Entertainment-Education Practitioners Celebrate 25 Years of Study

Entertainment-Education (E-E) practitioners from around the globe gathered in New Delhi, India last week to celebrate 25 years of E-E work and study around the globe.     From November 17-20, E-E professionals, artists, public health experts and entertainers participated in The 5^th International Entertainment-Education Conference to share recent innovations, especially in relation to health and social development, and position the field for the next generation of programming.   PCI-Media Impact (Media Impact) Executive Director, Sean Southey, and Programs Director, Brenda Campos, led both a panel discussion about community E-E initiatives and a workshop about how to create participatory programs.  Media Impact Board Member, Dr. Arvind Singhal, was a keynote speaker at the event. The three also contributed to discussions about best practices in E-E and innovations that will transform the field.   This year’s conference marks an exciting moment in the field.  Though stories have been used for centuries to entertain, educate and model positive behaviors, new technologies provide E-E experts with additional tools to more efficiently and effectively reach target audiences.  Social networking and mobile technologies increase the scalability of a campaign; while transmedia and 360 media campaigns diversify delivery platforms and have the potential to deepen impact.   Media Impact is at the cutting edge of these innovations, having been a leader in E-E for 25 years.  The organization’s first production, Hum Log (We People), promoted family planning and paved the way for a now robust E-E industry in India.  Currently, Media Impact is working in 28 countries, promoting health, conservation and civic engagement through radio, television, mobile phones and social networking platforms in addition to participatory theater, comic books, puppet shows, and social marketing.  Despite the changing communications landscape, the heart of all E-E campaigns is a powerful story that, regardless of the tool used for delivery, will motivate individuals to improve their lives.   The conference organizers include Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs; University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Department of Communication – The Social Justice Initiative (SJI); Hollywood, Health and Society The Norman Lear Center USC Anneberg; Center for Human Progress; and UNICEF.   PCI18949