mediadev library

"Edutainment intervention is a popular and inexpensive behavioural change communication toolkit to raise positive social norms through broadcast media. We evaluated a 26-episode nationally broadcasted television series targeted to improve attitudes towards preventing child marriage in Bangladesh. We ... more

"Communicators in the end child marriage movement are responsible for ensuring the storytelling process is a source of power for contributors, and that contributors feel positive about the following portrayal. This means examining biases, story and image choices, and decision making to ensure they r ... more

"A clustered randomized trial in two states of India examines alternate strategies to reduce child marriage, increase girls' education and change gender attitudes. GPs were randomized into four treatment and one control group in a 1:1:1:2:2 ratio. The GP level intervention from November 2012 deliver ... ed to treatment groups i) A Full Package, comprising mass-media, training and community mobilization programs; ii) a Training Package comprising a combination of mass media and a training program at the block level; iii) a Community Mobilization Package comprising a combination of mass-media and a community mobilization program; iv) and an only Mass Media program. Data from 2,542 households seven years after the start of the program shows that the intervention made significant improvements in impact indicators on girls' education and incidence and age at marriage. As compared to the control GPs, the Full Package intervention increased the age at marriage for girls aged 13-25 on an average by 6.5 months and their education by 9 months. The Full Package also increased the percentage of girls enrolled in school by an additional 9% over the level that control group achieved (92% in Full Package vs 83% in Control Group). The program impacts were similar after controlling for stratification and other household and GP level characteristics. We found that the intervention made an outcome indicator - gender attitudes - more progressive; GP with Full Package had a 0.407 standard deviation (equivalent to approximately 16%) higher gender attitude index than control GPs (p < 0.01). The measure of attitudes is an index of aggregated indices on gender equality, education, marriage, mobility and knowledge. Attitude change was larger for education and mobility indices. For example, the households in the Full Package had 0.26 and 0.33 standard deviations more positive attitude towards girls’ education and mobility than control GPs. We did not find any significant effect on attitudes pertaining to marriage and girl’s work and responsibility. There is little change in norms related to gender roles within the home and education has mostly been perceived as a vehicle for better management of the home, rather than for empowering women to work and be independent." (Summary) more

"The SRP was piloted in Tanzania following the model of the Sara Communication Initiative (SCI). The main objective of SRP was to improve skills among school children, especially girls, on negotiation, communication skills and positive social behaviour. Activities to foster and support engagement of ... the key target audiences through Sara Radio Programme (SRP) are being piloted in Iringa DC since 2016, with the aim of identifying elements that can be scaled up nationally. Two radio stations are carrying out the broadcast twice a week during school-term; Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), which has national coverage and Ebony FM, with coverage that is limited to Mbeya, Iringa and Njombe regions (MIN). The SRP included developing, pre-recording and broadcasting 100 episodes. The radio drama series featured a young girl, Sara and her friends. The SRP was crafted in a way to be fun as well as engaging pupils - girls and boys, teachers and parents in discussions around key messages. Primary standard four to seven school children (10 - 14-year olds) are the main target audience for the programme. Teachers and parents were key secondary audiences that got information through direct listening and messages from children. The programme addressed social norms to promote school girls’ retention and completion. In addition, the SRP aimed at imparting a change in knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, early marriage, early pregnancy, social inclusion and protection. The long-term objective of the programme is to empower girls to decide and control what happens to them, to be safe, and to pursue what they want in life. [.] Findings on SRP thematic components SRP Information: Almost all the children (93.5%, N=339) interviewed in Iringa DC confirmed that they were aware of the SRP implemented in their schools. The high percentage of awareness of the SRP by the children can be attributed to the frequency of attendance for listening to the episodes. The majority of children mentioned that Sara radio episodes were broadcasted twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday between 1530hrs to 1600hrs. HIV/AIDS: Children were asked whether they have heard of HIV/AIDS and majority 95.9% had heard of HIV/AIDS while a mere 3.9% had not. Regarding source of information on HIV/AIDS, the majority of children (87.0%) mentioned schools/teachers as their main source, followed by parents/guardians/family (33.0%) while radios contributed 17%. On spreading of HIV virus, the majority of children (87.0%) confirmed that unsafe sex increases chances of acquiring HIV virus, against 10.7% who did not. There was a small percentage difference between boys (88.0%) and girls (85.8%) who confirmed the risks of unsafe sex on acquiring the HIV virus. [.]" (Executive summary, p. viii-ix) more

Edutainment and the prevention of under-age marriages: The evaluation of a television series designed to promote positive role models in Bangladesh

Guidelines for Ethical Communications Around Child Marriage: Principles, Best Practice and Tools

Can media campaigns change attitudes and spark actions to reduce early child marriage? Impact evaluation of breakthrough’s early marriage campaign in Jharkhand and Bihar states of India

Can Media Campaigns Change Attitudes and Spark Actions to Reduce Early Child Marriage? Impact Evaluation of Breakthrough’s Early Marriage Campaign in Jharkhand and Bihar States of India

Formative Evaluation of the Sara Radio Programme (SRP) in Iringa DC, Iringa MC, Kilolo DC and Mufindi DC. Final Report

Communication for Development: Case Study Compendium 2013-2017