CCP is a global leader in Entertainment Education (EE) with award winning programs around the world. CCP follows a proven, systematic method to guide the process of blending art and science to create EE. The art is the creation of engaging stories and characters that touch an audience’s emotions and help them feel empathy for the characters and their situations. The science is the application of analysis and theory that helps the artist or producer shape a compelling story that moves audience members to examine a given issue in their own lives and, once they are thinking about making changes, provides concrete ideas on how to do that. The science is also the measurement of an EE program’s impact. EE shows consequences of actions and modeling of healthy behaviors, enabling people to experience things vicariously and then test them out in real life.
CCP works closely with technical experts, researchers, advocates, and communities and strengthens the capacity of local artists, producers and writers to do this important work. CCP’s EE programs have addressed issues in various development sectors such as family planning, gender equality, HIV prevention and stigma reduction and peace building, among others. CCPs’ programs use:
- Mass media: television, film, radio, comic books
- Traditional media: storytelling, drama, puppetry and music, fairs, events, and Internet-based: gaming, social networking, mobile phones.
Entertainment Education has the power to change lives!
At the November 2011 EE5 conference [1] held in New Delhi, India, the latest in EE programming, innovation and evaluation from across the globe were showcased. One participant summed it up, saying “For three and a half days we came together to share and to learn, to be educated and entertained…and we all came away with the sense that there is much left to do and new inspiration to make the world a better place using EE”.
To read a critical summary and review of the conference presentations and discussions about the state of the field and where it is going, please request ‘The Increasing Equity, Affirming the Power of Narrative and Expanding Dialogue: The Evolution of Entertainment Education Over Two Decades” from Dr. Doug Storey at dstorey@jhuccp.org [2].
For more information about previous EE conferences, click the following: EE4 2004 Durban South Africa [1], EE3 2001 The Netherlands [1], EE2 1998 Ohio University, USA [1], and EE1 1989 California [1].
USAID also celebrated CCP’s long history in EE by featuring the groundbreaking 1986 music video Cuando Estemos Juntos or “When We Are Together” focusing on young people in USAID’s 50th year celebration [1].
Highlights include:
Bol – Pakistan [1]
Bol is a full-length commercially successful feature film on social realities for women and advocates for their rights in Pakistan. The movie is aimed at opinion leaders and policymakers who have the power to make decisions on gender equity and maternal health. Bol (“Speak Up”) won three awards at the 2011 London Asian Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Actress, and Best New Talent of 2011.
The groundbreaking film spurred national and international discourse about gender equity, family planning and maternal health. While the film has received critical and widespread acclaim in more than a dozen countries spanning three continents, its message was aimed specifically at opinion leaders and policymakers and has had an impact on national health policy. In fact, Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate unanimously passed two pro women bills aimed at protecting women from negative customs and traditions and seeking severe punishments for violators [1]. The bills prohibit forced marriage (Bol’s issue), among other issues.
Intersexions - South Africa [1]
The International Award Winning Intersexions looks at the lives and loves of those infected and affected by HIV as well as the circumstances of their contracting the virus and the relationships in their lives. Each stand-alone episode takes viewers closer to understanding the interconnectedness of sexual networks.
A 2012 survey reveals that Intersexions was watched by nine million South Africans – 28 percent of men and 38 percent of women. Of those who watched the series, almost 50 percent or 4.5 million South Africans watched at least 13 episodes. According to the survey, Intersexions decreased favorable attitudes towards multiple concurrent partnerships (MCP) and increased audience self-efficacy to resist MCP. The series increased positive attitudes towards condom use and self-efficacy to use them. It also reinforced the perceived norm that more people are getting an HIV test and increased discussion about testing.
Intersexions is produced by Curious Pictures in partnership with USAID/Johns Hopkins Education South Africa (JHHESA), an affiliate of the CCP and SABC Education. It is broadcast on SABC 1 in South Africa and episodes are also available on You Tube. It has received a Peabody award and eleven South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs), including honors for Best TV Drama, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.
Using mobile technologies in India
The Urban Health Initiative (UHI) is using EE via mobile technology to engage men from urban slums in Uttar Pradesh to address their unmet need for family planning services. Seven short EE films that intertwine drama, humor and romance with family planning messages are loaded onto male outreach workers’ mobile phones. The outreach workers hold monthly men’s mobile health clubs with 6-8 men. During each meeting they show the EE film on their mobile phones and then discuss FP methods and suggest realistic actions that club members can take to make changes in their lives. Watch two of these EE films. [1]
Rock Point 256 – Uganda [1]
The award-winning radio serial drama for young people in Uganda was broadcast weekly in four languages. The 30-minute drama and supporting comic books are designed to influence the actions of its young listeners by modelling behavior change among “transitional characters” that are similar to the program’s intended audiences. It helps young people choose attitudes and lifestyles that protect them from HIV, unplanned pregnancies and other social problems.
Storylines have included couple HIV counseling and testing, transactional sex, HIV/AIDS stigma among students, multiple concurrent sexual partnerships, family planning, violence against women and alcohol abuse. The storylines are designed by a team of young Ugandan scriptwriters based on issues identified by the Uganda AIDS Commission and its partners.
Contact Person
Caroline Jacoby cjacoby@jhuccp.org [3]Projects
Get it Together Campaign Radio Programs – Nigeria [1]
The Nigeria Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) is a five-year project (2009-2014) to reduce barriers to child spacing/family planning use and increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate in six Nigerian cities. Individual weekly radio magazine programs that include drama, testimonials, music, vox pop and a live call-in show with a trusted medical provider and a local radio celebrity are on air in each of the cities.
Chenicheni Nchiti Reality Radio Program – Malawi [1]
Chenicheni Nchiti? (“What is the Reality?”) is a reality radio program developed in Malawi to mitigate the spread of HIV and AIDS. It focuses on inspiring community dialogues towards the reduction of risky behaviors and increase of preventive behaviors. Real life stories are gathered by community reporters, recruited from local community groups, and equipped with basic skills in interviewing and recording and are then broadcast.
Club Risky Business - Zambia [1]
Winner of the 2010 AfriComNet Award for Best Multi Channel Campaign, Club Risky Business was a 10-episode fictional mini-series broadcast on Zambian television. The series examined multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships (MCP) through the engaging stories of three male friends and their partners in the age of HIV.
Betengna Radio Diaries Program – Ethiopia [1]
The Betengna radio program offers unique insight into what it really means to be HIV positive in Ethiopia. It is the first radio diaries program in the country and it addresses the issues of stigmatization and marginalization that many PLHA (People Living with HIV/AIDS) face. The program also generally examines low perception of the severity of individual and communal susceptibility to HIV/AIDS in country. The program is broadcast weekly as well as available on download.
My Life is More Beautiful and the 5-10-15 Initiative - Jordan [1]
Designed to promote awareness, demand, and support for family planning and healthy lifestyles, “My Life is More Beautiful” fairs attract thousands of community members utilizing an EE approach. The fairs feature activities that engage both adults and children, with appearances from famous singers, comedians, magicians, and dancers. Health booths at the fairs provide opportunities for participants to seek individualized health information and speak with doctors.
The 5-10-15 Initiative [1] helps university students navigate life planning and goal making through the use of an online, interactive tool. University students use this entertaining tool to make short-term (5 years), mid-term (10 years) and long-term goals for family, career, finances, and health. Students have the opportunity to practice various scenarios and recognize consequences of their life choices. Upon completion of their individual life plan, students are entered into a raffle drawing for prizes donated by the private sector.
Tchova Tchova (pushing ahead) TV Talk Show – Mozambique [1]
SOICO Television (STV) partnered with CCP to produce and broadcast real-life Mozambican “positive deviant” men, women and couples to tell the stories of how they overcame gender, cultural, and social barriers to make positive changes in their lives with a specific focus on HIV treatment and prevention. To date, over 20 programs have been produced and broadcast. The weekly program “Tchova Tchova” introduces a local testimony and then opens up for a discussion in studio facilitated by both male and female hosts. The talk show addresses issues related to multiple affairs, alcohol consumption, HIV transmission, ART adherence, among others. The program has achieved popularity in the country.
4Play: Sex Tips for Girls [1] TV Serial – South Africa
The 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls TV serial drama follows the lives of four thirty-something Johannesburg professional women as they navigate sex, love and relationships in a contemporary, honest, and often funny way. Essentially, they all want the same thing: Love. Lots of it, deep,fulfilling love. How they get it, or not, is the subject of this drama series. The drama garnered seven South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) nominations.
Chumo Film – Tanzania [1]
With lessons on malaria, the award winning and commercially successful movie follows the story of Juma, Amina and Yustus as they make choices and sacrifices, with unforeseen consequences.
Chumo was an official selection in the Short Narrative category Pan-African Film Festival in February 2011. It was awarded Best Short Narrative and Best of Projections (best film) at the Northwest Projections festival in April 2011, and was also named an official selection for the June 2011 Zanzibar International Film Festival where it also won awards for Best Actress and Best Director. Finally, Chumo was nominated for two Africa Movie Academy Awards – Best Short Film and Best Film in an African Language.
Jeelo Zindagi (“Embrace Life”) – India (for more information contact Basil Safi [4]
In India, migrant workers are at higher risk of HIV than the general population. The short film Jeelo Zinagi was part of a “Safe Migrant Package” to increase knowledge and awareness of HIV and AIDS and to promote protective strategies for migrant workers. The film tells the tale of a shy man who is new in the city and is lured by temptations and other challenges as a migrant. The film presents choices that either protect or make a migrant vulnerable to the risk of HIV infection.
“Neighbors,” a radio mini-drama series on increasing male involvement in family planning – Uganda [1]
The objective of the “Neighbors” campaign was to increase the proportion of men in Uganda who want to have smaller families and who discuss FP with their partners. The radio mini-drama series (five 10-minute episodes) reached millions of Ugandans across the country. The campaign included radio talk shows, radio spots, male-only community outreach activities, posters, street pole signs, billboards, and the Everyday Health Matters newsletter with basic family planning facts. The Fred and Bernard campaign revolved around two characters—Fred, who had a small family and was able to provide for his family’s needs, and Bernard, who had a large family and was struggling to provide for his family. “Neighbors” won the 2009 Global Media Award for Best Radio Drama [1] from the Population Institute.
Obbanywa Uganda - Radio Distance Learning [1]
The Uganda Village Health Team Radio Distance Learning (RDL) program provided training through weekly half-hour radio programmes supplemented by workbooks and handbooks for the Village Health Teams (VHTs) who listened. VHTs that enrolled in the programme formed discussion groups and worked on assignments in their workbooks together or individually. Those who completed the course received a certificate of completion.
Tisankhenji – Malawi Radio Drama for Young Girls [1]
The Tisankhenji (“The Choice is Mine”) radio program was a 30-minute segment broadcast twice a week as a part of the USAID-funded Bridge project. The program used a holistic approach which focused on education, career goals, self-efficacy, and open communication to reduce girls’ risk of HIV infection. It consisted of a 15-minute radio drama and 15-minutes of a structured activities segment around the drama, such as discussions/debates, games and songs. The storyline revolved around the life and experiences of a young and plucky girl named Alinafe who was determined to overcome life’s challenges and achieve her future aspirations. Alinafe’s stories characterize real life situations faced by typical Malawian girls during the transition from childhood into adolescence, including gender-related inequities and HIV-related risks. The discussion segment, called Tikhoza (“We Can”), featured pre-recorded interactive discussions and real life stories shared by young girls. For more information contact Dr. Rupali Limaye [5].
Sewa Nai Dharma Ho (“Service is Religion”) and Gyan Ni Shakti Ho (“Knowledge is Power”) – Nepal [1]
Nationally broadcast for four years, the Radio Health Program was composed of two mutually reinforcing entertainment education weekly broadcasts linked with community-based activities. The radio distance education program Sewa Nai Dharma Ho (“Service is Religion”) strengthened knowledge and skills of 47,000 Female Community Health Volunteers. The complementary drama serial Gyan Na Shakti Ho (“Knowledge is Power”) reached the community with family planning and maternal and child health messages.
