Using a Radio Magazine to foster dialogue on behaviour change amidst strong cultural norms
Summary:
The USAID's Apolou Activity is a food and nutrition security program implemented in five districts of Karamoja and includes a crosscutting SBCC component to bring about increased adoption of inclusive gender-equitable norms, attitudes. This in turn would result into better outcomes for governance, maternal child health and nutrition, WASH and livelihoods. Based on the positive deviance concept, the Radio Magazine is one of the strategic SBC 'vehicles' and features community stories of characters who are taking unique actions to overcome challenges, thus portraying inherent problem-solving capacity of the Karimojong people. The Eyok Kiyan Radio Magazine intervention was a show designed to trigger discussions among the audience on issues of governance, nutrition and health, WASH and livelihoods within their setting. Production started with visits to radio stations to find out popular content, formats, known audience preferences, and challenges. Some communities were also visited to observe how they ordinarily shared, which led to the creation of a three-part radio magazine with a local story on positive deviance plus music and a myth buster. Stories were pretested and aired through radio and community listening groups whereby heated debates ensued as audiences not only verified the information presented but others wondered if the behaviour narrated was possible for everyone. Use of real people to tell stories helps the audience to reflect on and consider emulating, and created a similar environment as that in the communities. The stories being local content eliminates the patronising methods which have dominated the airwaves for long.
Background/Objectives:
USAID's Apolou Activity is a food and nutrition security program implemented in five districts of Karamoja and includes a crosscutting SBCC component to bring about increased adoption of inclusive gender-equitable norms and attitudes. This would bring better outcomes for governance, maternal child health and nutrition, WASH and livelihoods. One of the SBC vehicles is the Radio Magazine, which is based on the positive deviance concept, and features stories collected from the community, focusing on people who are taking unique actions to overcome challenges facing their society. The stories portray the inherent problem-solving capacity of the Karimojong people.
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
The intervention was a radio magazine designed to trigger discussion among the targeted communities on issues of governance, nutrition and health, WASH and livelihoods within their setting. Before the production of the Eyok Kiyan radio magazine, radio stations in the Karamoja region were visited to get an appreciation of the content already being shared, the formats (program styles) commonly used, the preferences of audiences based on feedback mostly through call-ins, and any production formats they lacked but wished to use. Some communities were also visited to observe how stories are shared, and how radio is used. A three part radio magazine show was designed, with a local story on positive deviance presented in the form of a radio feature as its heart, with music by elders setting up the show and a myth buster concluding it. The feature story has voices of community members share their stories and experiences.
Results/Lessons Learned:
Whereas positive deviance stories are collected from the community, some listeners found it incredible, which sparked off heated debates among the audience during the pretest and subsequent community listening groups. Yet audiences were able to verify the information presented in the story as it indicates the villages, time of events and people's names. Debate among believers and non-believers of the story is part of the excitement generated by the Radio Magazine, and the fact that it is verifiable ultimately creates plausibility. Using real people to tell their stories helps the audience to reflect on and consider emulating. It is common for elders in Karamoja to ad lib stories in music form when on lonely walks, so the inclusion of local music as actuality (raw form) for an introduction creates a positive bias for the show. Experience shows that people enjoy hearing about events, places and people places they know.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
The use of radio to exploit storytelling builds on oral tradition that the audience is already familiar with. Listening groups with participants in a circle around creates an environment very similar to that in their communities. For a community with very low literacy levels, this is an effective way drawing their interest in the program. Local content, presented in ordinary voice, creates necessary familiarity and eliminates patronising tendencies which dominated the airwaves. This sets ground for reflection and subsequent behaviour change among the community members.
Abstract submitted by:
Venansio Ahabwe - Save the Children
Paul Kavuma Nkwanga - p.kavuma@gmail.com
Juliet Ajok - Save the Children
Evaline Nakoru - Save the Children
Mamu Mohamed - Save the Children
The USAID's Apolou Activity is a food and nutrition security program implemented in five districts of Karamoja and includes a crosscutting SBCC component to bring about increased adoption of inclusive gender-equitable norms, attitudes. This in turn would result into better outcomes for governance, maternal child health and nutrition, WASH and livelihoods. Based on the positive deviance concept, the Radio Magazine is one of the strategic SBC 'vehicles' and features community stories of characters who are taking unique actions to overcome challenges, thus portraying inherent problem-solving capacity of the Karimojong people. The Eyok Kiyan Radio Magazine intervention was a show designed to trigger discussions among the audience on issues of governance, nutrition and health, WASH and livelihoods within their setting. Production started with visits to radio stations to find out popular content, formats, known audience preferences, and challenges. Some communities were also visited to observe how they ordinarily shared, which led to the creation of a three-part radio magazine with a local story on positive deviance plus music and a myth buster. Stories were pretested and aired through radio and community listening groups whereby heated debates ensued as audiences not only verified the information presented but others wondered if the behaviour narrated was possible for everyone. Use of real people to tell stories helps the audience to reflect on and consider emulating, and created a similar environment as that in the communities. The stories being local content eliminates the patronising methods which have dominated the airwaves for long.
Background/Objectives:
USAID's Apolou Activity is a food and nutrition security program implemented in five districts of Karamoja and includes a crosscutting SBCC component to bring about increased adoption of inclusive gender-equitable norms and attitudes. This would bring better outcomes for governance, maternal child health and nutrition, WASH and livelihoods. One of the SBC vehicles is the Radio Magazine, which is based on the positive deviance concept, and features stories collected from the community, focusing on people who are taking unique actions to overcome challenges facing their society. The stories portray the inherent problem-solving capacity of the Karimojong people.
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
The intervention was a radio magazine designed to trigger discussion among the targeted communities on issues of governance, nutrition and health, WASH and livelihoods within their setting. Before the production of the Eyok Kiyan radio magazine, radio stations in the Karamoja region were visited to get an appreciation of the content already being shared, the formats (program styles) commonly used, the preferences of audiences based on feedback mostly through call-ins, and any production formats they lacked but wished to use. Some communities were also visited to observe how stories are shared, and how radio is used. A three part radio magazine show was designed, with a local story on positive deviance presented in the form of a radio feature as its heart, with music by elders setting up the show and a myth buster concluding it. The feature story has voices of community members share their stories and experiences.
Results/Lessons Learned:
Whereas positive deviance stories are collected from the community, some listeners found it incredible, which sparked off heated debates among the audience during the pretest and subsequent community listening groups. Yet audiences were able to verify the information presented in the story as it indicates the villages, time of events and people's names. Debate among believers and non-believers of the story is part of the excitement generated by the Radio Magazine, and the fact that it is verifiable ultimately creates plausibility. Using real people to tell their stories helps the audience to reflect on and consider emulating. It is common for elders in Karamoja to ad lib stories in music form when on lonely walks, so the inclusion of local music as actuality (raw form) for an introduction creates a positive bias for the show. Experience shows that people enjoy hearing about events, places and people places they know.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
The use of radio to exploit storytelling builds on oral tradition that the audience is already familiar with. Listening groups with participants in a circle around creates an environment very similar to that in their communities. For a community with very low literacy levels, this is an effective way drawing their interest in the program. Local content, presented in ordinary voice, creates necessary familiarity and eliminates patronising tendencies which dominated the airwaves. This sets ground for reflection and subsequent behaviour change among the community members.
Abstract submitted by:
Venansio Ahabwe - Save the Children
Paul Kavuma Nkwanga - p.kavuma@gmail.com
Juliet Ajok - Save the Children
Evaline Nakoru - Save the Children
Mamu Mohamed - Save the Children
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: Save the Children