9 Million Listeners Reached with Conservation Messages

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) November 16, 2011 - In 2011, PCI-Media Impact (Media Impact) and partners launched Entertainment-Education programs in 28 countries to promote sustainable development. Today, 9 million listeners in 16 countries weekly receive messages about how to promote conservation in their communities.

Media Impact-produced Entertainment-Education soap operas are tackling serious environmental concerns around the world through intriguing plots. In 15 Caribbean countries, listeners tune in twice a week to hear Callaloo. The drama, named for the region’s famed soup, serves heaping spoonfuls of gossip-worthy anecdotes of twisted love triangles and strained relationships while promoting ecosystem conservation and resource management.    “Callaloo intends to expose and profile many of the issues critical to the wellbeing of our people, but within the context of everyday life of mainstream society,” said Keith Nichols, Head of the Environmental and Sustainable Development Unit at the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.    Similarly, Biribireba, now airing in the six coastal districts of Western Ghana, contains the elements of a good story: intrigue, corruption, temptation, chaos and love, and is infused with important messages about ecosystem governance and coastal resource management.   And the fun doesn’t end there.   Both dramas are played as part of talk shows that engage listeners in conversations about the issues in the drama. Community mobilization campaigns compliment the programs, making it easy for residents to support positive action.    More than 60 national and regional partners support My Island – My Community, of which Callaloo is one part. In addition to national call in shows, campaign planning is underway in each participating country. Biribireba is part of the five-year USAID-funded program Hɛn Mpoano, meaning Our Coast in Fante, a local language. The team in Ghana is focused on spreading the messages from Biribireba through billboards, radio spots and community events, including cook-offs, soccer games and theme song competitions.    Brenda Campos, Programs Director, Media Impact said, “Preaching about issues and threats wasn’t working but showing people, through fictional characters in a drama and community activities, that small behavior changes are not overwhelming is already motivating people to take action to improve their community.”   We are excited to grow this exciting work to promote sustainable development next year in Nigeria and Cameroon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mexico.   My Island-My Community was made possible with the financial support of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, KFW on behalf of the German Financial Cooperation, Global Environment Fund Small Grants Programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, USAID and The Nature Conservancy.  Hen Mpoano is funded by USAID and executed by the Coastal Resources Center of the University of Rhode Island, Media Impact through SustainaMetrix, Friends of the Nation Ghana and the World Fish Center.   About PCI-Media Impact
PCI-Media Impact (Media Impact) empowers communities worldwide to inspire enduring change through creative storytelling. Media Impact is a leader in Entertainment- Education and social change communications. For 25 years, we have worked with local partners to produce programs that address the most pressing social and environmental issues. Using our unique My Community approach to social change communications, we engage and empower audiences around the world to improve their own lives. Working with local partners, we have produced more than 3,000 episodes of 100 TV and radio productions. Together, these programs have reached more than 1 billion people in 34 countries.   PCI18734