and designing community-based initiatives. To find out more about BCCP, go to www.bangladesh-ccp.org. For more information contact: Kim Martin at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA. Tel: 410 659-6140; Fax: 410 659-6266 e-mail: press@jhuccp.org. PRESS ROOM: http://www.jhuccp.org/pressroom |
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